Yokota Pet Care Center handles the furry side of life

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class John D. Partlow
  • 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
When service members relocate to or from Yokota, they have an obligation to take care of their families - that includes four-legged family members as well.

"Our job helps the mission by taking care of Yokota member's pet needs," said Keiji Fujiwara, Yokota Pet Care Center manager. "When the pet's needs are met, it allows the owners to accomplish other important tasks."

One way the center helps is by boarding pets for Yokota members moving to or departing the base.

"The staff at the Pet Care Center were friendly and available to answer my questions before we left our last duty station," said Antavis Geoffroy, Pet Care customer. "They helped make our move to Japan easier and more relaxed. I was never worried how we would take care of our dogs while in our temporary lodging facility."

The center also offers other services to base members such as grooming and pet adoption. They even allow for prospective adoption families to try out a new pet first.

"If people are interested in adopting a cat or dog, they can foster them first to see if they are a compatible match," said Fujiwara. "We rarely have dogs up for adoption, so most people can only foster cats."

While some jobs solely rely on skills needed to do business, the pet care center has more than that to get the job done.

"We are an experienced group of people here, and we all have a passion for this kind of work," said Fujiwara. "This is a very satisfying job for us."