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