A few of you know I’ve been working on a new website recently. Well… ta da! It’s here.
nycgadgetgirl.com isn’t going anywhere. I still plan to use this site for my freelancing. All the archives will remain online and I will probably blog occasional personal and geeky things here.

All the dog stuff is moving over to the new site though! Please visit Jenna & Snickers and let me know what you think by commenting on the first post.

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!

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.

Sorry guys. I’ve tried several times since I got here to write a “now I’m here” kind of post, but my heart just isn’t in it. I will post later, but for now, yes, we’re here safe and sound and trying to settle in.

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 »

hmmmm… How can there be a show with that name and it not be about Snickers???
And apropos to absolutely nothing, I just had to find an NYPD officer to haul the big, drunk guy off my front step so I could get inside with the dogs at the end of our walk. Best part was, he thanked ME for rescuing him from the drunk, belligerent suit who was talking his ear off.

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.

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 »

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:

1. Check equipment regularly for wear and tear!!!
2. Training him would work better if I had learned too. He did the right thing (turned and came back), but I DID NOT. I did not drop to the ground and cheerfully call him with “Snickers, Come,” and then give him a handful of treats. I totally panicked and froze and didn’t even reward him after I caught him! I need to train MYSELF better.

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.

Snick and I Got to Meet Janet Yesterday

Janet is in NYC for the weekend and stopped by our Shiba Meetup yesterday for her Shiba fix. I didn’t know she was coming, so when she introduced herself I was like "oh, hi" and then "wait! oh, hi!" I’ve known Janet online for a few years now, so it was cool to meet her in person.

Even My Dog is a Fire Sign

I’ve always thought it was interesting that almost all the significant people in my life are fire signs (as am I). My parents and my daughter are all Sagittarius. All three of the men I’ve been "serious" about in my life are Aries. I’m a Leo. I just happened to realize that Snickers is a Sagittarius too! That’s a little weird, eh?

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!

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.

• I have a life or death recall (”Snickers, COME!) and a common recall (”Come here Snick”). He knows the common recall is optional but the other is definitely not. This keeps me from “wearing out” his recall.
• He always, always gets yummy treats and happy praise when he responds to “Snickers, COME!” and I practice at random times so it isn’t just pattern trained.
• You should never give them the opportunity to fail when you train recall. Although I despise Flexi leads in the city, I started teaching him on a Flexi. I would let him get way ahead and then call him. If he didn’t turn back immediately, I would reel him in and then treat and praise. Be cautious in expanding their range. When I started doing it off leash, I started from about 3 feet away! First we did it at home and then at the dog run, but only when it was empty. I expanded the distance very gradually and waited until I was VERY confident before trying it with distractions. Add the distractions in slowly and always give big rewards.
• Don’t get in the habit of always using the life or death recall to make him leave fun things (like the dog run). Often, I will call Snick, treat and praise him, and let him go back to what he was doing. I want him to always feel like the reward for coming is greater than the potential for loss of freedom.
• Never, ever, EVER call them to you to punish or admonish them (even if they didn’t come the first time you called and you’re mad). If you need to correct your dog, go to him. The last thing you want is to teach your dog that he’s going to get in trouble when he responds to you!

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.)

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!

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.

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!

Help Snick and me Make a Difference

On May 6, 2007, we are participating in The American Cancer Society’s Dogswalk Against Cancer. As participants in this event we can help make a difference in the lives of our friends, families, co-workers, neighbors, and of course… dogs!

Funds raised support the lifesaving work of the American Cancer Society and ten percent of the net proceeds will go to the Donaldson-Atwood Cancer Clinic of the Animal Medical Center.

Snickers and I are dedicating our walk to two individuals - one human and one canine:

1. to my daughter’s second cousin Gina, who is currently undergoing chemotherapy for cancer of the jaw, and,
2. to Snickers’ canine buddy Tyra who is currently undergoing chemo for lymphoma.

Please join us in our contribution to eradicating human and animal cancers by making a donation. Simply click here to sponsor us!

Thanks!

One of the Shiba meetup members took this picture of Snickers on Saturday. It is a perfect example of him in his watchful referee/boss/mayor mode.

For now, that is all. (Unfortunately, I’m too busy to do the blog justice these days.)

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!)

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!

So, yesterday I spent the day out in New Jersey (AUGH, THE HORROR) at the Shiba Specialty. I got to meet some great Shiba people and was able to love on some awesome Shibas. I learned so much sitting ringside with Kathi Melton of Bali Hai Kennels, watching the 42 Shibas that were entered. I must have been asking her the dumbest questions… I’ve never even BEEN to a dog show before, but she was great.

When I got home last night, Snickers was soooo happy to see me. He even forgave me for cheating on him with all those other Shibas. But then, with all my new found Shiba knowledge, I looked him in the eyes and I said to my darling dog "Snickers, my dear… your ears are too big!" Luckily, he doesn’t expect me to be Cindy Crawford and I don’t expect him to have a perfect rusty black coat (he’s a little too blue black) or tiny teddy bear ears! He adores me with all my faults and I adore him with his teeny tiny little faults!
Today, I spent the day at Westminster. I met a few more people and kissed some more dogs. It was absolutely great. I have to say thanks to Kathi, Valerie, and Alex for putting up with my non-expert-Shiba-ness for the two days. I had a great time hanging out with you guys (and Miss ~T~, Snick, and Secret enjoyed meeting you too)!

Miss ~T~ has a bean bag in her room. She got it from my folks for Christmas about five years ago. It’s gotten a lot of use -double as much for the 3 years that we’ve had Snickers. The zipper is broken, enough beans have somehow disappeared for it to be about 2/3 it’s original size, the cover is looking sort of worn… you get the idea.

So, a week or so ago, we briefly discussed the idea of getting rid of it. It takes up a lot of room and she doesn’t really use it anymore because she’s always at her computer or playing her guitar. Snickers used to play in it a lot, but not so much. A day or two after T and I had this conversation, she walked into her room and saw this… click for the cuteness.

I guess that ends that discussion.

WOOF! LET’S PLAY!!!

I know, I know, I only posted twice in December. Well, my knee is almost healed, the holidays are over, and I caught up on about half of my past due work this long weekend. I logged into Bloglines today to find over 400 posts that needed reading though (eek), so I’m not QUITE caught up on everything yet. As soon as I can stop to breathe, I promise that I will post.

My sister took lots of great photos (including the one above of Snick) while we were all together for the holidays. I will post the ones of the pups soon.

Snickers Then

And Now

He’s all grown up and he’s my "heart dog."

I never would have guessed that the silly, squiggly, mouthy puppy we brought home back in January 2003 would grow up into such a confident, wonderful adult. He is so self-assured and so loving. He’s reserved with most folks outside the pack, but he turns into such a silly boy when he is greeting one of his favored few (human or canine). There is just so much to love about this guy, I could blog about him for years (and probably will) without covering it all.

Happy Birthday Snickers. I love you.

Snick’s Canine Good Citizen certificate came today. He’s a certified good dog. (Secret, on the other hand is a CDB - canine dumb blonde - but we love her anyway.) Just for fun, here’s a silly picture of Snickers at the dog run a few weeks ago. He had just yawned, I think.

I was thinking today about a couple of my favorite Snickers moments that ended up as blog posts. They were:

• Snicks, The Valiant Hunter (or something), and
• Shibas are Fierce

One of these days when I’m not so busy, I’ll go back to blogging about stuff other than just Snickers. Really.

I’m writing a silly post because I’ve been very emotional about Snickers the last few days. I’ve realized he’s really my “heart dog” (a phrase I found ridiculous until recently, btw) and I can’t bear the thought of what I’ll do without him when eventually leaves me. Tonight, a friend sent an email to Shiba-L about finding out her elderly male Shiba has an enlarged liver and spleen - possibly cancerous - and I’ve been teary and sniffly ever since.

So, on to the silliness… this weekend my NYC Shiba Inu Meetup group wore their bandanas for the first time. They were custom made for us by Barb at bandanamania and they ROCK. If you need pet bandanas for any group or occasion - or even just for a single dog - she is the woman to talk to.

Snickers passed his Canine Good Citizen test today. Yay Snickers!!! We went to the My Dog Loves Central Park Country Fair with our NYC Shiba Inu Meetup group today. He was scheduled to take the CGC test on October 24th but they were doing testing in the park and I thought “what the heck! we’ll take it and fail and know what we need to work on.” So we did, and HE PASSED!!!

The one part I thought he might not pass was the “supervised separation” where I have to leave him alone with the evaluator for THREE MINUTES. Yikes! We have a hand signal for “be right back” though, so I told him to sit (so I’d have his attention, but didn’t tell him to stay) and then I told him I’d be right back and walked off where he couldn’t see me. I think I was fretting more than he was for that 3 minutes. The evaluator said he whimpered when I left but not loudly and he didn’t get anxious or pull on the leash or anything, so he passed.

If you want you can see the ten components of the Canine Good Citizen test on the AKC’s website.

Oh, I have to cancel our appointment for the 24th. Hee hee!

Some of them are a bit fuzzy because we were mostly avoiding using the flash. We figure she’d been through enough yesterday without getting flashed in the face too!

Click to embiggen*

*I’ve totally stolen the word embiggen from Lachlan and plan to use it every chance I get.

Snickers knew something was up when we left the apartment. He could smell Secret’s kennel in the hallway. He walked so nice with me to Bryant Park, looking up at me at every intersection to make sure I saw how good he was being. When we got to the park, I spotted ~T~ and pointed her out to Snick who made a FAST BEELINE for her across the park. He was most concerned with giving her kisses, but then he wanted to check out Secret. Secret was still a little dazed and confused and mostly ignored Snickers except to shy away from him a couple times. He decided that was no fun and hopped up next to me on a park bench. As soon as T and Secret walked off though, we were on our way after them. He didn’t let them out of his sight!

After a few minutes of wandering the park together, we decided to walk the few blocks west to the dog run. Luckily, Sundays are relatively quiet in my neighborhood, so the sidewalks weren’t too loud or crowded. Both dogs were wonderful on the walk and I gave T some advice on how to navigate the streets, people, traffic, etc. with a dog.

When we got to the run, it was empty, which was probably a good thing. Both dogs dashed in happily off leash. Secret sort of wandered and sniffed and explored a bit. Snickers mostly sat by me. Secret came over and sniffed at him a few times, but now it was his turn to ignore HER. After about a half hour, we put them back on leash and headed home.

When we got to the apartment, Snickers was VERY EXCITED that Secret was coming in. As soon as we got inside, he tried to get her to play, but she wasn’t interested. For the next few hours, she mostly napped in a corner of T’s room while Snickers napped by my feet. We fed them dinner and Secret ate most of hers and then we all went back to the dog run. Secret seemed much more confident about her surroundings this time around and she and Snick even did a little mutual sniffing while they were at the dog run.

One thing we have to work on… Secret can’t manage all the stairs up and down to our apartment. The stairs are ceramic tile, so they’re a little slippery for dogs that aren’t used to them. I’m sure she’ll adjust. She’s slipping and sliding all over the apartment floor right now too… she can’t seem to figure out how to walk on the hardwood. She’ll be ok until something startles her or Snicks bumps her on his way by and then she’s like a little cartoon doggie suddenly running and getting nowhere.

After we got back home, T and Secret went to bed. Secret’s crate is right by T’s bed and Secret went right into it for the night. I didn’t hear a peep out of their room until I woke them up this morning. Snickers seemed totally OK with her being there. He followed his normal routine… stayed by me till I went to bed and then went and slept in T’s room for awhile and then came and got on the bed with me for the rest of the night. He stayed with me till I woke up this morning, like usual. He didn’t seem overly concerned or curious about Secret being in T’s room.

More later… waiting for T to email the pictures to me!

What a day! When I woke up this morning it was raining. What could be worse on a day that I needed to introduce two water-hating Shibas to each other on neutral territory?!?! Snick and I didn’t even go out until about 11:30, but luckily the sun came out shortly after we went out. I told ~T~ to “wish really hard and maybe we’ll have a sunny afternoon for the dogs.”

Secret’s flight was supposed to land at 1:50, so we left home at 12:40 to catch the 12:50 NY Airport Service bus (which is only $12 to LGA)!!! When we got to PABT though, they said the bus left at 12:40, not 12:50! Grrrr. Anyway, the next bus was at 1:10 and we were on it, happily emailing and IM’ing away on our Sidekicks on the way to the airport. Luckily, when we got there, it turned out that it was an easy 3 minute walk from where we got off the bus to Delta Cargo. BUT, they said her flight had been delayed and she wouldn’t be available until around 3pm. Back to the terminal we went for OVERPRICED (but yummy) pizza and cheesecake (just T) and coffee (just me). We wandered back to Delta Cargo around 2:50 and they said she’d landed, but it would be a bit before we got her. We finally got her at about 3:25. T went to where she was and took her out of her crate while I finished the paperwork to claim her. She seemed more than a bit shell shocked at first - she was wobbly and had this glazed look to her. When we called her name, she just stared past us. T fell instantly in love with her though.
Pet Chauffeur was there to take us home (first time I’ve used them because of the cost, but so glad I did for this situation). The driver was so, so, so nice. He loaded the crate in the van while T walked Secret for a minute. Then we got on our way with Secret in T’s lap. The ride home was completely stress free. The driver dropped me and the kennel at the apartment and swung back around to Bryant Park to drop off T & Secret. I took the kennel upstairs, grabbed Snick, and off we went for the introduction.

You’ll have to check back tomorrow for the rest of the story - and pictures. I’m off to bed now!

If you could see my to do list… we’ll you would likely cry with sympathy.

Saturday morning, I made three lists: mine, ~T~’s and ours. T even added a few things to hers after I finished. It was a very aggressive collection of to do items, but I must say that T and I did some SERIOUS damage to those lists this weekend. I also did a few things that I’d forgotten to write down. What did not happen however was work for any paying clients. I had a bunch that coulda/shoulda been done too. <sigh> There just isn’t enough time in a weekend to do everything that needs to be done. Is that what weekends are supposed to be about?

I also haven’t had time to blog, but here are a few notes:

• ~T~ and I both got T-Mobile Sidekicks (Hiptops) this past Wednesday. We’re both quite enamoured of them. I’ll write about it later this week.
• Secret gets spayed tomorrow, so we’ll be setting a ship date for her soon!
• Benedict and Kaos have NOT left town. They were up in the Bronx for a bit, but I ran into him in the neighborhood a few days ago and several times since then. I met up with him today and gave him Kaos’s paperwork from the vet and got his signature on the city license app, which I’m mailing tomorrow. Plus, he has my phone number again, so he can stay in touch. Kaos looked GREAT, btw.
• I finally admitted to myself that I’m not young anymore… I used moisturizer before bed last night! Since when did I become my mother?
• My list of draft posts keeps growing and they’re so much better than the stuff I actually post. No time. No time. Does that happen to you guys?

That’s it. Got a little more work to do and then I’m off to bed. G’night!

EDIT, EDIT! News Flash! (sort of)… 11:51 PM: I just checked Urban Hund’s website and the new pictures are up and (this is the news) I don’t hate the picture of me and Snick! LOL. Check it out. (From the home page, click into the fall collection and wait for the third slide.) Pretty cute.

A few days ago, I referred to a photographer, but gave no detail. Well, the detail is that Snickers got to be a model for a day (unpaid, just for fun) for Urban Hund’s Fall 2006 Collection.

The photographer, Kent Henderson, emailed me a few days ago to say that a picture of Snickers made it into the catalog! hee hee! I don’t know if Snick will be on Urban Hund’s website too, but if so, I’ll link to it when the fall collection goes online. In the meantime, click the pic to the left to see my six favorites from the shoot.

The best part was that we got to keep one of the collar & leash combos and it is really, REALLY nice stuff!