A Japanese business began offering a small “monthly allowance” for employees with pets. The $9 stipend is a token gesture that recognizes pets are part of a family, and not just a toy or gadget.

Hoping to send the message that pets are life-long partners not disposable accessories, a Japanese maker of medicines for animals has begun giving employees who own dogs or cats a monthly “family allowance” for their pets.

“Everyone has the right to own a pet, but they also have the obligation to raise the pet for its whole life,” the company said, explaining why it had decided to offer employees who own dogs and cats a “family allowance” of 1,000 yen ($9) per month.

The same firm is also considering allowing grievance time for the death of a pet, as one Japanese pet food maker currently allows.

This is a good gesture, but I think it’s not what is needed. Owning a pet, particularly one like my 60-lbs. lab, is really a lot like having a child, in that it requires food, training, medical visits, exercise, and lots of other considerations.

I would like to see a policy that begins to equate pets to children, and that gives considerations like child doctor visit time and other schedule flexibility to animal owners. I’m not sure what parents of human children feel about equating my dog to their kid, but that’s not quite the issue. My dog is likely much smarter than their kids.