Loki (now Yuki)

Loki has been adopted, and is now called Yuki! –

A local shelter reached out about a 3 month old Shiba puppy who’d been surrendered by his family. They were not comfortable adopting him out. They worried he was too aggressive because he growled and snapped, anytime someone tried to handle him. Shibas don’t usually do very well in a shelters, and at 3 months old, Yuki hadn’t learned he can trust good humans, so it wasn’t a surprise to hear he was acting this way. Confident he’d be a perfectly non-aggressive, normal, Shiba pup outside the shelter, we took him right away. We knew he hadn’t had any training, so he was probably going to be a handful. We hoped to find a foster who enjoys training, and is familiar with the breed. 

Luckily, we had a very special foster on our waitlist. Kisha has a passion for animals and has dedicated her entire career to working with them. As a zookeeper/animal trainer for 25 years she learned about positive reinforcement training, and 6 yr old Jake, taught her what it is to be a Shiba mom. She was the perfect fit, and having Jake around to help guide this young impressionable pup was a bonus!

The meet and greet went well. Yuki and the kitty became fast friends, but Jake gave Yuki a couple growls; not unusual, given that Yuki was still intact. It would be a few months before he could be neutered, so Kisha, her son Gage, daughter Chloe, and fiancé Keith, had their work cut out for them. The dogs would need a slow introduction, lots of separation, and only supervised interactions (to ensure they were positive), but they were committed! They also knew how important training is for any puppy, so they quickly started the 6-week puppy obedience class. Yuki is so smart, he caught on quickly. 

By the time training was done, and he was healed from his neuter, Yuki had won over the hearts of the entire family. Yuki and Jake’s relationship naturally evolved into best buddies, who love to wrestle and play.  Although Kisha and family came into this intending to just foster, they  simply couldn’t imagine letting Yuki go. He was a part of the family now, and they are proud to have foster failed!

Congrats to Kisha, Keith, Gage, Chloe, Jake, the kitty, and Yuki!