Foster by Chance, Adoption by Choice

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It's our two year anniversary of when our first and only foster, Goo Goo 2, arrived at our home. Just like all else in life, time flew by after we adopted her and gave her a new name to her new life: Emi. 

The timing for her foster came just at the right time. We had the extra square footage and time for a temporary dog. Looking back, we were lucky to have a well-behaved foster dog albeit with self-confidence issues. In the end though, the decision to adopt her was ours and we never regretted it. 

Without a doubt in my mind, we wouldn't have been able to find such a great Shiba to fit into our lives if we actively searched for one. In the act of doing something good for the Shiba society, we selfishly fell in love. 

Much love to all the foster families and rescues out there. Without all of you, dogs and families would not reach their happy homes.

Alternative Uses for Poop Bags

Life starts to feel like you're owned by your dog after living with a Shiba. One of the things that I've always noticed is that I have poop bags everywhere I go. They're in all my purses, my jeans, and my winter/summer/spring coats. Some even survive a cycle in the washing machine! Thanks to the omnipresence of these little baggies over the last 4 years, I've found some other creative uses for them!

1. Wet Umbrella Holder - Running around in the rain and no where to put the umbrella when you reach your final destination? Not to fret! You can open up a poop bag and stick a small umbrella inside. The bag will contain the raindrops so you don't need to fear when throwing it into your purse!

2. Hand Warmers - I often find myself running out the door in a rush and forget my gloves at the entryway of our place. When this happens for long freezing dog walks, I keep my hands warm by opening up a new poop bag and leaving my hand in them. The non-porous plastic instantly creates an oven for my cold little fingers and warms me up while my dogs figure out where they want to poop. After they poop, I just take my hand out and invert the bag to gather the prize and run home before my hands get cold again!

3. Water Bowl - During hot summer days, I sometimes forget to bring a water bowl to the park when the pups could really use some water to quench their thirst. During those times, we find a water fountain and open a new poop bag and fill it up with water. Pups are more than happy to quench their thirst after we roll down the edges of the bag and we're relieved that they're not parched from the heat!

Hope you all got a little kick out of this post! When you own a Shiba, you also need to have a sense of humour. Even if it's a bad one like mine. :)

Shio's Birthday! + NYCSR Donation

Wishing our main little furry man, Shio, a very happy 4th birthday!

He may have been born on Christmas eve during the busy holiday season but we always make time to do something extra special for him!

We started this blog when he was a wee 3 months old and it's very amazing how quickly time flies. We thank you readers for joining this fabulous journey with us!

For Shio's 4th Birthday and Emi's 1st Gotcha Day this year we bought and served them salmon and tuna sashimi! Unfortunately because they were just getting over some tummy troubles from last month, J and I decided it would be best to cook the fish before serving.

Regardless of the fact that we decided to cook the fish first, Shio and Emi really enjoyed it! Shio gulped down his food as usual and sat and waited for Emi to finish so that he could scavenge for leftovers. Emi thoroughly enjoyed her meal and there was nothing left for the birthday boy!

We also bought Shio a very special gift this year. It's a mongolian lamb pillow from West Elm. Whenever we bring the pups to West Elm, Shio has never wasted time rubbing himself all over the pillow so it was only fitting that he should finally have his own. Shio wasted no time getting acquainted with his new gift!

NYCSR Donation

Thank you all for spending a minute and commenting on the blog! We know that you all have very busy lives and it was nice to see comments from all our internet and blog friends. We raised a whopping $95 this year for NYC Shiba Rescue!

Happy holidays to all!

Happy Gotcha Day Emi + NYCSR Holiday Fundraiser!

ONE YEAR OF EMI

It's been one year (yesterday) since we officially adopted Emi, formerly known as Goo Goo 2, from NYC Shiba Rescue!

Time seemed to fly a little quicker this year. Having two Shibas is really better than just one. Blog updates have been skinny thanks to the extra time spent cuddling with Emi instead of writing. Yes, she is a fake Shiba in many respects! We've also spent much time in training them  and covered under mounds of Shiba fur.

I decided to cease the monthly updates for Emi midway through 2012 because the progress was more gradual and we did not want to bore you with mundane details. After one year with us, she is still a very nervous girl around other dogs. She still prefers to keep to herself and play with tennis balls or Shio. Her true self shines when she is at home with us. There are times where I wonder if she knows her name and we really haven't trained her with as many tricks as we taught Shio. She is not as intellectually stimulated as Shio is and is satisfied to simply be near us or play with squeaky things. We still want her to live a well-rounded life so we continue to introduce her to new dogs and people. I'm hopeful for progress but we will see how things unfold next year.

We've had many friends from the "twiba" community meet Emi this year during their visits to NYC and I'm confident to say that everyone understands how quickly we fell for her. She is an amazing creature and we adore her to pieces.

Thank you all for your support during the year!

COMMENT TO RAISE MONEY FOR NYC SHIBA RESCUE:

We are working on creating a tradition for the holiday season. We want to continue to help raise money for the very same rescue that I volunteer at and rescued Emi from. NYC Shiba Rescue and their volunteers have selflessly saved many Shibas in 2012 and accumulated debt from veterinary care from this year alone, especially after helping a sweet girl named Layla. Contrary to popular belief, the adoption fee for NYC Shiba Rescue at the time of adoption does not cover the full cost of vet care for foster dogs in most cases. It was only after I started volunteering that I realized this! Last year we raised $250 - let's aim for the same amount this year! Every dollar and cent counts and we want to help raise some to help!

For each comment that is left for this post from now until noon Shio's birthday 12/24, we will donate $5 to NYCSR.*

All comments are welcome! INCLUDING multiple comments from one household. We just want you to come by for a quick hello and update us on your lives. The holiday season is always so busy and it's nice to take a minute just to reconnect.

If you've been bitten by the happy holiday bug like we have, please consider also donating to NYC Shiba Rescue through this link: http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/nycsr/layla

Also, don't forget to follow us on on twitter! @shiotheshiba and @emitheshiba

*maximum $250

Love Sick Relationships

The most amazing thing about dog ownership is the relationship that you have with your dogs based purely on interpretation of each other's behaviors. Shio understands my quirky habits better than I do and I always make the effort to figure out what he is trying to tell me. For example, if there is food on the counter he'll sit on the floor closest to the bowl and stare at me until he grabs my attention. Then whips his head to look up towards the bowl, then look back at me. It's very obvious what he's trying to tell me there! There are some less obvious interpretations that can only be known after co-existing for longer time periods. I came home early from work today to nap after feeling sick and found home greeting me at the door. He was not as enthused as normal but I was too groggy to realize. Then I went for a catnap in the bedroom and noticed that he climbed onto the bed to nap with me. Still groggy, I thought it to be a rare sign of empathy from our Shiba. I lightly napped and was awaken several times by his restlessness. Finally realizing that sneaking in a good nap was futile, I stood up and went back to my computer with him following closely behind. I had the inkling that something was wrong the whole time and finally followed my instincts and leashed him up for a walk.

Immediately upon walking out the door, Shio laid down on our welcome mat and vomited his breakfast. He then proceeded to quickly trot to our park to finish the rest of his business on a pile of leaves. This circle of excretion processes happened several times over the next 30 minutes and I took him immediately to the vet for some medication to ease his discomfort. I felt pain for having made him wait so long to go out and realized how considerate he was to hold it for as long as it could so that he wouldn't soil the home.

He is now feeling much better and has been sleeping it off. Test results come back tomorrow.

Shio and I had a difficult year but moments like these make me realize how fragile we both are and how much I love him.