“I Was Just Reading Your Blog”

Today was a good day. Snickers and I started off the afternoon (which is the beginning of our day after all) with romp in the snow covered dog run. Then Snick managed to take me to his favorite liquor store. Yes, I said my dog has a favorite liquor store. Jersey City Wine & Spirits keeps dog treats at the register. I discovered this shortly after moving here when Snickers unexpectedly dragged me in there. I try not to walk by there when I’m not prepared to go in, but sometimes I’m not paying attention and he leads me there. Today was one of those days. Also today, between our time at the dog run and our visit to the liquor store, Snick made a new friend on the sidewalk.

Wherever Snick and I go, people stop us and ask me what kind of dog he is. This is pretty common for Shiba owners, possibly more so for black and tans because they aren’t as plentiful. When we still lived in Manhattan, sometimes the people who stopped us would be fellow Shiba people. (I do this too… stop people on the street to say hi to their Shiba even when Snick isn’t with me.) Many times they would ask something along the lines of “I heard there is a Shiba club or a meetup in the city. Do you know about it?” I would introduce myself as the organizer of the Shiba meetup and give them all the details. Once, a guy stopped us a couple blocks from my apartment and said “I’m sorry to bother you but I’m looking for the Shiba rescue and thought you might know. They’re supposed to be around here somewhere.” Of course, the address he was looking for was the mailbox rental around the corner from my apartment. I told him the rescue doesn’t have an office and proceeded to answered all his questions about volunteering for NYCSR. Those incidents aren’t really remarkable though. NYC is just a very big small town so running into people with shared interests is to be expected!

Lately though, people know Snickers from this website. A few months ago, we were at the dog run and I was talking to a couple with an adopted Shiba. I mentioned that I volunteer with NYCSR and we talked about foster dogs and adopted dogs, etc. At some point they asked me Snick’s name. When I told them, one of them said “You’re Jenna & Snickers! I thought you looked familiar!” That was weird.

We had a moment like that today and it wasn’t even a “Shiba person!” During our walk, someone came up behind us, apologized for the intrusion and asked what kind of dog Snick is. When I answered that he’s a Shiba Inu, she said she thought so, that her parents had a red Shiba and that she had only just discovered black and tans. Snickers tends to be very Shiba-like with most people on the sidewalk… meaning, he ignores them completely. So, I said “Snickers, say hello” (which I taught him during school and therapy visits). He went over to her, greeted her and immediately tried to kiss her face. Upon hearing his name, she said “Snickers! I was just reading your blog!” This was at once very odd and very cool to be talking to a stranger who knew my dog from the Internet. She said he was just as beautiful as his pictures (and he is!) and we chatted for a minute. We went our separate ways, but the idea that I’d just met proof that strangers actually visit and read this blog stuck in my head all day. Neat, huh?

Even better? She made a donation to NYCSR tonight! Awesome.