Using 18 years of Aichi prefecture administrative data of 2005–2022, we assessed quantitative fluctuations of
population, households, dogs registered for rabies prevention, and veterinary hospitals mainly treating dogs and
cats. After the population increased to 2019, it decreased thereafter. Household numbers increased continuously
during these years. Registered dogs increased to 2011, then decreased. Animal hospitals, by contrast, continued to
increase during this period. The population, number of households, and number of registered dogs per veterinary
hospital were found to have decreased continuously through the investigated years. Based on these findings, we
propose that veterinary hospitals should devote some effort to establish preventive veterinary medicine for secure
management with a declining population and a dog society.
