Puppy Love

No, this is not another post about Finn, though I do love the son of a bitch.  No, this is about another little dear that has been on my mind since last Saturday.

On Friday because it was raining, I gave my sister and dad directions to get to the big mall that is about an hour and a half from my house.  They had to take two trains and a bus to get there, but they enjoyed it so much that on the way home from noodle making on Saturday they asked to stop off to get some last minute things for people back at home.

The mall was quite packed but we didn't mind making our way to Muji, G.U. (discount UniQlo), Lupecia, and the 100 yen store (the dollar store).  And, since my family is nuts about dogs, we decided to take a quick peek at the new Pecos.

When I say peek I mean that my sister and dad wanted to show us which puppies they thought were the cutest.  And they were cute.  My sister liked a maltese pug and my dad liked a Japanese chin.  While they were both cute, all you had to do was look at the $2000 and $3000 price tag to overcome the appeal of a new puppy.  Although I did get excited when I saw a sign that says if you are looking for a certain breed, they will place orders for you.  This was because on the sign they offered all types of dogs including Cairn Terriers (the dogs I was raised with) and Wire Haired Fox Terriers (one of my dream dogs).  But then again I thought about how far Finn has come in losing a lot of his puppy behavior and I realized it wasn't time for a new puppy.

As we left the room with the puppies (the new shop is HUGE and has a section for clothes, grooming, a dog bakery for dog cakes and treats, etc), my sister told me that there was another section with bigger dogs.  Because she can't read Japanese, she didn't realize that this was in fact a rescue league part of the shop.  As in a section for dogs that, for whatever reason, have been given up by previous owners and who need homes.  Not only were these dogs older and calmer, but they were also FREE!

Next to the section where the dogs were housed in individual small rooms was a giant, brightly lit room labeled the, "Play Room."  In the play room one of the shop staff had one of the older dogs out and she was going through a series of commands and tricks with the dog.  And this is where I fell in love.

Suzu is a 6-7 year old Ame Shiba (a small version of the Japanese Shiba dog- Hachi was a Shiba).  I couldn't read the Japanese so I don't know her history, but as far as I could tell she was healthy and a good size.  Though she is bigger than the type of dogs I usually like, she is not a big dog.  She did all of the various commands with the shop staff and then played fetch.  She didn't bark once, although that doesn't mean she isn't yappy.

Anyway, I couldn't help but think about well she would fit in at our house.  We have a big yard and are right next to a bike trail that goes down to a river.  We already have a lot of dog stuff and have puppy proofed all of the rooms Finn plays in.  Finn is a lovely puppy but sometimes we just don't have the energy to keep up.  Not to mention there are just some moments when I can't stop everything for a game of fetch (when I am cooking dinner, doing laundry, etc).  Suzu looks like she has the energy to play with Finn and yet at the same time the obedience to be a good role model to Finn.  We have often talked about getting another dog so Finn would have someone to mess about with, but wanted to wait until he was older as two puppies would be too much.  I never thought about an older dog because up until now all of the pet adoption places had always seemed so far away.

Realistically, I'm too busy right at this moment to take on another dog.  We just finished hosting and now I am about to set off to Vietnam for a little over a week.  BUT when I get back I might just take Finn to the shop and see if it is possible to at least watch him and Suzu together.  Or one of the other similarly sized dogs. (I saw on the website that there are two dachshunds available for adoption...)

I also want to say that I am so happy to see the pet adoption in such a bright and cheerful place.  I think the idea of having a "play room" is brilliant.  If I had passed Suzu in a cage, I wouldn't have given her a second thought.  But seeing her move about you just had to fall in love with her.  I can just imagine Japanese families going in and getting all excited about the puppies.  I can also imagine dads thinking about how much money that is for one little dog and moms thinking about how much extra energy it will take to train those little dogs. And then I imagine those families walking a little further and seeing perfectly lovable dogs like Suzu.  Already trained.  Free.  Just as cute.  I am so happy these little dogs can get a second chance.

Here is the link to the dogs and Pecos, in case you live in Japan and are looking to adopt.  Suzu is スズ in Japanese if you wanted to check her out.
http://www.petcity.co.jp/lifehouse/parent.html