Murphy went home tonight! Murphy is technically my MSIR foster dog, but my sister has really been the one fostering him since I left Indiana almost five months ago.

On one hand he’s been an easy keeper for her; he gets along with her dogs, they eat the same food, he’s easy going. But on the other… well, this is the first time she’s lived with an adolescent Shiba. Just in case playing "you can’t make me" whenever it was time to go inside was not enough to try her patience, he subjected to her to A Great Escape too! (My reaction when Debbie told me about this? After I caught my breath… "welcome to the club!")

Murphy has been incredibly picky about choosing his forever family. While he was meeting and not clicking with families, Debbie was getting attached to him and he was growing into quite the handsome boy. Luckily, the PERFECT couple came along – they adored Murphy right away, Debbie really liked them, the MSIR home visit went great, Murphy totally fell for their female Shiba – perfect. So, tonight, Murphy went home with his new people, Allie and Richard.

This is the first time I’ve had a foster dog adopted and I wasn’t there to see them join their new family. Debbie took lots of pictures to share though! Here are some of my favorites.

Related posts:

1. Photos of Foster Pup Murphy
2. Update on Murphy

I’ve been personally involved with the lives of many rescued Shiba Inus since founding NYC Shiba Rescue two years ago and I’ve felt varying amounts of affection for each and every one of them. Every dog is an individual (just like people) and there’s almost always something lovable about each of them (maybe not so much like people). I believe there are only a few dogs in our lifetimes that truly steal our hearts though. Some people call them "heart dogs." For me, one of those few dogs was a foster – never meant to be a permanent addition to my life – but she definitely became a permanent addition to my heart.

A lot of you probably remember when I said goodbye to Shayna. It tore my heart out when I drove away from her on adoption day and I could see the confused look on her face. (It didn’t help that Snick was also confused that we left her behind.) That was 16 months ago and I still think of her often. The photos and email updates I’ve received from her family have helped enormously. A couple weeks ago though, I got to see for myself how happy she is with her new family. Snickers and I went to visit Shayna for the first time!

Shayna doesn’t really get along with other dogs, so we were a little worried about how she would react to having Snickers in her house. We shouldn’t have worried though. They ran up and KISSED the second they saw each other! Then Snick threw down the big play bow but Shayna was busy kissing me then and didn’t notice. I was so happy she remembered us both after so long. (She only lived with us for four months, after all.) When she was done saying hello to me, she tried to get Snickers to play, but by then he was busy checking out the house and greeting all her family members! I was kind of bummed that they didn’t do a big romp around the house like they used to do when they lived together, but they were both happy and that’s really what mattered.

After the initial hellos, we took them for a walk together, which they both thoroughly enjoyed. Then the humans had lunch and the doggies had lamb bones that I brought for the occasion. Shayna pretty much destroyed her bone AND Snick’s, but Snick didn’t seem to mind.

Shayna’s family told me all about her life – where she sleeps, the games she likes to play, the toys she loves. They clearly love her very, VERY much and she loves them right back. She looks GREAT. She’s happy and healthy and as joyful as ever.

Snick and I spent about 2 1/2 hours there and then we headed out on the long drive home. This time, when we drove away, Shayna looked content and happy with her family as we left. I hope we’ll get a chance to visit again sometime, but, if not, I’m satisfied knowing I couldn’t have created a better family for her if I had tried. It’s a perfect match.

Related posts:

1. A Dog’s Life in the City
2. Quick Status Update From Snickers

Snickers and I fostered little Penny in the summer of 2008. She was a great little Shiba girl who got off to a bad start (her original owner didn’t train her, give her any boundaries or instill any self-confidence in her). Our relationship with Penny was a little rocky for the first week or two when she came to live with us. She was a fast learner and a sweet girl at heart though and we really fell for her by the time she was adopted.

Penny found a wonderful home through NYC Shiba Rescue and has really blossomed in the nine months since we last saw her. Snickers and I were luck enough to have a playdate with her today. It was GREAT to see her again. Here are a few pics.

If you’re interested, you can read more about Penny’s history on NYCSR’s website.

Related posts:

1. Quick Status Update From Snickers
2. a dog’s day or how i spend my day while mom works

As most of you know, foster Shiba Murphy did NOT move back east with me & Snick. My sister is graciously caring for him and letting him romp like a wild man in the huge yard with her silly-retriever-dogs.

Hmmm. I suppose I’m fostering him by proxy?

Anyway… she took some cute photos of him recently and posted them tonight. He looks like he’s matured a lot in the six weeks or so since I left Indiana. Click the napping Murphy pic below to be transported to more photos.

Murphy should have a home shortly, btw. Stay tuned!

Related posts:

1. Mr. Murphy Has Left The Building
2. Update on Murphy

A number of people have emailed me recently asking about Murphy. (I haven’t been doing a very good job of keeping the blog up to date since I moved. Sorry.)

We still have Murphy in foster care. He turned a year old a few days ago. He’s WONDERFUL. I have three or four applications for him. I’m waiting for MSIR to complete a home visit for the top application and then we’ll go from there.

I may have some pictures to post soon, but wanted to get a quick update out.

Related posts:

1. Mr. Murphy Has Left The Building
2. Photos of Foster Pup Murphy

Murphy doesn’t officially have an adoption pending yet, but I think he will quite shortly. A local couple has applied to adopt him after they – and their Shiba – met him at a Shiba meetup. They’re on vaca this week and when they return the application approval process (home visit and such) will move forward.

I will let everyone know what happens!

No related posts.

Back home, playing in the snow meant bundling up; leashing up the dogs; tromping down four flights of stairs; and navigating slick, SALTED sidewalks (unless it was a blizzardy and then we could walk in the street) until we found a good spot to play. If we got to the dog run in time, we could play off leash. If the dog run snow was already “played out” we’d have to find another spot and that usually meant playing with leashes on.

NOT TODAY!

My city dog Snickers, his sister Secret (who actually started off in the country before we adopted her) and our foster boy Murphy got their first real snow here today. We went out a few times to play. A FEW TIMES. Because, really, all I have to do is pull on some clothes and open the door and we’re out there with 1 1/2 acres of fresh snow to play in. Wheeeeee!

Here a SimpleViewer Flash gallery should be displayed. Click here to open the post in your browser to see the gallery.

Related posts:

1. a dog’s day or how i spend my day while mom works
2. Mr. Murphy Has Left The Building

Murphy is a little lover. Whenever he can, he will get on the couch and curl up nearby. I usually scoop him up and “make” him snuggle with me when I’m watching TV. I say “make” because he only does the “I am Shiba. No want snuggles,” for about 3 seconds (and very half-heartedly at that) and then he settles in for a snuggly nap.

He’s learned really quickly to settle down in his crate and go to sleep at night. The crate is right by my bed. He whimpers a bit, but then he’s fine. When I wake up in the morning, he’s very sweet about waiting till I get out of bed and let him out and then he’s VERY ZOOMY!

I think he’s completely house trained. He hasn’t had an accident in the house since a few days after he got here. During the day, he goes outside every 5 or 6 hours, but at night he’s inside for 10 to 12. When we wake up, he plays, eats breakfast, waits for me to get my coat and THEN goes outside, without any issues.

He’s learning rules really quickly. He takes food VERY nicely. He does NOT beg. He sits for treats, because the other dogs do it, but I haven’t taught him to sit on command yet. He knows he is allowed on the couches, but not on the bed (or the dining room chairs, which he jumped on a couple times the first day or two). He’s learned to take turns with the other dogs when I’m handing out goodies and he’s learning what “wait” and “I’ll be right back” mean!

That’s all of the new news I can think to share about Murphy. Someone adopt him soon. Please!

Related posts:

1. Introducing Murphy
2. Photos of Foster Pup Murphy

Snickers and I have our first Midwest Shiba Inu Rescue (MSIR) foster dog!

This is Murphy (in the green collar in the photos). He is eight months old and he’s been with us for four days now. All I know about him is that he was part of a big group of Shibas let go by a puppy mill. It couldn’t have been a typical mill though because he’s pretty human-social. He enjoys being held and petted, doesn’t mind being held upside down (like a baby) and doesn’t mind having his feet handled, so he’s had plenty of human contact.

He clearly hasn’t lived in a house… for example, he walks to the wrong side of the door almost every time I open one and he barked at the television a lot the first couple days! He wouldn’t take any treats from my hand when he first got here; I had to put them on the floor, but he was taking them by yesterday. He learns fast by watching Snickers and Secret. He’s learned to sit for treats, to be quiet and wait when he wants something and he even started lifting his leg today! (He was peeing like a girl when he got here.)

Murphy is learning FAST about living the good life. He’s enjoying lounging around the house and playing in our big yard. He is very snuggly and will let me snuggle him in my lap, upside down like a baby. He follows me from room to room and he gets super excited when T comes home from school. The downside to all this affection though is that he screams and cries in his crate at night. He wants to sleep on the bed with us. Snickers isn’t ready to allow him on the bed though. He’s also teething and chews on everything, so he has to be watched. Poor Murphy. Tonight his crate will be in the laundry room so he doesn’t keep me awake.

He’s a great little boy and is going to make someone VERY happy. (And I hope we find them soon before we all get too attached to each other!!!)

I promise I’ll be posting more about Murphy soon.

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