OMG, these are the cutest squirrels you can imagine. Unfortunately Snickers thinks they look incredibly tasty. If I am not VERY careful he is going to break one of my fingers and/or get away from me when he sees one of these cuties dashing across the park.
Debbie clicked this photo with her phone when we were walking. Click through to see the next one!
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.
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!
For the last month, Snick and I have been visiting a small school for developmentally challenged children once a week. We visit three classrooms ranging in age from four to nine and each class has about 10 kids in it. Each visit is only about 20 minutes long. One class has invited us to the playground with them for the last two weeks, so our morning has been like this
9:00 to 9:20 - 7 to 9 year olds
9:30 to 9:50 - 5 & 6 year olds
10:00 to 10:15 - 4 year olds
10:30 to 11:00 - playground with the 5 & 6 year olds
I think Snickers has mixed emotions about his school visits so far. Parts of it are fun and other parts are really hard work. It’s been a great learning experience for both of us.
When we first started, a large percentage of the kids were nervous with Snickers and would only reach out tentatively to pet him. He figured that out pretty quickly and would become very still. The kids sit in a circle and take turns asking if they may pet him and then approach to pet him. Snickers can tell who is the most nervous and will lie down and turn his head away from them. (I’ve explained to all of them that in his doggie body language he’s trying his very best to tell them he is not a threat.) I’m amazed at how sensitive Shibas are to human emotions. I feel sort of bad for Snickers too though, because he loves kids and he wants to PLAY. I can tell he is working hard at being non-threatening and also that he is disappointed/sad that we’re not romping around having fun. I feel guilty about making him work so hard, but I think he trusts me enough to know there must be a reason for it.
With each visit, more kids become comfortable with him and we have progressed to things like letting them give him treats (which of course he loves). He’s even given a few high fives and KISSES on command to the most comfortable children. There are still a few that are very scared but he makes himself small and still and they have all at least approached and petted him now. One girl who was scared to get near him a month ago gave Snickers (and then me!) a HUG last week. It was awesome.
Last week, most of the students in the older class walked him around the roof. (They held his leash. I walked behind them holding a long line.) That was fun. I played a little squeaky toy fetch with him in the hallway - on his long line - between classes and that was lots of fun for him. The second class mostly still just pets him and talks. Snickers laid down in the middle of the circle this week while we talked. The third class was having an emotional melt down this week, so we didn’t do much. We’d done some team dog walking around the classroom the week before, but this week they were too worked up. Snick said hello to the ones that aren’t afraid of him and we left.
Between the last class and the playground time, we sit in the front lobby and chat with the receptionist. Snickers hops up on the bench next to me and sits so quietly. Everyone who walks by stops to pet him and tell him how beautiful and well behaved he is. He gets lots of extra treats and love from me.
Going to the playground the last two weeks has been the most fun, because Snick can stretch his legs and also only has to interact with the kids who are really comfortable with him. There are two boys in this class that really love him. One of the boys sticks with us the whole time at the playground - hugs and pets Snickers, talks to him, and has walked him around the playground (with my help of course). This class has asked us if we’ll “come and play” some during the summer term too and, of course, I said that we will!
We were planning to go this week (their last day) but their schedule for the day changed and we had to skip it. We’ll be going back for the summer session though, beginning July 11. Overall it has been a good experience. I’m so proud of Snickers for being so good at reading the kids - knowing which ones are scared and which ones are comfortable. They can’t fool him either. When they are only pretending to be brave, he knows and is very careful not to move too quickly.
If it is possible, I think I love him even more than I did before we started.
Recently, my favorite Shiba mailing list erupted into some nasty bouts of name calling and misunderstandings. The whole thing was brought about by a troll who apparently joined the list just to start trouble. What’s the fastest way to start trouble on a list? Bring up a hot button topic!
Shibas are notoriously untrustworthy off-leash. They were bred to hunt… not to hunt and retrieve mind you; they were bred to hunt and kill. When the Shiba prey drive kicks in, you seldom know what has happened till it’s too late. For this reason, responsible breeders and rescuers always, always, always recommend that Shibas are NEVER off leash except within very secure areas. There are a lot of long time, experienced Shiba fanciers on this list. There are also several hundred lurkers who simply listen to (and hopefully learn from) the conversations. Into this comes said troll posting merrily about walking around with his Shiba off-leash and how she had perfect recall.
The firestorm was unleashed (no pun intended)! It started with people posting what a bad idea it is and why. Some excellent and informative posts were made explaining the nature of Shibas in particular and dogs in general, asking “what about other dangers to your dog” and generally trying to get him to change his mind and protect his companion appropriately. Nothing made a difference though and he maintained that his Shiba was too perfect and too well-trained to ever make a mistake.
Of course, some people couldn’t control themselves, the name calling started and the nastiness ensued. Fortunately, in the middle of all this, a fellow Shiba rescuer (with much more experience than I, by the way), chimed in with a wonderful story illustrating - with humor - why even our best trained companions shouldn’t be expected to go against their own nature 24/7. With her permission, I’m reposting it here for all three of my loyal readers to enjoy:
In addition to the shibas, I have a few other dogs. Tippy was my 12 year old border collie mix. The most well behaved dog I’ve ever met. It was very rare that she was ever on a leash. She was always next to me, always came when called. If it weren’t for the fact that she was a mixed breed with only 3 legs, you would have seen us in the obedience ring. A couple of months ago I was loading up the dogs for a trip to the vet. 2 shibas, a husky and Tippy. The shibas and the husky were on leads and me with a death grip on the handles. Tippy was walking with us off-leash to the truck. Now these shibas are fairly good shibas and generally I’ve never had a problem with them bolting. But on that day, the husky spots something in the driveway. A burger king bag is blowing across the end of the driveway. The dogs bolt and I fall down. Leashes are ripped out of my hand (along with a bit of skin!) and the dogs are off. I jump up, throw open the door to the truck and yell “load up!” The shibas and the husky corner at full speed and nearly knock me down again while they jump into the back seat. Tippy, my super obedient girl who listens to my every word, is completely ignoring me. She is hopping down the driveway at full speed to get that bag. I call her- nothing. I close the truck and run after her (she is surprisingly fast for and old crippled dog!). I catch up with her and she still hops on. I grab her and give her a heel command. She looks at me and turns back to the bag. I had to carry the silly dog back to the truck. Then I ran back inside for another leash. It is the only time in her life that she has ever ignored me. I have to say I was furious. My perfect dog ignored me. It was like a betrayal. 12 years of love and training and I was no better than a burger king bag. Severe kick to my ego. But I use that story as an example when I’m teaching obedience classes. You can be a great trainer and have a great dog, but none of us are perfect. You never know when that burger king bag is going to come along!
Elizabeth
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.
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.
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.
Of course, the flip side of socializing and training dogs correctly is socializing and training humans correctly. Kids need to learn
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.
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 »
I learned what could have been a devastatingly difficult lesson this morning. Snick’s leash broke while we were out for our morning walk. He was running at the time (he does this weird “run away from it” thing after he poops) and the end hardware attached to his collar just POPPED out of the hardware piece sewn into the leash. You know the part where it swivels? Just popped right out! I guess the metal must have worn over time.
There are few things quite as frightening as seeing your heart dog running away from you on a midtown Manhattan sidewalk during the morning rush hour!
Luckily, I’ve done some training in case the leash ever broke or I dropped it. I keep him close to me and then suddenly release all but the end handle of the leash so it feels suddenly loose. Then I drop to the ground, call him, and give him big rewards for returning. I think that’s what brought him back to me this morning because shortly after it popped, he put the brakes on and turned back towards me, instead of continuing to run. He stopped to say hello to two pedestrians, who - even though I asked nicely and quite desperately for them to grab him - just looked at me, looked at him, and kept walking. Then I started calling him and he trotted back to me and started playing the “dancing just out of reach” game. I chose my moment carefully and managed to lunge for him and grab his collar. At most, he got about 50 feet from me and he never left the sidewalk, but I think my heartbeat and breathing completely stopped from the time the leash broke until the time I had my hands on him again. When I caught him, I just sat down on the sidewalk until I had recovered enough to stand up again.
I learned two things:
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.
One of my readers pointed me towards a new blog a couple weeks ago and I’ve been enjoying it ever since. The most recent post is excellent and must be shared.
Please go enjoy The Dog Whisperer Might Be Right This Time at I Am Shiba.
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).
Recall is tough with any dog - some breeds more than others - and, well, I think the Northern/Spitz-type breeds probably take the cake on this one. Ask most owners of a Shiba Inu what happens when they call their dog and they’ll tell you they get one of two looks from the little darling… either “F you. Try and catch me!” or “Why? What’s in it for me???”
This topic has come up 3 times in the past week. Once on a Shiba mailing list, once on the meetup message boards, and just now by email from a new reader of this blog. Since it is such a hot topic, I decided to post here about it also. Snicks recall is fairly good - exceptional for a Shiba really. Here are a few things that helped get it that way.
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. 
A friend of mine just sent me this photo, taken before Miss ~T~ and Secret went to live with T’s Dad.
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.)
So… I’ve had a couple people email and IM me asking about Secret in the past few days and it made me realize just how little I blog lately. An aside to Janet in NC, owned by Teddy: I didn’t respond to your IMs because I was offline and didn’t receive them until several hours after you left them.
The Divine Miss ~T~ has gone to live with her father for a year and she took little Seeky with her. They spent the summer with my folks, as usual, and then went “home” to T’s dad’s place instead of coming home. It’s been a weird transition, since the longest T & I had ever been apart before this was a little over 4 weeks. The worst part of the transition was for poor Snick though. He MOURNED. He’s used to T going away for the summer, but this time all her stuff and her furniture went with her. He mourned her and Seeky for a few weeks. He kept looking for them and crying. It was really awful, but he finally adjusted to our new routine. T came home to visit, sans Secret, for Labor Day weekend and he was SO happy to see her.
So, anyway, that’s the reason I haven’t written about Secret for awhile. The good news is, that my concerns about her adjusting to being an only dog were unfounded. She seems to have really taken to it and a playful side of her personality has emerged. She’s also apparently taken QUITE a liking to T’s father.
And now you know… the rest of the story.
Snickers and I pupsat a couple of our buddies - Benno & Lily - this weekend. Snickers and Lily are in LUV. I got a couple quick videos of them playing together tonight.
Having the three of them in the apartment all weekend has been great, although walking them all together is often challenging! There’s a very primitive feel to having 3 Shiba wandering around the place, even in midtown Manhattan!
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.
I’m telling you, Shibas know how to party and it involves a lot of running and a lot of eating. Canine Cocktail Pawty #2 had both and was therefore a big hit. The running is a given when you put a bunch of doggies together in the huge event space at Animal Haven and the doggie eats were DIVINE (according to the masses of dogs surrounding the table anyway) and were provided - as was this photo - by Culinary Crossing.
Stay tuned. Pawty #3 is already in the works for the fall!
Follow the link for The Misanthropic Shiba, back when it was still funny as hell.
One of my meetup members posted some new photos today from our last meetup and this was in them. Ahhhh…. that’s my beautiful boy.
Our Shiba meetup group was founded on June 15, 2006. Our first meetup was scheduled for June 24, 2006, but was rained out and took place on July 1, 2006. We had a really nice turnout for a group that had only been around for two weeks… 14 people! The group got off to a great start and it has continued to grow and evolve.
We have 185 members and we’ve had 21 meetups so far, including a full blown, catered cocktail pawty and a couple of Shiba-only training workshops. In late March, we spawned a rescue group that has adopted out 3 Shibas already and has eight more in foster care at the moment.
We had our first anniversary meetup this past Saturday and a couple of our members got together and made a video. I was just watching it and noticed one of our rescue dogs (was Blueberry, now renamed Kodi) trotting along and smiling and having a good time at his first meetup after joining his new family. It made me SO HAPPY that I needed to post the video and brag about the group a little.
The NYC Shiba Inus present “The Canine Cocktail Pawty” to benefit Animal Haven SoHo. The first Canine Cocktail Pawty was such a hit, that these mischevious dogs have decided to do it again. We’ll be getting together for drinks, hors d’ouvres, off-leash play time, and a raffle.
What: Cocktails and Hors d’ouvres
Who: All the coolest dogs in town
When: 6pm, Sunday, July 22, 2007
Where: Animal Haven SoHo Adoption Center
Everyone is invited, regardless of breed or species! Well-behaved dogs attend free. Well-behaved humans pay $40 each. For details and to buy tickets online, visit caninecocktailpawty.com
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.
I went to the WORST MEETUP EVER today. Short summary:
Snickers got out of the dog run at 39th/10th once when he was 7 or 8 months old (I was the dumb@$$ that day) and it was a HORRIBLE experience. I had him in my sight the whole time though and he only went a few blocks before someone grabbed him. Today when Cody was missing, we had no idea where he was. We just fanned out and searched the neighborhood, leaving our cell numbers with tons of people along the way. Everyone now and again, someone would say they had seen him but then the trail would run cold again. It was absolutely horrible, especially for his owner who was completely beside herself until he was found. The crazy thing is that at some point he looped around and ran back to the park. When he was found, he was just sitting in the shade across the street from the park! Anyway, we’re all exhausted and thankful tonight. Damn those Shibas. They just won’t cut us a break!
The only times I have ever heard Snickers howl have been when I’ve left and gone out without him. He’s OK when I leave for work M-F mornings. He’s sort of OK when I leave at other times and T is here. BUT if I leave unexepectedly at any time that I would (should) be with him and T isn’t here to soothe him… he howls. He doesn’t bark, cry, whimper or scream. He howls. It’s pretty spooky because it sounds like a coyote is in the building, not my sweet little pup dog. It’s a long, low, forlorn wolf-like sound. So, why am I telling you this? Because I just ran across this:
We do know, however, that howling keeps packmates together, physically. Because wolves range over vast areas to find food, they are often separated from one another. Of all their calls, howling is the only one that works over great distances. Its low pitch and long duration are well suited for transmission in forest and across tundra, and unique features of each individual’s howl allow wolves to identify each other. Howling is a long distance contact and reunion call; separate a wolf from its pack, and very soon it will begin howling, and howling, and howling…
That makes me want to never, ever leave him again!
Ami just sent this to me and it was too cute not to post.
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, 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.
| Mon, April 2: | Snick and I slept late and then went for a walk and a trip to the pet store. Met Foster Mom Terra and the male Shiba she had just picked up from shelter*. Took care of some meetup stuff regarding our upcoming training workshop. Registered nycshibarescue.org and asked my host (aliencreed.com - they rock) to set up an account for it. Went into the office late - a cable was loose in the network closet. |
| Tues, April 3: | Started the day early with a nice long walk with Snick and his friend Puccini (and my friend Liz). One of the guys from work called me because he couldn’t print. (????) Told him to reboot. Treated myself to a couple hours off to have my highlights (love em!) touched up and bought myself lunch afterwards. Spoke to the vet about Hero**. Spoke to the foster mom about Hero. Launched new client site at 2:30am: dealbags.com. |
|
Weds, April 4: (so far) |
Slept late! Rain, rain, go away! Snickers is bored and hibernating. Spoke to Terra after she picked up Hero from the vet. Called the shelter he came from to see if they’ll send me his x-rays. Did a LOT of work on, and just launched, colieandlj.com. Cleaned fridge. Got groceries (but I get FreshDirect, so that barely counts). Wrote this post. I wish it would stop raining so Snick and I could go out. I think I’ll do some apartment cleaning now! |
*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.
A few days ago, I logged into Meebo and found this message waiting for me:
[12:45] Bibby: Hi, I have been enjoying Snickers Blog for a while. I have a Black and Tan Shiba called Lily, she is 5 months old and we just started puppy classes. Shibas are a new breed to me, I had big dogs in the past. i am amazed everyday how intelligent and brave my little dog is and often forget how young she is. I have also enjoyed the links on to other sites, especially about Shibas escaping, we laughed as Lily could not be held in a puppy pen and baby gates only slowed her for a few days.
[12:45] Bibby: look forward to your new piece
I just want to say "thanks Bibby! you made my day." I know I have a lot of lurkers, because I can see all sort of stats on the hits on my blog each day. It’s nice and fun to get a note now and then though.
Yes, I am certifiably insane.
People ask me sometimes how I deal with the whole single mom with two dogs and two jobs thing all whilst living in midtown Manhattan. I usually shrug and go “eh, it’s not so bad,” meanwhile knowing it probably isn’t normal that I (1) almost never sleep more than 6 hours a night, (2) haven’t had time to sit down and read a book in several years, and (3) only take vacation time from my real job when I need to do something for Miss ~T~, catch up on my freelance work, or clean my apartment. Oh, and have I mentioned that I’m also the treasurer for my local, private dog run and the organizer for the NYC Shiba Inu meetup group?
So… that said, I suddenly decided about six weeks ago that it would be fun to have one of my Shiba meetups be a "canine cocktails" event.
Ahem. Yeah, right. Me and my SIMPLE ideas.
On Tuesday, March 20, at 7pm, the NYC Shiba Inus are hosting EIGHTY PEOPLE - yes, that’s 80 people - at a fund raiser for Animal Haven Soho. If you google canine cocktail pawty, you’ll get an idea why so many people have bought tickets already. Plus, this doesn’t show up in Google yet, but we were featured on a FULL PAGE in Time Out New York! How awesome is that? (It looks better in print.)
If it goes well, which it seems that it will, it may become a regular event. It has its own website and I may even have a corporate sponsor lined up for next time! (More on that if it pans out.)
Anyway, wish me luck. I’ll be taking a LOOOONNNNG NAP when this is all over.
OK, Snicks isn’t in this one, but it’s from the same people and same meetup as the last Shiba video I posted. I noticed it today and had to post it. When this happened, I was standing about 4 feet away, saying "Wow, I can’t believe she has treats and none of them have…."
and then they did. LOL
On a related note, the couple that made this will be at the Cocktail Pawty next week so maybe we’ll get some interesting video documentation of that too!
What good is having a blog if you can’t use it to promote your favorite causes???
What: Cocktails and Hors d’ouvres
When: 7pm, Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Why: to raise money for Animal Haven
Where: Animal Haven SoHo
For more information and to purchase tickets online (before March 12), please visit caninecocktailpawty.com.
Miss ~T~, Snickers, Secret and I are looking forward to seeing all of our New York friends (human and canine) at the party!
A couple weeks ago, the NYC Shiba Inus and their Human Companions (that’s our Meetup Group name), held its first inter-breed meetup. We got together with The Beagle Pack. There were about about 40 dogs there and they had a blast. This video was posted by a Shiba meetup member today and the choice of music really made me laugh.
PS How many times did you spot Snickers?
Edit: To learn why the song choice makes me giggle so (and the Shiba owned will get this best), check out some of the lyrics:
One, two, three and I come with the redneck style
cause you know I get paid by the mile, like Avis
I pave this, fast save this, everybody smile. . .
And act gracious
See I rob banks, I pull pranks, sometimes I eat
Franks and knishes - best wishes - I’m vicious
but here I am again like CNN delivery my friend.
Stick em up punk, it’s the fun lovin criminal
Stick em up punk, it’s the fun lovin criminal
Yes we bug a lot and my friends is loud and. . .
I’m more freaky than disco 2000
I scream, I yell, I bark, I bite
I’ll hit you with an egg on a hot summer night
I never let the cops get wind of me
And I never, ever, ever say die
I never take myself too seriously
cause everybody knows fat birds dont fly
A few weeks ago at one of my NYC Shiba Inu Meetups, someone asked me “do you know who owns this dog?” He was pointing to a poor quality male Shiba standing near me. I replied “Sorry, I don’t. Is something wrong?” He said “No, I’m planning to breed my female and he has all his parts.”
Apparently the only requirement for a mate for his female (which I didn’t see) was a male with balls. <SIGH> I’m not saying the male Shiba in question wasn’t a great pet; he seemed friendly, healthy and well behaved. But this dog was not breeding material! His color and markings were completely wrong, he was not double-coated, and he had a skinny chest. (AKC Shiba Inu breed standard)
I found myself in a tight spot. I wanted to tell this person why what he was considering was a very, very bad idea, but I was there as the organizer of my meetup group and it didn’t seem like a diplomatic time to start a dog run brawl. I ended up holding my tongue, but in a way I regret that. After all, as we’ve discussed here before, the solution to the dog overpopulation problem really is education.
I was thinking about all this a couple days ago and it reminded me of an email I wanted to publish on the blog. Several months back, someone sent an inquiry to a Shiba list that I check sporadically.
Subject: Looking for male shiba in NYC/NJ to breed my sweetheart shiba
Hi,
My sweetheart is a 1.5 year old female shiba (cream). She is belownormal size (only 15 lbs) and perfect for NYC size living condition.several friends of mine seriously urge to have a baby of my shiba. Idiscuss it with my vet and she thought it is fine as long as I havefriend to adopt the babies.the problem now is to find a male shiba for her.Do you have a cream or light brown male shiba around the area? Pleasecontact me and let discuss further. thanks…
Many of the responses to this inquiry were blind outrage and, unfortunately, not very helpful in educating this person. One response however was so thorough and well-written that I asked permission to post it here. This is what it said:
I’m sure there are others who will sugar coat this, but as a former breeder and as someone who rescued Shibas for over 10 years, I have a few comments/suggestions.
1. Clearly, you do not know the breed standard for the Shiba Inu. If you did, you would know that the cream color is considered a fault and there is NO brown Shiba. I presume you are thinking of RED. It
