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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Rusty’s foster family has told us that he has opened up to them more since they first had him and loves to meet their friends. He greets other dogs very well too and has fun at the dog run and going for walks. He’s learned how to play with other dogs appropriately and read their body language and his foster family has told us it’s great to watch him learn and interact with other dogs. He’s got such a great personality that strangers they run into fall in love with Rusty.

Rusty can get barky when there is nobody home. They are trying to find the root of this behavior–it may be separation anxiety or just boredom. Rusty just got a new toys to help keep him occupied when they are out, a Kibble Nibbler and a Tug-a-Jug. He plays with them when he is a little bored. He does prefer people to be home and has stopped pacing, which was a sign of stress. He’s relaxed quite a bit and is adjusting nicely to his foster home.

There have not been any training problems with Rusty. He previously had a few accidents in the home but has not had any in a long time. The adjustment to the home and his walking schedule has helped this issue. Rusty knows several commands such as sit, down, and walks well on a loose leash. He also comes when called except at the dog park where there are just too many friends and things to explore!

Rusty has had a two smaller and one larger seizure. Prior to his larger seizure Rusty was pacing frantically, drooling, and not walking straight. He walked over to his foster mom and she stayed with him until the seizure passed.

Christine, his foster mom, took Rusty up to a country house in the Poconos, twice. He does very well in car rides–he lies down and falls asleep for most of the drive. Once they slowed down closer to the destination he peeked his head out the window to check out the surrounding area. He was very calm and playful in the country house. He loved to check out each room and the quiet of the country kept him from barking much.

Rusty sounds like he is having a great time with his foster family. We hope to find him his forever home soon!

Sketch has been doing very well in my home. He hasn’t gained or lost any weight and his coat continues to be quite soft. The vet recommends he have an EKG to see what extent his heart murmur is. The last vet we took him to said the ulcer in his eye didn’t appear to be a problem or bothering him, so he recommended we just leave it alone for now. That same eye continues to tear all the time. I will have the vet look at it again when I bring him in for his EKG.

Sketch enjoyed having Miyuki to keep him company while she was in our care. Miyuki was recently adopted, so I started letting Sketch sleep upstairs with everyone else at night. He either sleeps in bed with us or he finds a dog bed or area rug to sleep on. He sometimes paces around for a while before he settles down. At times we have all 5 dogs in bed with us. It’s quite cozy!! LOL

Sketch enjoys his walks very much, but we have been allowing him to hang out upstairs and outside with the other dogs more often. He doesn’t really interact with the other dogs too much, but he doesn’t mind when they try and play with him. He mostly likes to snuggle on the couch with us when we are watching tv. He really is a very affectionate boy.

On walks he seems fine when encountering other dogs unless they are too sniffy in his private area and he doesn’t seem to like dogs that are very large.

When he thinks we’re not looking, he plays with toys and tosses them around the living room. He has this one habit of trying to knock over his water bowl. I think he needs to see the reflection of the water to know that it’s there. I don’t believe he sees out of the one eye with the ulcer and he may have limited site in his other eye. But he definitely does see.

It’s amusing when coming home and finding him all snuggled up on the couch sleeping and not even knowing we’ve come in the house. He’s definitely completely deaf. The other dogs are upstairs making a ruckus because we’ve come home and he doesn’t hear any of it.

Sketch is a joy to have around and would make a wonderful companion for someone looking to give him a loving home for the rest of his senior years.

Here’s a picture of Sketch snuggling up with Steve.

Donna, DJ’s foster mom, told us that in the last month DJ has become even MORE affectionate and loyal to her. He also likes to zoom and do the Shiba 500 through the house. Sounds like DJ is a very very happy dog.

He has free roam now during the day and night, which has made him a better dog. He still barks alot, still working on that, he always barks at something. He does have issues with doors and door ways he tends to get snappy when he is trying to protect the door, doing away with confining him has helped a lot.

DJ still will protect something he deems high value to him, no toys or food, just objects. Donna and her family are working with him on this issue. He has to learn to give and drop things without any hostility.

However, DJ is friendly with dogs, people, and seems to be good with children. He’s also a very happy go-lucky dog most of the time and seems to be a sensitive guy. He shows guilt and knows when he’s done something that is not acceptable. He’s very smart and mimics commands that he sees other dogs do, so he learns from the “pack.” Currently, Donna is teaching him to go on his bed on command.