My last few days in NYC were busy and stressful and difficult, but also amazing and illuminating. I spent several days feeling loved, appreciated and valued.

• Wednesday, the 23rd, my boss took me and some coworkers out to dinner.. FOR ME. Since I expect Japanese food to be something I will desperately miss, we went to one of the top sushi spots in town: BONDST (Bond Street). Sooooooo delicious! It was a unique happening and made me feel super appreciated.
• Thursday, the 24th, was my last day at work and, of course, I worked till 2am trying to finish everything. Wonderful things happened that day too though.
  • My boss gave me a "half year bonus!" Who gives you a bonus when you’re leaving? (I almost cried.)
  • I got lots of hugs and special words from coworkers one by one as they left for the day.
• Friday, the 25th, was mine and Snick’s last visit to the Gillen Brewer School. (I’ve been stuck at this part of the entry for over a week.) These kids are just amazing. When we started visiting them a few months back, several of them were really afraid of dogs, but when we saw them on the 25th, they were hugging and kissing Snickers goodbye. They made a wonderful card for us (mostly for Snickers. LOL) to say goodbye. This was also when Snickers realized something big was happening, because he could feel the energy from the kids. I am going to miss our school visits very, VERY much.
• The rest of Friday I packed. Or at least I tried to.
• Saturday, the 26th… mine and Snick’s last time to enjoy our regular weekend routine. We dropped off laundry, picked up coffee, went to the dog run and hung out on our bench. We went to the Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market to hang with our friend Judy for a bit and then off to the neighborhood pet store for TREATS. This routine has been a shared favorite part of the week for a long time.
• Saturday afternoon was our last meetup with the NYC Shiba Inus and their Human Companions. For anyone who may not know, Snick and I founded this meetup group in June 2006 and it’s grown to 240+ members and had 50 meetups. NYCSR was founded by a group of Shiba-owned humans who met in the meetup group and the group continues to support NYCSR in many ways. Some of my BEST BESTEST friends are people I met through this group and I owe a lot of happy times to them, the group, and NYCSR. About 40 people and 25 Shibas showed up for our last meetup at Animal Haven and Snickers had SO MUCH FUN. What I was NOT expecting though was for most of the Board of Directors and key volunteers of NYCSR to be there and have gifts for us. They gave me one of those digital photo frames and they had preloaded it with a slide show of ALL the NYCSR rescue dogs so far. It was incredible. They brought a treasure chest of treats and toys for Snick also and he loved all of it. All of it really touched me and showed me that Snick’s impact on people’s (and Shibas’) lives extends way beyond just me.
• For the rest of Saturday, I packed. And packed. And PACKED.
• Sunday, the 27th. Moving Day. After about 3 hours sleep, Snick and I dashed to the dog run and back and then I was off to pick up the U-Haul. My bestest buddy Zennia and her fiance, Scott, met me at the U-Haul place in Chelsea so Scott could help park the truck back at my apartment. Long story short… we got back to the apartment around 9:45 AM and my other peeps started showing up around 10am to help. Besides Z and Scott (and 2 paid helper guys), I had my good buddy Brian, my wonderful friend Mary, another wonderful friend lulu and her main man Joseph, my good neighborhood friend Drew (the human “dad” of Snick’s buddies Benno and Lily), and last but but never least, my best friend - who I’m "maybe just a little bit in love with" - Jack. Having so many friends come over to help me finish packing and move (out of a FIFTH floor WALKUP) really meant a lot to me. I love all you guys. THANK YOU so much for being there.

So, those were my last few days in NYC. They were filled with friends and love and good things and I’m very grateful for that.

PS I know I haven’t been blogging much since I moved. My life/world is just sooo different now and I miss my friends desperately. I will probably set up a new blog for inspiration. When the words return, I’ll blog. I promise.

At least that is how I am thinking of it. Let’s please not call it “leaving NYC.”

<sigh>

I moved here 21 years ago, still a teenager and totally in awe of everything around me. I made the mistake of leaving in 1991 and spent the next few years desperately trying to find my way home from SoCal and then MS. In 1995, I landed back in midtown Manhattan and swore I would never make the mistake of leaving again. Over the years, the city has become an inextricable part of who I am. Sometimes it feels like the city has woven itself into me. It’s not a "place." It is more of a being. NYC is a friend and it is home.

Although there are many things I love about NYC, it’s a tiring, expensive, and challenging place to be a single parent. As most of you probably know, Miss T went to Florida last summer to live with her dad. The choice was hers regarding whether to stay there for high school or come home. At first, she said she wanted to stay in Florida, but then she decided a few months ago that high school in Florida was not in her plans. Since then, I’ve been trying to figure out what to do about a bigger place to live and a decent place to enroll her in school. (She was in private school up until the year before she went to Florida. We tried one year of NYC public school and it was horrendous.) I really can’t afford to put her back in private school for four more years or to move to a neighborhood with a rocking public high school. (There are specialty public high schools, but the application and enrollment process takes a year and a half.)

What’s a single mom in the city to do?
Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve now been accused of scamming people to make money on their dogs.

About a week ago, I received the following email. (Please forgive the horrid spelling and grammar. I’m posting it all as I received it.)

I just received a six month old Shiba Ina from a Ohio breeder last Thursday. The dog will not eat or drink water. It hasn’t deficated since we received it. It hides befind my livingroom sofa. I have placed numerous phone calls to her and she refuses to call me back. I just spoke with her vet and was told that the dog was introverted during the exam last Wednesday. I have three children and they are devasted by the behavior of this puppy. Would you be able to take him. I cannot keep him under these circumstances and don’t want him to waste away behind my sofa. Also, do you know if there is a group in Marion Ohio who could visit this breeder. From what the vet was telling me she could be a puppy mill. Many thanks for your help.

I emailed her back, very concerned that the dog wasn’t eating or drinking for several days. I didn’t hear anything from her. A couple days after that, the following showed up on craigslist.

6 MONTH OLD SHIBA INU NEEDS TO BE REHOMED. HE WILL COME WITH ALL HIS VACINATIONS INCLUDING RABIES. HE IS A VERY CUTE PUPPY BUT HAS NOT BEEN SOCIALIZED WITH PEOPLE. I PAID ALOT OF MONEY FOR HIM TO BE SENT FROM OHIO TO NY AND WHEN HE ARRIVED HE WOULD JUST HIDE BEHIND MY SOFA. THE BREEDER WILL NOT TAKE HIM BACK. UNFORTUNATLEY, I DO NOT HAVE THE TIME OR EXPERIENCE TO SOCIALIZE HIM. HE REALLY NEEDS SOMEONE WITH THIS KIND OF TALENT. I BELIEVE IT WILL TAKE A LOT OF PATIENCE AND TIME BEFORE THIS PUPPY COMES AROUND. SINCE HE HAS NOT BEEN AROUND CHILDREN THE BREEDER HAS SUGGESTED HE BE IN A QUIET HOME. HIS ADOPTION FEE IS $50.00 AND YOU WILL GET HIS MEDICAL RECORD FROM OHIO ALONG WITH HIS RABIES TAG. I WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH THE BREEDER’S EMAIL AND TELEPHONE NUMBER AS WELL AS THE VET’S TELEPHONE NUMBER IF YOU WANT TO SPEAK WITH THEM.

Emails were sent. Nothing. Our intake director and another board member managed to get in touch with the poster using the telephone number from the original email. Several long discussions were had. The woman seemed genuinely interested in surrendering the pup to rescue instead of selling him. We had a foster home all set up who was willing and able to work with him for however long it would take to get him socialized, healthy and happy. A transport time was arranged. And then canceled. And then… the board members talking to the owner received the following email from her.

I AM SORRY BUT I AM NOT GIVING THE DOG AWAY TO YOU. INSTEAD I WILL BE WORKING WITH SOMEONE WHO WILL SOCIALIZE THE DOG. IT IS A GREAT GIMICK TO TAKE A PURE BRED DOG AND GET SOMEONE TO PAY YOU FOR IT AND NOT PAY THE OWNER. I ALREADY LOST MONEY ON THIS DOG AND MY HUSBAND WAS ASTONISHED THAT PEOPLE ACTUALLY GIVE THEIR DOGS TO YOU FOR YOU IN TURN TO MAKE MONEY ON. PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT ME AGAIN UNDER ANY CONDITIONS.

How do you explain to someone like this what rescue is all about? She thinks we’re scamming her and she doesn’t want to hear anything we have to say. Explaining how much time, effort and money we spend on our dogs - and how little of it we get back in adoption fees - won’t mean anything if she thinks we’re liars and crooks. She didn’t research the breed or the breeder before buying the dog, so why would she research rescue in general or our organization in particular now?

The sad part is that it’s the dog who will lose out in this situation. If anyone has any ideas, I’d love to hear them.

One our volunteers created this nifty widget that anyone can use to show off our adoptable dogs. Check it out! You can add this to your site too by clicking “share” in the bottom right corner.

Thanks to Snick’s virtual buddy, and fellow NYC Shiba meetup member, Higgs for this great idea!

On April 26th, NYC Shiba Rescue took in two Shiba Inus from a shelter in Kentucky. When their transport arrived, it was decided that both dogs should go straight to the vet and they’ve been boarded there ever since.

Bea is about 12 years old and lived her entire life on the end of a chain before being left at a high kill shelter. She was severely underweight, starved for affection, and had hookworms. You can read more about Bea and see her before and after pictures on her blog page.

Rusty is about 4 years old. He had kennel cough when he arrived, but he’s all better now. Rusty is soooo very sweet. You can read more about Rusty and see his before and after pictures on his blog page.

In addition to paying for their boarding and veterinary treatment to date, we still need to have Rusty neutered and both dogs REALLY need their teeth cleaned. This is going to be a BIG vet bill and NYCSR could really use help paying it.

If you’re able to make a donation to help us cover the bill and continue saving Shibas, please do.

• Donate through Google Checkout (use the donate now button on the top right)
• Donate through our Facebook Cause (does not require a fb account)
• Join our Facebook Cause (does require a fb account)

NYC Shiba Rescue, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Your donations are fully tax-deductible and will be used to help us fulfill our mission. Please also consider asking your employer to match your donation if they have a matching program. Match qualification forms should be sent to NYC Shiba Rescue, 200 West 39th St. #192, NYC 10018.

Something I did not know until last week… this is National Dog Bite Prevention Week. I received an email asking if I would blog about it and at first I thought "I’m not a dog trainer. What do I know about dog bite prevention?" Then I realized, it isn’t about training dogs so much as it is about training people and I do know a little about preventing dog bites!

First off, the statistics… according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention each year, 800,000 Americans seek medical attention for dog bites; half of these are children. Of those injured, 386,000 require treatment in an emergency department and about a dozen die. The rate of dog bite-related injuries is highest for children ages 5 to 9 years, and the rate decreases as children age. Almost two thirds of injuries among children ages four years and younger are to the head or neck region.

Educating Dogs to Prevent Biting

One thing I’ve learned for sure in this past year with NYC Shiba Rescue… most dogs bite because they were not raised, trained and socialized properly by the humans who were supposedly their caretakers. We’ve had a few tough cases that we’ve taken into NYCSR and we’ve rehabilitated each one of them.

Our first, and most serious, was Ella. Her name was Sheba when she arrived. She was less than a year old and had lived in the basement of her "home" for most of her short life after being purchased from a pet store as a Christmas gift for children. Ella had serious resource guarding issues and was also a fear biter. The worst part was that we couldn’t figure out her fear triggers, so training her was challenging. With the help of a great trainer and several amazing foster homes though, Ella learned SELF CONTROL and SELF CONFIDENCE and after about 8 months with NYCSR she was adopted out to a wonderful couple who have continued her training very successfully. You can read more about Ella here.

Our latest case, is my little foster dog Penny. She was surrendered to NYCSR because she was an ankle and foot biter, snapped at visitors in the home and pretty much tried to bite anyone if startled. Her owner was going to put her to sleep if we didn’t take her. When I met her, I saw PURE FEAR in her face… not aggression! She’s been living with Snick and me for about a month now. She learned very quickly that we will protect her from the scary world and she stopped trying to bite everyone. I’ve been introducing her slowly to the things she fears (really big dogs, men who move toward her quickly, things that roll on the sidewalk) and she makes HUGE improvements every day. Now there is one less biter in the world! You can read more about Penny here.

Educating Humans to Prevent Dog Bites

Of course, the flip side of socializing and training dogs correctly is socializing and training humans correctly. Kids need to learn

• to treat dogs humanely, so they don’t become fear biters, and
• to approach strange dogs with respect and caution.

A lot of kids are not raised around dogs or, even worse, are raised in neighborhoods where the only dogs they see have been trained to fight and/or protect. How can these children be raised with a respect for, and appreciation of, dogs? Is there a way to teach them that dogs are living beings who deserve to be treated with kindness? How can they know what wonderful companions well-trained dogs can be if they are never exposed to them? This is where a good humane education program can help.

Our school system, unfortunately, is asked to take up a lot of slack these days - teaching so many lessons that ideally would be taught by extended families and neighbors - and humane education is on the list. Snickers and I recently became a Delta Society Pet Partners team, specifically so we could get involved in humane education. When Snickers and I walk around midtown Manhattan, we get mixed reactions from children on the sidewalks. Most kids react appropriately - neutrally - and will ask if he is friendly if they want to pet him. Some are afraid of him and will freak out trying to avoid him. (This, of course, makes him notice them and try to check them out.) A few will simply reach out to touch him without any warning. I never let that slide. I immediately stop them, get on eye level with them, and explain that reaching for a strange dog can get them bitten. They usually jump back at that point and then I explain that SNICKERS is friendly and they can pet him if they approach him nicely, but that doesn’t mean ALL dogs are friendly. Then I ask "what if he weren’t so friendly and you reached out without asking and he BIT YOU?" That’s when their parents invariably chime in and agree with me. (Although, once, a woman got really upset with me when I started talking to her son, but it was only because she didn’t see that he had tried to grab Snickers as we walked by. When I told her why I stopped, she thanked me for being understanding and helped me talk to her son about asking permission and petting nice.)

As Pet Partners, Snick and I spend one morning per week visiting three separate classrooms. The students range in age from about 4 to 9 and they are following a curriculum created by the ASPCA. Last week was our second visit and their first lesson, entitled "May I Pet Your Dog." During our visit, the students took turns approaching us, asking politely if they could pet Snickers, and then approaching him gently. There were a few students who were especially afraid and Snickers laid down for them. When we go tomorrow, we’re going to review that lesson and then let the children interact more with him. As the lessons progress, they will get to groom him, feed him, walk him, and play with him. I think this kind of exposure to animals is incredibly important in avoiding both dog bites and animal abuse.

Dog Bite Prevention Tips

Susan Daffron, the founder of the National Association of Pet Rescue Professionals, has these
great tips to help children avoid dog bites. Read the rest of this entry »

Rescue, that is.

As you all know, I’m just a bit involved in NYC Shiba Rescue. You may or may not know that my sister, Debbie, had the rescue bug long before I did. She fosters and transports for Above and Beyond English Setter Rescue and she is also a moderator for the online transport community, Drive for Life. If it weren’t for Debbie, I never would have survived my first foray into rescue - saving Kaos from Miami Dade Animal Services and bringing her home to the northeast.

Even Miss ~T~ (jaqi now for those of you not in the know) has done her part in the past by donating a few drawings to raise money for Animal Haven Shelter.

Well, this weekend, T went on her first rescue transport. In Florida. Who was driving? None other than her father, my ex-hubby. They picked up three Shibas from a surrendering owner and drove them over 150 miles north to meet the next driver in the transport.

Rescue. It’s a family affair. Let’s spread it around.

We have a new little foster dog, Penny. She makes the fourth confused Shiba girl that has moved in to Snick’s territory. (Counting? Secret, Shayna, Lola - who didn’t stay long - and now Penny.) I’ll write more about Penny in a day or two… the point is that watching Penny and Snick made me realize what a great host and teacher Snickers has become.

To add to that feeling of pride, when I opened the mailbox today, mine and Snick’s Delta Society Pet Partner IDs were in there! We are registered Pet Partners now. I’m excited because that means Snickers can go into the public schools. We’re one step closer to my goal of being involved in humane education.

Good boy Snickers.

And not just on the humans who do it.

When I speak with one of my partners in NYCSR in particular, the topic of our own dogs comes up a lot. We both have male Shibas that are at the centers of our canine universes. Or, at least, they WERE until we started NYCSR. These days, the rescue seems to be center of everything except the time I spend to earn a paycheck. It has taken over my social time, my SLEEP time, and, yes, my time with Snickers. I notice myself taking shorter and shorter walks with him, working longer hours at the office and at home, and sleeping later in the mornings when I should be walking him.

Yesterday another rescue person that I know was listing all the poor dogs that had been through her rescue in the last few weeks and then said

In all this, my Min Pin was neglected by me - not meaning to - and he died this Friday past… the 14th. Sometimes in rescue you neglect your babies without meaning to. I will never forgive myself… I never will…

Now, he didn’t die of neglect or abuse of course. Today she said

I am still crying and totally heartbroken. He was old, fragile, and very sweet. Had I not been so crazy busy I would have secluded him and given more gentle touch and love….

Now he’s gone and she’s full of sadness and regrets.

This morning I woke up late - again - showered, dressed and RUSHED Snickers through a quick walk. This one was even faster than usual because it was raining outside. When we got home, Snickers was very excited and I realized it was because we normally play in the apartment after our walk if it is raining. I was almost late for work already though and Snick had peed… I had to go. I change clothes, threw on my coat and gave Snick his "bye bye" treats. He was watching me the whole time, like "what are you doing?" As soon as I headed for the door, he started to whimper. When the door closed behind me, he started to howl. It only took a second for me to realize that I had disappointed him and that I’ve been doing that much too often lately.

Well, no more. The rescue can have my sleep time and it can have my social time, but it can not have my Snickers time any more!

Why did I not choose an easier breed to fall in love with and start a rescue for?? It’s bad enough that a majority of dogs (mixed and purebreds) that come into shelters and rescue are under-socialized and under-trained, but combine that with the Shiba Inu tendency to be dog aggressive (a lot) if they aren’t super socialized as puppies and… OY! SHIBAS!

Our need to play musical foster dogs never seems to end… it seems like someone is always trying to give us another otherwise-perfect-but-very-dog-aggressive Shiba. <sigh>

cross-posted from NYCSR’s blog

OK, first off, I have to say that the sound of two Shibas merrily destroying roasted lamb bones is almost as soothing as a stable full of horses chomping on their feed.
Today is Shay’s birthday. She’s THREE today. My special birthday present to her is… a brand new, wonderful, forever home! The main reason we’ve had Shayna as long as we have is because I took her off the available list over the holidays while I contemplated adopting her myself. It was a TOUGH decision because Snick and I are very attached to her and she’s clearly attached to us too. I finally decided that I’m too busy at this point in my life to give two dogs all the attention and training they need though. Shayna is sooooo affectionate, too; she needs a lot of loving from her humans, so I decided to find her a home where she would be LAVISHED with all the affection she could possibly ask for.

We’ve received a lot of applications for Shayna and one really jumped out at me a few weeks ago. After getting through the approval process, they came over this past weekend and spent several hours getting to know her. She was a little overwhelmed by all the attention and kept checking in with me, but she was definitely warming up to them by the time they left. I love that they understand it will take time for her to adjust to a new home and they’ve been asking me all the right questions about how to help her with the transition.

So, this Sunday I will be driving her to her forever family in NJ.

Happy Third Birthday Shayna. Snick and I will love you forever.

NYC Shiba Rescue, Inc. (NYCSR) is participating in Super Pet Expo this coming weekend. We will be there to help educate the public regarding purebred rescue in general and Shiba Inu rescue in particular. Education is an important part of our mission, so this event is a key step for us. In addition to educating consumers about breed rescue, we hope to also recruit new foster homes and raise funds for NYCSR!!!

If you will be - or can be - anywhere near Edison this weekend (Friday 4pm to 9pm, Saturday 10am to 8pm, Sunday 10am to 5pm), please stop by to say hello.

Super Pet Expo takes place in the NJ Convention & Exposition Center in Edison, NJ, and 20,000 people are expected to visit during the three day event. Visitors will be able to peruse 200+ exhibitors and will be inspired and educated by wildlife and pet presentations including:
- Ultimate Air Dogs. Led by former Major League Baseball player Milt Wilcox and his dog Sparky. Dogs run at speeds in excess of 25 miles per hour leaping into a 30,000-gallon swimming pool. Prizes are awarded for distance and height.
- Faith, The Biped Dog. Disabled since birth, Faith is a ‘You Tube’ favorite because of her amazing ability to walk on two legs.
- Pony rides, alpacas and more!

Visit superpetexpo.com for directions and for all show details including a list of all entertainers and demonstrations.

Snickers and I will be there the whooooole time (egads!) and we hope to see lots and lots of you there too!

Well… I’ve decided not to keep her. As much as Snick and I love her, I can’t handle - or afford - another full time dog. Shayna isn’t getting the leash training or the attention that she needs. I realized my primary reason for wanting to keep her was to keep Snickers company and that just isn’t enough of a reason. If there was another human in the house to give Shayna the kind of loving she wants, I would find a way to make the money piece work, but there isn’t. When I have more time for another dog, then Snick and I will adopt a friend for him, but not right now. In the meantime, we will find Shayna an awesome home and we’ll foster every now and then (with sanity breaks for me in between).

Get ‘em while they’re hot! This is our first venture into fund raising. Please help us NOT crash and burn. (Click the preview below to visit the NYCSR Shop and buy yours today.)

OK, so I have a dilemma now. I’ve been through the pre-adoption process with two different adopters for Shayna so far and they’ve both fallen apart at the last minute. The first had a family emergency and the second found out they are about to be uprooted by the military.

Of course, Snick and I have become more attached to Shay every day and vice versa. Most of you remember how upset Snick was after ~T~ and Secret moved out? Well, he’s loving having a buddy around every day again! A few mornings ago I was watching the two of them tear around the dog run so fast that both their tails were sticking out behind them and laughing at how much they enjoy each other. I started thinking maybe I should adopt her!

A couple nights ago, I took Shay to my friend lulu’s for a test run sleepover because it looks like I’ll still have her when Snick and I are supposed to be in Indianapolis for Christmas. lulu signed up as a temporary foster and said she’d keep Shay while I’m gone, so we were testing to see how lulu’s dog feels about that. lulu emailed me the next morning and said

She sat in front of the door for about an hour after you left. Then she curled up on the couch and went to sleep. she misses you and you can tell she doesn’t know why you left her here.

and then in reply to my reply a little while later

She wouldn’t sleep with me. I put her in the bed, but she got out. She slept on the couch. At the dog run, she sat at the fence and looked for you guys. I think it would be good if you adopted her. She’s very attached.

I keep bouncing the pros and cons around in my head and I just can’t figure out what the best decision would be. Please help me decide!

I think, if it were just about me and my own convenience, I wouldn’t do it. However, when I think of both Snickers and Shayna, I want to do it. Snick is very happy with a pal and Shay is obviously very happy living with us! Someone emailed me yesterday and said "Shayna was unhappy where she was and now she is happy and content. I would say go for it!!!" That makes sense. Yesterday I was leaning towards doing it. Today I am leaning towards not doing it. What do you guys think? At the very least, please vote. I’d love to see your comments or email on the subject also!

I have to show you these photos of Snick and Shay. They love each other!

Besides, you can’t go wrong with cute doggy pictures when you have nothing to blog about.

I was crating Shayna at night and whenever I wasn’t home until she and Snick got to know each other better (and stopped fighting). Friday night, I let her sleep outside the crate for the first time. After I went to bed, Snick joined me as usual and a few minutes later Shayna hopped up on the bed too. I thought Snick might chase her off, but he didn’t. She’s done well… she stays on the opposite side of the bed from Snick and he doesn’t seem to mind. I had to go out a couple times without them today so I left them alone in the apartment with her out of her crate and that went well too. So, tomorrow, I’ll leave her out all day when I go to work. I think they’re fine. I took her bed out of her crate and put it by Snick’s (because she was stealing his bed when she wasn’t crated), so now they’re happily curled up side-by-side in their beds!

Snickers and I have our first NYCSR foster dog! Shayna was surrendered by her owner because she didn’t like sharing her home with puppies. (Her owner had other dogs that had puppies recently.) Shayna was apparently very unhappy and needed a place to live where she felt more comfortable. She’s definitely comfortable living with me!
And, as my friend Judith said when she met her yesterday… “She’s certainly Shayna!” (Shayna means beautiful in Yiddish and she is, indeed, quite beautiful.)

I have joked for a long time that Snickers is the Shiba Ambassador to NYC because so many people stop me on the street to find out what kind of dog he is. I have talked to people from all over the world about Shiba Inus.

Snick took his ambassadorial duties to the next level a couple weeks ago by deigning to be fawned over by hundreds of people at the AKC’s Responsible Dog Ownership Day in Madison Square Park. He was an incredibly good and patient boy and I couldn’t have been more proud of him. I’m so lucky to be owned by such a great dog.

 

To read more about what a successful event this was, please visit NYC Shiba Rescue’s blog.

It takes forever to get a Petfinder account (when you’re as busy as I am).

If the window below doesn’t show a list of dogs, hit the “go” button and they’ll show up. No idea why it’s doing that…

This was Keiko. She was meant to be NYC Shiba Rescue’s ninth foster dog.

One week ago, I received an email… a real estate appraiser upstate had been to appraise a home and while she was there she saw a dog hiding under the house. Keiko was a four year old, female, red "wooly" Shiba. The owner of the home was being put into an assisted living facility by her daughter. The daughter was buying the home and Keiko was slated to be put to sleep. When the appraiser drove around to the back on her way out, Keiko came out to say hello.

 

Believe it or not, even though this was almost 200 miles away, NYCSR has a shelter contact nearby AND we were about to receive a dog from them. Said wonderful shelter contact agreed to evaluate Keiko for us. We contacted the daughter who agreed to let us help find Keiko a home and she put us in touch with her mother, Keiko’s owner. The evaluation took place last weekend and her owner asked us to “please find her a good home with a big yard.” Keiko was a sweet dog, although a little leery of the evaluator’s dog. The only problem we foresaw was that Keiko had never been leash trained. We were determined to take care of her though and a transport for both dogs was scheduled for tonight. We were making plans to take turns teaching Keiko to walk nice on a leash and then find her a great new home.

NYCSR’s Intake Director contacted Keiko’s owner yesterday morning to confirm the details, only to find out that her daughter had taken Keiko to be put to sleep the day before.

They said they would rather she be dead than not know if she was in a good home. How anyone could be so self-centered and have so little regard for the life of another being, I just don’t understand.

I’m so sorry Keiko. Rest in peace.

If anyone out there is willing and able to foster dogs in the NYC metropolitan area, please contact me. NYC Shiba Rescue is getting dogs faster than we are getting fosters. We have four dogs in foster care right now and two more on the way in the next couple days. Especially needed right now - foster homes with no dogs or only a female dog currently in the home. Long term (indefinite), short term, with dogs, without dogs, whatever… if you can help, please contact me. If you live elsewhere, but know someone that might be able to help, please drop them an email and send them to this post to get in touch with me. THANKS!!!

NYC Shiba Rescue has three new dogs in foster care as of this weekend and at least one, maybe two, more coming this week. I wish I could buy a farm and start a Shiba Sanctuary.

Three dogs coming into foster care this weekend.

Nervous breakdown being held at bay. Barely.

One of my partners and I have a running commentary in IM now about staying balanced (family, rescue, job, etc.). A couple days ago we had a conversation that went like this…

me: deep breath
zee: ommmm
me: bigger deep breath!
zee: inu balance ommmm
me: LOL!!!!

It actually helped!

NYC Shiba Rescue has been around for less than a month and we just took in our third foster dog, Sabrina. Surely there won’t always be so many…?

Finding foster homes - and then adoptive homes - at this rate is practically a full time job. And, in case you don’t know, I already HAVE a full time job. And a ton of freelancing work. And a kid. And two dogs. Good thing I have no social life!
Anyway, you can read about Sabrina, and our other foster dogs, on the NYC Shiba Rescue Blog.

Today was a Shiba Day. Snick and I went out this morning and he had a good romp at the dog run and then he sat on the bench with me while I had my coffee. We went to his favorite pet store so he could shop. After a few short hours at home, we headed to a Shiba Meetup at the dog run in Chelsea.

The meetups are almost always a blast, but they’ve become a lot more fun for me in the past few months as I’ve really gotten to know some of the other group members and their dogs. It was gorgeous out today and the dogs had a great time. Snickers got everyone riled up shortly after we got there and then he settled in to survey the crowd from his favorite hilltop perch. Several people commented on "king of the mountain" and "pack leader"" demeanor at the meetups, which I find amusing because one of the guys at our regular dog run calls him the Mayor. He has that attitude everywhere.

I was talking with several people during the course of the meetup about how the meetup group, and then the rescue group, got started and, of course, I blame it all on Snickers. He tells me to do these things for him, so I do. We decided he has some sort of telepathic abilities that he uses for the good of Shibas everywhere. A friend confirmed the mind control theory when she said she had just seen her dog - who tends to be pretty scrappy, especially with other male dogs - happily relinquish a tennis ball to Snick and then back away. Something is up with that!

Snick and I enjoyed a newly finished piece of the Hudson River Park, before stopping at our regular dog run on the way home. We had dinner with Miss ~T~ and Secret, took a nice long nap together and then, of course, we went for another walk! After all the activity, I guess I was too tired to resist the Shiba Mind Control, because Snickers talked me into starting a team for the NYC Shiba Inus to walk in the 2007 Dogswalk for Cancer. Speaking of which, click right on over to mine and Snick’s Dogswalk page and make a little donation to sponsor us if you can.

Edited 04/15/07 3:15pm to add video from the meetup. (I love that a couple members in the group do these videos… too fun!)

So… all that Shiba Rescue stuff I was babbling about during my vacation? Consider it the birth of NYC Shiba Rescue. We’re a group of about 10 people so far. We’re having our first meeting next weekend. We’ll probably incorporate so we can get non-profit status and also receive the New Hope list that AC&C sends out.

Of course, all that also means that I’ve started a website. There is still a LOT to be done on the site and for the group, but the first couple blog entries are up about our two current foster dogs - Suzie and Hero. Go over there and check them out!

So, I’m supposed to be on vacation this week. All I’ve done is work. It’s good though. It’s (1) getting a bunch of past due hanging-over-my-head freelance stuff done and (2) doggie rescue stuff. What have I been up to since my last post? Well, let’s see.

*Foster Mom Terra had already named him Hero when I got there. Poor Hero can walk but it’s pretty wobbly and he falls down sometimes. He has a terrible looking skin condition, which the shelter didn’t tell us anything about before we picked him up. The vet we originally went to wanted a fortune, so I called my vet and they squeezed us in at closing time. They examined him and gave him pain meds and an anti-inflamatory and kept him overnight. They ran blood work to rule out thyroid problems or testicular tumors that could be causing the skin condition.

My vet doesn’t think he has any fresh fractures but he has a good bit of muscle deterioration and arthritis. Mostly likely scenario is that this guy never recuperated from a previous accident (notes from the shelter say he has a plate in his hip from before they got him) and then was injured again recently. His general health checks out pretty well though except for the back legs and the skin. The vet thinks with some exercise and physical therapy he could build his muscle tone up to compensate. He’s only about 5 years old, so he’s got some good years left in him if we can get him healthy and neutered and adopted out. He’s definitely adoptable. He was an angel for us. He never complained when we picked him up. He walked as much as he could and we carried him when he got tired. When we were waiting at the vets he laid down and put his head on my leg. He was just so sweet. He’s got the Shiba pride and stubborn streak though. It showed through even though he was tired and in pain.

**The vet decided to keep Hero a second night. He’s resting comfortably. He has Lyme disease and a low thyroid. Nothing serious though. Vet changed his antibiotic to cover the Lyme disease. He got a bath and will get treated with Revolution in the morning. Vet thinks with good nutrition and exercise he’ll be ready to be neutered in a couple weeks and we’ll redo the blood work then too.

***Terra said he’s walking way better already and she has him settled in at her apartment. Her female Shiba wants to PLAAAAY with him, but she’ll have to wait.

I’ve been busy. OK? Just busy, that’s all. Here’s a quick recap of what I’ve been up to since my pre-cocktail pawty post.

And that’s just the stuff I can remember off the top of my head!