Sunday, February 28, 2010

I wuz at least this cute when I wuz a pup! (Probably more so)

I watch this with my people sometimes. It is pretty interesting when the puppies makes lotz of noises! I was born around the same time the "A team" puppies were born and people thought I was wuz one of them when my people mom would walk me! Silly.

Shiba Inu Puppy Cam

-- Posted by Zuko

What came next: That one is Zuko!

I was able to meet Zuko and his brother when they were five weeks old. There was another litter of puppies, all female, who were about two weeks older than the boys and I got to play with them all when I went to the breeder's house! Zuko was bigger than his brother and seemed more interested in people and snacking on toes. He had a little white tip on his tail so we could tell them apart.

When we went outside to meet his parents, I was standing there in open-toed shoes and felt someone snacking on my toes (again). I looked down and little white-tipped-tail puppy was there - he had followed us out from the kitchen! I knew right then this little guy was the one.

When we went back inside, Zuko posed for pictures and I was double-sure he was our puppy at that point! We had his name already picked out and the breeder started calling him by his name.

About the name Prince Zuko: Years ago we got hooked on a cartoon on Nickelodeon called Avatar: The Last Airbender. Prince Zuko is a character in the cartoon who can control fire and has a bit of a conflicted nature early on. In the end, he joins the side of good and realizes his sympathetic inner nature. When you think about Shibas, Prince Zuko is a good fit! The name sounds Japanese (though I do not believe it translates into anything based on what my friends have told me) and was short enough to roll off the tongue quickly and easily.  Unfortunately, M. Night Shyamalan has cast a totally un-suited individual to play Zuko in the live action film of Airbender and I'm livid. The actor looks nothing like what I would expect Prince Zuko (human version) to look like in "real life". He's a good actor, just not a Prince Zuko by any stretch. Also note Zuko was not named for Danny Zuko from Grease. Puh-lease!!

-- Posted by Zuko's people

The Beginning: Dog that looks like a fox?

The website The Misanthropic Shiba is probably what really convinced us we wanted a Shiba. After you read the article, you may think we are crazy, but I figured any dog who fostered such a feeling of sarcasm and still a feeling of such love, had to be the right dog for us!

We saw our first Shiba four years before we finally had the courage to get Zuko. We were at Jack London Square and saw a dog sitting outside a restaurant. The dog looked like a fox in the face and was giving this look like he was evaluating our worth as humans vs. a snack. He didn't bark, he didn't wag his tail and come running at us - he just looked at us with that Shiba look. We were fascinated!

That night I googled "dog that looks like a fox" and Shiba sites popped up everywhere. At the time, I traveled alot for work and a dog wasn't in our plans. We had cats, that was enough. However, every time I saw a Shiba walking their humans in the city, I stopped and talked. Every person I met said something along the lines of "He / she is great but certainly a handfull". The I saw them, the more I knew the Shiba Inu was the dog for me.

Work changed, life was less about travel and more about online meetings and I begin looking at breeders. Finally, the day came when we committed to getting a puppy from C & L Show Dogs! We wanted a boy, and we waited... and waited... six months later, one day before our wedding anniversary, Prince Zuko and his brother were born.



And then the fun REALLY began!

-- Posted by Zuko's people

I haz a blog now! - Prince Zuko

Shiba mind control really works!