"Doge" is Alive and Living In Our Home

I don't often blog about our doggies but today I thought I would share some photos of our Suki and Kamikaze. They both spent the first seven or so years of their lives in a puppy mill as breeders.

Kamikaze is our white Shiba Inu. She is stubborn, vocal, loves attention, and loves sniffing every inch along her walks. Kaze (when she is crazy; Kami when she is sweet) was brought home to be Suki's friend after we lost our Kara, a puppy mill rescue with late stage kidney failure.

Suki is our red Shiba Inu. She is larger than most Shibas, quiet and docile, shy and lazy. Suki was unsocialized when we got her, and she had to learn out-of-cage skills like realizing where the world ends, how to go up and down stairs, and that she did not have to hide in small spaces and corners.

Suki

Kaze can be very alert and playful. Here she is watching to see what we are doing. She will bark just because she is feeling frisky, and will shake a toy and bounce around the house.

Here is Kamikaze looking out the window when the children are being let out of the school across the street.

 Kamikaze likes her soft toys.

And can be very beautiful.

 But Kamikaze thinks everything is "hers," a typical Shiba personality trait. Poor Suki.

 But "Ain't I sweet" she asks.

Suki is a happy dog. She may spend most of her time sleeping in a corner bed, but every night she comes out to snap at her tail, roll on her back, ask to be pet, and beg for a few treats. Her tail is always up now. Her foster family never saw her tail up for most of the year they had her.

Cookies please?

Most of the morning and afternoon the doggies sleep.

We wanted to adopt rescue Shiba Inus as a thank you to the breed. Our first Shiba was Kili, who lived nearly 17 years and was our son's companion as he grew up. She was AKC  registered, home bred, sired by a champion. An alert, playful, happy, and friendly girl. But like most Shibas she would run away when ever she got a chance!

Kili

Puppy mill dogs live a sad life in horrible conditions, with no medical care, often no socialization with humans or dogs. They are treated like "live stock" in a factory farm. It is amazing that with love and care they can overcome their earlier trauma and become such loving and secure companions.

Shibas are now found everywhere, including in the meme Doge. I see them in commercials even.

But Shiba owners warn that as beautiful and cute as Shibas Inus can be, they are not for everyone. They are more cat than dog: as my husband says, "they come when called...when they feel like it."

To read more about Shiba Inus:

http://jezebel.com/for-the-love-of-doge-please-do-not-get-a-shiba-inu-1498277699

http://www.akc.org/breeds/shiba_inu/index.cfm

http://www.shibas.org

http://shibashake.com