New Years Resolution for 2009

I will catch a squirrel.







I Am Shiba. Don't Drink and Drive.

Starry Night

Last night, when The Woman took me for my evening walk. She was feeling thoughtful and reminiscenced about her days in Alaska.

We sat together on a wall, and she pointed out to me the constellations that she could see in the sky. Orion the Hunter. Following Orion was Canis Major, as all good hunters have their good hunting dog. The Big Dipper and the Great Bear, both off to the far northern sky.

She told me that usually every year around this time, a Chinook would come through and warm up darkness of Solstice. This warming spell would often bring new snow. We have a Chinook here in Connecticut. It brought rain and it melted what snow we had.

The Woman told me that Winter is not yet over; it has only just begun. She said that the Queen of Winter, Cassiopeia was ruling the night and while Orion is hunting, she governs the night until Spring finally arrives. Because the Queen was out, there will be more snow, more ice, and more cold weather. It is not until the Queen leaves the night sky that Spring will come.

When I look at all the stars, it makes me wonder. At night, when my ancestors slept on the farms in Japan, how many stars did they see? The Woman tells me that in Alaska, there are so many stars, it is often hard to tell them apart. She added that at night, you can see the Milky Way stream across the dark sky while here, people will only see it as a chocolate bar.

She said that she would tell me about Auroras on another day.

I wonder what that is like. So many stars. Too many to count. It's like a bowl of kibble that never empties.



I Am Shiba. I Am A Stargazer.

Paging Dr. Cortez

So yesterday was The Woman's last day of work before having two weeks off. I was home resting peacefully when suddenly she came to the house, and called me with leash in hand. Of course, I responded with a stretch and a scratch, and came to the door to see what adventure she was summoning me for.

It turns out, there was a sad child at her place of employment. This Child had been crying about the holiday season and his family and was feeling depressed. The teacher told The Woman that This Child was upset and was going to get him a few slices of pizza (all the teachers got free pizza for the holiday season party) and it was decided that I would sit with The Child to help cheer him up.

So, I made an emergency visit to the school to provide an intervention on a Very Sad Soul.

The Child was curled up in a corner of the classroom eating his pizza. He had his big thick jacket covering himself up, trying to look invisible. But sitting next to him, was The Shiba. Looking quietly at The Child, giving all this attention to the young boy and the pizza he was holding. A perfect sit, with head arched, ears sloped forward- never moving forward but just watching. About every third bite, The Child broke a small piece of pizza and offered it to The Shiba, who gently took it from The Child, and then waited and watched for more. The Child never left his corner; The Shiba never left The Child. After the pizza was gone, The Shiba licked the pepperoni juices
off the fingers of The Child and then snuggled in for a chest and belly rub. This made The Child laugh, particularly as The Shiba stretched Himself across the lap of the child, comically waving his two front paws in the air.

Before the bell rang ending the class, The Woman approached The Child and Myself, and asked The Child if he would like to walk Me to his next class. He did. So the two of us left early and I escorted him in the hallways, making sure that he safely arrived to his next destination. A final hug to me, and The Woman giving a Hug to The Child, we finished our day in her office until it was time for me to escort her on her after work errands.


May This Child, and Everyone Else, have a Peaceful and Merry Christmas.


I Am Shiba. Blessed Be.

There is No Leash Law In Connecticut

Nope, no leash law. Instead, how the law in Connecticut reads is as follows:

"No owner or keeper of any dog shall allow such dog to roam at large upon the land of another and not under control of the owner or keeper or the agent of the owner or keeper, nor allow such dog to roam at large on any portion of any public highway and not attended or under control of such owner or keeper or his agent, provided nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or prohibit the use of hunting dogs during the open hunting or training season."

The essence of the law states that the dog has to be under the control of the owner at all times. This means that even if a dog is leashed, and jumping on people or creating a disturbance of some type, the owner is still liable because the dog is not under their control.

This morning, I am on my morning constitutional. There is new fallen snow everywhere and I am becoming frustrated because my normal spots for smelling, marking, and eliminating are buried. My feet are also getting wet. I am not amused because I can't walk on the sidewalks; we spend most of our time walking in the street. We pass one house on our walk that has a pit pull mix. His people are outside, shoveling their walk and their driveway. He is outside with them.

And he is loose.

As we come around the corner, the father of the family picks up the dog and starts to move him toward the house. We keep walking. There is an elderly man shoveling is walk at the house on the corner at the bottom of the road. The Woman waves to him as we approach. We then hear shouts from behind us, saying stop stop! and The Woman and I turn around to see why people are shouting.

The dog is loose and heading right toward me.

We are standing on a downhill slope of an icy road. There is a dog running toward me, not in a manner of suggesting play. There is The Woman, an elderly man, and the father and a young son chasing after their dog who is headed right toward me. I brace myself for the attack.

And The Woman drops the leash. She states to the family as their dog and I meet, that I am not going to back down from this fight.

And she is 100% correct in this assessment.

The pit bullish dog and I are fighting. There were growls and barks, teeth and claws. The family is trying to get to their dog; The Woman is regrabbing the leash as they are trying to pull their dog away so she can pull me away. This is when the other dog gets a hold of my tail- the tip of my tail to be exact, and does not let go.

Nobody sniffs, smells, or touches my butt without my permission.

This gives me full opportunity to create mayhem. I am now able to get a good attack on the dog, and in the battle, somehow either a tooth or a claw slashes the other dog's shoulder. The pitbull mix may be a strong dog, but I am lightning bolts faster in my ability to run around him and maintain my footing. He got some fur from my thick undercoat; I got one of his legs. As the family arrived and grabbed their dog, I was aiming for his neck but The Woman had the leash in check and I was back by her side.

She makes me sit.

The assessment of both dogs was done, and I was unharmed. Irritated but unharmed. I am upset by the changes in my neighborhood and now I had to reestablish my lordship of the neighborhood as well. I am not amused as The Woman looks me over to check for damage.

As the family walks back up the hill with their dog, the child was saying to the dog, "Bad Dog! Bad Boy!" which had no effect on the dog, but I suppose the child felt better saying that. The father was apologizing, and holding his dog in his arms.

And the elderly man who watched the whole fight suddenly says, "You know, there are leash laws in Connecticut," to his neighbor from up the road.

Yes, but technically no. The point is, though, that they had no control of their dog. He did not stop when they called him, he left his property, and he created a nuisance. I was defending myself and The Woman. There is a distinctive difference.


I Am Shiba. I Don't Start Fights But I Do Finish Them.

And 'Nere a Squirrel to Be Found

It has been raining for days- Days, I tell you- and I once again have proven my stamina by avoiding the outdoors until the last possible moment.

Finally, yesterday, we had a break in the weather, and The Women had some shopping to do so together in the car, we cruised Main Street, and I found myself at Squirrel Park.

There was much rejoicing.

But sadly, there were no squirrels. I could not figure this out. Lots of smells. Lots of trails. But no squirrels.

So as we finished our walk, I was sad- no squirrel sightings but The Woman suddenly became excited- and the two of us watched a Red Tail Hawk fly by right in front of us. While to me, he was just a bird, The Woman was very impressed with his magnificence.

What am I? Chopped Liver?

My squirrel watching was successful when we got home. One was sitting on the wall just waiting to be chased.


I Am Shiba. I Am Driven By My Passions.

Oh The Weather Outside is Frightful

But inside, is quite delightful . . .


I Am Shiba. My Double Insulated Coat Keep Me Very Warm Winter if I Lie In Front of the Heater.

It's a Beautiful Mornin'!

Some days are just better than others.

This morning, The People awoke at a reasonable time so I was fed my breakfast at a reasonable time. The closet door had been left open so I was able to help myself to a toy for a nice morning romp with That Guy, before The Woman and I left for our morning errands.

It was a wonderfully brisk morning. I fluffed out my coat and bounced to the car, excited by this mornings opportunities.

We went to the Post Office, where I was adored.

I had to wait in the car at the Drug Store. But that was fine. There are many People to watch.

Then The Woman stopped by a wooded area that we have not explored for ages. I could hardly control my excitement. In fact, I was so happy that when we finished our walk, there was a Golden Retriever just arriving and I actually expressed "play" to him. Yes, I was in that good a mood.

Then to my favorite Grocery Store where I get to walk around the store and check out all the smells. This morning it smelled liked danishes baking and the hedges smelled like a Labrador Retriever. I rectified that situation immediately.

Then back to the Drug Store where again, I waited in the Car but The Woman did not take as long.

Then Home for treats.

Admittedly, the rest of the day we have been rather lazy bums, accomplishing little and all of us napping in the afternoon. The Woman made up a supply of Ziti which is good cheesy leftovers, and That Guy kept the Feline happy downstairs.

It has been a very good day.


I Am Shiba. I Am Content.

When the Humans Party

. . . the Shiba has to maintain:

a.) a sense of decency and dignity among these wild animals whooping it up

b). watch all food substance to ensure that all food stays on plates and not on the floor

c). protect the household objects from small children attempting to rearrange the decorum.

It has not been an easy few weeks. For some strange unknown reason, the people have decided to "entertain" guests at our home. Not just one, Not just two -- but like multitudes of people on several occasions walked through our door and acted like they owned the place.

And to my horror, I learned that The Woman had actually considered kenneling me for those nights! Who would have kept crowd control if I had not been there!

So for That Guy's Citizenship party, there were too many people to count who arrived. I had to stay leashed to avoid "The Shiba Bolt." Not that I would have bolted; there was way too much food to guard.


No one is paying attention to The Shiba. How can you attend a party and ignore me, a Japanese Cultural Icon?


That Guy Got Presents for his Party. I found this football.


No, I am not giving it back, Thank You. This is Mine!


Then Thanksgiving came and we had a small child intrude into our household, and well as again, plenty of food.


Look, there is all this messiness in My Livingroom. There should not be Toys on the Furniture. This is not very Feng Shui.

Oh my God. He is touching me.




Small Child Now Contained. Everything is under control. Resume eating your meal without worry.

So the parties are over for now but I hear that there is another Holiday coming where I will be showered with gifts and treats worthy of the God that I Am. Now, this is a Holiday that I can stand in full support.


I Am Shiba. I Need a Vacation.