A toy poodle that walks on its hind feet across pedestrian crossings is attracting attention for promoting road safety.

Pluto, the 5-year-old toy poodle owned by Kimio Koyama, 55, a travel agent from Matsusaka, has been invited to a number of road safety activities and is highly regarded by local police.

“He’s contributing to road safety,” one officer said.

Pluto started walking on his hind legs about four years ago and quickly became a popular sight in his neighborhood. He used to refuse to traverse pedestrian crossings unless he was walking with Koyama.

But in May, Koyama trained Pluto to wait before the crossing and to traverse it only after he called. Now, Koyama calls Pluto and the dog stands up on its hind legs and walks across pedestrian crossings.

(每日新闻)