“Home is where my cats are.”
  – Kat

When I was a senior in college I remember talking to my aunt and saying I missed having cats. We had gone a year or so without one and coming home on holidays and not having a cat to hang out with felt odd. So during Christmas break we looked for a cat. My aunt wanted to get two so they could keep each other company while she was at work and possibly cut down on the chance they would scratch furniture and not be bored. We also thought kittens would be fun since it had been over 14 years since there had been a kitten in the house. Winter is a hard time to find kittens but a woman in our neighborhood had a number of cats she fed and was looking for homes for most of them. They were fairly tame and a litter of 5 kittens had been born that September.

We met all the kittens and chose the two that looked alike. They had upper respiratory infections and Molly had an infection on her left front leg which went to the bone. She has had a limp her whole life from the bone deposit that formed. They were skinny little cats and very very shy. We ended up naming them Molly and Digger after The Molly Maguires and Diggers (both secret societies) because of the fact that they would hide during the day under a bed and come out at night and eat. It took a little over 2 weeks for them to come out and play during the day but they were always very wary of loud noises or strangers and would high tail it under the bed. This was nearly 14 years ago.

Over the years the two have become very attached to me and my family. They are almost dog like in how much they demand attention, make eye contact, and follow from room to room. However, at their core they are still shy of strangers but rather than hiding under a bed or in another room, they sit in a far corner and watch… as if studying the newcomer, deciding if they are worth a ‘sniff,’ and debating if they want a pet from that person. Their morning routine for as long as I can remember has been to jump on the bed as soon as the alarm goes off, meow, walk and paw at my face, and demand to be fed. Their nightly routine is to sit with me, give me kitty hugs, and doze off as I either watch tv, work on the computer, or read. In the time I have had them, I wanted them to be used to lots of handling so they are ok with teeth brushing, tail grabbing, ear cleaning, poking and prodding, and baths. This has helped make them be good patients at the vet. Molly and Digger have moved with me to several apartments and in 2010 they flew on a plane for the first time in their lives and are now cats of Portland, OR, from NYC. Home is where my cats are. They are my cats, not the family cats that I grew up with, but mine. They have been with me for almost 14 years and have been around through so many life changes of mine. I can’t imagine not having them in my life but also know that one day I won’t. However, even though each pet I’ve had was special, there is something about these two that hold a place in my life that is above and beyond.

Rae describes her bond with Ishi: "I’ve never had such a difficult dog to work with. And because of it, I love him on a level that I’ve never been able to love another dog. He saved me from myself. He’s taught me how to be a better person, and how to live a better life.

My girl, Trinka, has a lot of qualities that bind us together too; she is as loyal as the day is long. But, I suppose the challenged ones dig a little harder; make a slightly deeper impression. If I’d only had Trinka, I’d have had it easy. I would never have known what was possible, what I was missing, and because of Ishi, I have a better relationship with her, and my husband, and maybe my friends too!"

He started out as Phineas, a family name that wasn’t used for several generations. But as I got to know him, he needed a more fitting name. I still will call him Phin, but he also knows his other name: Ishi.

I was at my local bank. I had my first Shiba girl, Trinkaryu with me. I was stopped by a man who asked if I had a Shiba. I was surprised because most people didn’t know what they were at that time. I said yes. He asked if I wanted another one! Turns out, he was an animal control officer from several towns over. He had a male shiba at the shelter. This young dog had been hanging out a park for several days. It was believed that he was dumped there. The ACO wanted to find someone who knew the breed, if possible, to adopt him- or at least get him into a rescue. So, of course, I drove over there and met the dog. He responded well to me, and got along with my girl, so I put him right into my truck and he came home with us that day.

This poor dog is a classic example of what can happen to a Shiba under the wrong conditions. He was taken from his mother at about four weeks. He was shipped to a pet store halfway across the country at six weeks and put out on the floor before he was eight weeks old. He was adopted by a couple who didn’t spend any time with him, didn’t teach him anything and I do believe they physically hit him. He had no idea how to behave around people. His already wary nature escalated and he became a cautious, nervous and extremely insecure boy.

I brought him home and he bonded very quickly with my girl dog, who was able to show him how to be a dog. They played and ate and slept together from day one. With my husband and I, it took a while longer for him to gain some trust. There were many setbacks, many challenges and it was not an easy road. There were several times when I thought seriously about putting him to sleep. I hit the wall a few times with his aggression issues which are completely fear related. He also used to have seisures that were “fly-biting”, paranoid type episodes. He was on drug treatment for several years, but as he has aged, he has out grown the need for medication, and he is a fantastic dog (with limits).
This dog won me. He had to work at it. He put me through the wringer. I had to completely forget everything I’d ever learned and re-educate myself and re-tune myself to be more instinctive and more kind to his needs. To see the world through his eyes. Nothing that had ever been taught to me about dog training applied to this boy. I had entered the world of positive-reinforcement and the baby-step exposure training of owning a fearful dog. This was foreign training to me. But during this transformation, I was able to recall what I used to think and feel about animal relationships that I’d had as a child. They were so much closer and so much better. I worked very hard to accomplish that with this boy. And slowly, he decided to work with me, and most importantly, trust me. Every accomplishment forward was a BIG deal.

We continue to make small strides forward to this day. We have a definte communication where he’ll tell me if he’s not comfortable and I can help him either deal with that something or get him away from it as quickly as possible. We have been met by many loose dogs, have been attacked many times by them, and altercations with rude people. Once I learned to physically step in front of him, and take over for him, he could then learn to let me lead him. This was one of the biggest steps that we took a few years ago.

Is it easy to live with a fearful dog? Not at all. Especially since he is a potential liability. He has and could still, bite someone. He will never be a normal dog. He will never want to take long walks and be surrounded by many people or dogs. His world is small and he likes it that way. He has learned to be himself in “his” house and he loves “his” (our) bed. He is good when there’s a routine and he expects that routine. He gets upset very easily. He doesn’t like it when the furniture gets rearranged, or if there’s any different activity going on outside. He will never be comfortable around hyper or loud people. He doesn’t cope well with fast moving or overly-energetic personalities. He’s afraid of loud noises, but he’s become better with thunderstorms and cannons, just from continued exposure and the fact that I am there for him, telling him it’ll be alright.

He travels all over the countryside with me. He likes to travel in the car and he’s really a good sport with hotels and the chaos of road trips. We recently got an Airstream travel trailer, that I’m restoring. Once that’s together it will be even easier on him, as he can always sleep in his own bed