the pet immigration restrictions bit is purely canon's fault: I'm not convinced there were forty hours between Viktor in Russia (cuddling his dog) deciding to move countries and Viktor turning up in small-town Japan (dog in tow), never mind the forty days' notice required for bringing a dog into Japan in RL, and while having all the documentation up to date correctly means a pet quarantine of twelve hours not six months, it sounds like the major reason for the six months and the forty days and everything is to make sure it's been more than six months since the last rabies vaccination? ergo fuck it, what rabies? it has gone the way of smallpox, it is not a concern anymore