[Nyororin]

I don`t really think they are status symbols. What Hinacamui said is true on one front, but another is that they are a sign of being settled down. People don`t have pets when they are renting - it`s sort of part of being settled down permanently.

But really, as I said, pets are just expensive. For dogs to be the equivalent of a European car, there would have to be cheap and common pets. There really aren`t. Having a pet is a luxury of sorts (this doesn`t actually mean it is a status symbol - that would imply that other people would think more highly of someone for owning a pet), so the price just remains high.