Spencer recently sent an email to us letting us know how Hanzo has been doing. He told us that Hanzo is fantastic as always. He is getting older though. His sight is limited these days. The vet is unsure as to why.

The vet believes it to be Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome (SARDS) so they’ve made the apartment more “visually impaired” friendly to make sure he is ok. They also took him to the vet to do full blood workup everything looks great.

Might be time to start an arthritis regimen though so another trip to the vet will on the horizon. Since his eyesight is limited now, he no longer jumps on the couch so Spencer makes sure to spend time on the couch with Hanzo and they cuddle.

He stays in bed with them every night so he has a nice comfy spot in a queen size bed. He is certainly not running like he used to and he gets tired a little more easily on his walks with us, but he is still the fantastic boy that came into our lives just a few years ago.

Hanzo is an youtube star:

Tammy, who adopted Brutus, recently sent us a pic of him happily lounging on her bed. She told us that Brutus has been a wonderful addition to her family and that he brings so much happiness into their lives.

We just had to share the pic and we’re so glad to see one of our former NYCSR dogs in his forever home!

Nico (Niccolo) came to us in March of 2009 and was adopted soon afterwards. His owners recently dropped us an email to let us know that Nico has been doing great. He’s a healthy dog who hovers around 26lbs and loves going for walks. Nico has even trotted over the Brooklyn Bridge.

Nico used to have some leash aggression when passing other dogs but his family spent time working with him to curb this behavior and now Nico looks up at them before engaging with another dog on leash. He has a neighborhood buddy that he sees and likes going to the dog park. Although it seems that sometimes he’s unsure how to meet and greet new dogs. His owners told us they are going to continue exposing Nico to new things so he becomes less anxious and more comfortable.

Nico loves road trips and likes getting spoiled by his grandparents. They give him a lot of treats and let him run around their backyard.

We’re always glad to know how our alumni shibas are doing and Nico definitely found a great forever home.

Scooter, previously known as Mr. Squeakers, loves his forever home and has found his favorite nap spot! We love when our shibas are living life to the fullest or in this case, snoozing.

Rusty’s family sent us an update on how he’s doing. He’s been great and they tell us he’s just wonderful. They are still learning things about him as they introduce him to new situations. This past winter when it was snowing quite a bit, Rusty showed them his skillz as he jumped into the snow and played like a puppy.

Rusty was chasing leaves in the fall and now is bounding through snow in the winter. He’s come a long way since he first came to us last year and we’re happy to hear he’s doing great!

His family thought he might want a raincoat for when they go out on rainy days but Rusty didn’t seem to enjoy wearing it. His family sent us a pic of him in his raincoat. He reminds us of Paddington Bear.

Here he is in his raincoat that he may never wear again, just look at that SAD face!

Quincy has been having a great time in his new home. His owners have told us that he gets a lot of exercise, and is the best dog ever! He loves treats and food but he can’t have too many else he’ll be a chubby fella. His best friend, Zelda, and he play a lot and marched in a parade back in the spring and saw Santa this past Christmas.

Quincy even has a new friend, a kitten that his family adopted back in December. The kitten adores Quincy and looks for him to snuggle up against for naptime. The little kitten even tries to groom Quincy. Quincy doesn’t seem to know what the deal is with that and gets a quizzical look but he loves the kitten just the same.

Quincy couldn’t have found a better home! They’ve worked on his door bolting issue, took him to obedience classes, and take him to the dog park where he makes friends easily.

We are so happy that he has a forever home that understands him, loves him, and can’t imagine life without him!

Quincy and Zelda

Lucy and Sketch aka Diamond are loving their forever home! Michele was able to go visit them a few weeks ago and see these two special dogs.

Lucy has been learning tricks and will work for food:

We are glad they have such loving, wonderful owners. Diamond has the collar on to keep him from rubbing his eyes as he is still undergoing some medical treatments. But he’s happy, healthy, and has a sister to keep him company.

Rusty has become more and more affectionate with his foster family. He is much more playful all around and will come up onto the bed when invited to cuddle. He’s also not barking as much as he did before. He wears a citronella collar when no one is home. Rusty has figured out that when he is wearing the collar he is still allowed to bark at a soft level, just not at the full level that was disturbing to our neighbors.

His foster mom discovered that Rusty seems to love the fall season. He likes to chase the leaves as they blow around and tries to catch them. He also will try to play in the piles of leaves he passes on walks. Christine told us Rusty will check out all the leaves he walks by and when he finds one he deems to be “perfect” he picks it up and carries it. That is, until he finds the next “perfect” leaf.

Rusty spent some time with a few other dogs one weekend and got along well but was definitely tense. He also showed some aggression and possession over his food bowl to the other dogs. He liked playing with them but was somewhat reserved. He may need a few meetings with some dogs to really relax and play without any nervousness.

Christine has told us that Rusty is really a beautifully trained dog with great manners. Never snapping food from your hand he will always wait patiently for treats. He is very good with dogs at the dog run.

He has not had any more seizures of any size since the first few they observed.

Kato is doing really well. There has been no change in his weight and his coat has improved.

Kato’s foster family report that Kato is fun, curious and sweet.

He likes to bark at cats, squirrels, bikes, lawn sprinklers and other dogs on leash. He is showing more affection – jumping up on couch with us, he loves to lay in my lap while I’m working at my computer and lays at my feet while I’m cooking.

Kato is vocal at his food bowl – he eats twice a day – he starts hovering around his food bowl earlier every day for his supper – barks at empty bowl – don’t think he’s “hungry” just anxious to get his food. He has several treats during the day, good boy treats during walks, goodbye treats when I leave for work, etc. I think he is just a “foodie”.

Kato’s foster family is working on him with his basic commands like stay and sit.

New York, NY – October 11, 2009 – NYC Shiba Rescue, Inc. (NYCSR), a volunteer group dedicated to the rescue of Shiba Inu breed dogs in the NY metropolitan area, today announced the adoption of the cream twins, Lucy Rose and Casper, on October 3, 2009. Lucy and Casper were actually brother and sister for a short time within the foster program and have been lucky enough to be adopted together into their new forever home in Cross River, NY

Lucy Rose came into the NYCSR Foster Program in late April this year when her previous owners realized they did not have the experience to give her the confidence necessary to become the inu she is now. Lucy is an incredibly sweet, loving dog to those who have gained her trust.  When she first came into the program Lucy had a tendency to nip at unwanted advances from strangers, however with the expert help of her foster parents Lucy has opened up and been more accepting of new people and dogs.

“She’s grown to trust us more and more and she now co-exists with our four dogs. They all get along great and play well together,” said her foster mom, Michele.  “She’s a total snuggle bug. She likes to sleep between my boyfriend and myself at night.”

Proving her strength as a great fighter, Lucy has also recovered beautifully from a mastectomy for a cancerous tumor which has shown no signs of returning.  As of now it looks like Lucy will be around for a long time to give her new family and fellow Shiba brother, Casper, plenty of love.

Casper also came into the Foster Program in April this year as a cruelty case, having lived much of his life in a small room with little to no socialization.  Despite his previous situation, Casper, also known as Sketch, quickly adjusted to his great new life in his first foster home, loving all the new attention and care.

At 11 years old, Casper is a mellow, well behaved boy who enjoys lounging with his family on the couch during TV time and going exploring on his walks.  Despite his grandpa status within the foster program, Casper is still a resilient boy having dealt with an ulcer on his eye giving him some sight problems, diminished hearing, as well as fighting off a bout of ringworm. Through it all Casper has maintained a completely care free and happy lifestyle, definitely doing everything he can to get all the love he can out of his new situation.

“Sketch is very friendly, enjoys the company of people and other dogs, and has no aggressive behavior at all.  He mostly likes to snuggle on the couch with us when we are watching tv,” said Michele.  “Sketch really is a very affectionate boy.  He is a joy to have around and will make a wonderful companion for his new family.”

Casper and Lucy are the 69^th and 70^th dogs that NYCSR has adopted out since the rescue was founded in April 2007.

About NYC Shiba Rescue, Inc.

NYC Shiba Rescue (NYCSR) is an all volunteer group dedicated to contributing to the quality of life of Shiba Inus in and around the New York City metropolitan area. To that end, NYCSR actively works to rescue Shiba Inus and Shiba Inu mixed breed dogs from dangerous environments and shelters in order to find them loving, permanent homes. We will, among other things, foster and evaluate Shiba Inus in order to prepare them for adoption and seek out proper adoptive homes for the dogs. NYCSR also promotes responsible dog ownership by educating the public in the selection, care and training of dogs.  NYC Shiba Rescue, Inc. (NYCSR) was founded in April 2007. NYCSR is incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation under the Not-for-Profit corporation law of New York State and is a federal 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation.

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