rider.

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There have been lots of requests for 2012 Our Shibal Inu calendars. Bad news is, I wasn't able to have time to come up with one. Good news is, Kit landed himself the cover of NYC Shiba Rescue's 2012 calendar! You can order this great calendar featuring shiba inus who have found fantastic forever homes. Proceeds go towards funding the rescue. I ordered two :) The year is almost over! Get ready with the NYCSR 2012 calendar!



Is your shiba in this calendar too? Holla to all the other NYCSR alums!

happy turkey day!

[shot by Ve]

Kit, Betsy and honorary Shibal Inu, Henri wish you a happy turkey day!
Gobble gobble ya'll~

2011 Holiday Cards

2011 holiday greeting cards are available in the Etsy shop! They'll come in handy if anybody is participating in this year's Secret Shiba gift exchange :D

Don't forget! A portion of proceeds are donated to the NYCSR!

nite shiba.

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Last month, I dog-sat Kit and Betsy for a whole week while Rain was in Hawaii. Kit is a fantastic alarm clock making sure I was up in time to feed him before work.

At 5am, I'd see Batman's silhouette popping up from the edge of the bed.
"Awake yet? No?"

And then again at 6am.
"How about now?"

And again at 7am.
"Now?"

homage.

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Last week, Natto celebrated the Korean autumn festival of Chuseok. It's basically Korean Thanksgiving, lots of food but with paying homage to the ancestors:





(Photos shot by Jin.)

Shio's Tip #3.

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Shio's tip #3: Aloof is cool as referenced in Shio's blog.

Betsy and Kit got to hang out with Shio and Suki's owner, Jonathan Fleming last weekend! This is what happens when you get guys with fancy cameras hanging out with very good looking Shibas:

Shio humors the pawparazzi.

Check out Shio's post on our afternoon hang out!

good life.

A very belated Happy Gotcha Day to Kit!
Here he is very handsome wearing his present:

I was trying to give him a James Bond look since he's all white but he looks more like a Chip'N Dale dancer ready to show off his pink bits :p

Super thanks to Hoshi Shiba for shopping link!

Kit also received a squeaky steak toy for his birthday:

Shio's Tip #2.

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Tip #2: We are drama queens with a Shiba scream as referenced in Shio's blog.
I've never ever heard Betsy scream. She's a tough girl. But I've heard Kit scream. Big baby...

Q: If you had a human job, what would you do?

Check out this story of the first shiba inu joining the Okayama Police Department!
There are many occupations that would befit our Shibal Inus.

Kit can be any of the following:
Club bouncer, personal wake up caller, dishwasher.

Betsy:
Baseball catcher, spa facialist (as she likes to roll around in mud and poo), sous chef.

Natto:
Playwright, detective, Pulitzer prize winning author, luchador.

What human occupation would your dog be good at?

Shio's Tip #1

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Shio the shiba was very kind enough to offer some tips for first time and potential shiba inu owners. Did you know he revamped his whole blog so it looks super cool? If you have any questions about owning a shiba inu, feel free to visit his site! There are also many bloggers on the right you can check out too!

Tip #1: Don't mess with the paws as referenced on Shio's blog.
Kit, Betsy and Natto are pros at "Nice to meet you" paw shake and they don't mind having their paws touched. But I know many shibas don't like it.

Do your dogs mind having their paws touched?

Donation to ARK UPDATE!

Hi everybody!

Back in March, many Shibal Inu readers purchased comic strip prints as part of a fundraiser to help pets in need after the terrible tsunami and earthquake hit Japan. Proceeds were donated to the Animal Rescue Kansai (ARK).
I just received an email from the founder of ARK, Elizabeth Oliver, and wanted to share with everyone:

-----
Dear Gina,

I am so sorry to be late in writing to say THANK YOU for your wonderful donation. This is just to let you know the current situation and what your donation is being used for. We are sending out regular updates so our supporters can follow our continued efforts.

We experienced the Kobe earthquake in 1995 and in that one year took in 600 animals, many of those animals lived out their lives at ARK, up to 10 years. That experience has helped us this time although the scale of the disaster is enormous, compounded by the tsunami and the threat of radiation from the crippled nuclear plant. Kobe is only two hours drive from here but Tohoku is in the north of Japan, a day's drive away, this hindered too by lack of petrol. Before the 20k zone was closed we had two boys from our staff up there rescuing, visiting local government offices for radiation screening, and then meeting up with volunteers from our Tokyo office. The animals were then taken to Tokyo Haneda airport and flown to Osaka Itami, where we pick them up. As of 29th May, 197 dogs, 17 cats, a guinea pig, rabbit and a masked love bird have come in here. Once at Osaka ARK, they are processed fairly quickly by our resident vet; de-wormed, vaccinated, blood tested for heart worm, microchipped and neutered. We send details of the animals with photos back to the local authorities to try to find owners. Already several have found their owners and those will be boarded are ARK until they are in a place where they can take their pets back.

Japanese Government allowed one or two family members, after 8th May to enter the 20k zone to collect personal possessions. When this was announced the government said they would not allow people to take out pets or animals of any kind. We put together a petition in Japanese and English and a wonderful volunteer even translated it into French. 77 organisations in Japan and another 350 organizations around the world signed it and individuals all around the world printed it out, signed it and sent it to a group of Japanese officials. After the petition campaigns from ARK and other animals welfare groups and a protest in Shibuya they announced that they will be allowing owners to take out their pets and that any animals found left in yards and homes to be brought out by officials. They did pick up some of the animals but the numbers were so low it hardly makes a dent on the amount of animals needing rescue. The government arranged a team of vets to go into the zone to rescue animals, however these are not trained or experienced rescuers and the outcome was a meager 20 animals rescued and they are not planning to attempt another rescue for months. What is needed is for animal rescue groups to be allowed in to catch the loose animals or we will surely have a large feral population within a year as most of the animals are not spayed or neutered.

So you can see it is quite a lengthy process. We promise to board all these animals for free as well as giving all veterinary treatment and care for free. If we have no contact from owners or can't find, after three months, the animals become the property of ARK and can be put up for adoption. With all of this the intake of non-earthquake animals has not diminished in fact since so many groups are focused on the disaster animals many more animals are being brought to ARK. We will continue to work not only for the disaster animals but any animal we can help no matter the reason.

Find below our latest update. We will keep you up to date as the situation progresses.

Elizabeth Oliver ARK

-----
Thanks again for everyone's help!
If you'd like to continue to help support ARK in their efforts to save pets in need, you can donate here: http://www.arkbark.net/?q=en/node/2901

happy birthday rain!

Happy birthday to Kit & Betsy's owner, Rain!

My favorite video clip of Rain and Betsy as originally posted here:

Here's a far superior home movie shot a few years go by Ve when all three of the Shibal Inus were still together. Her dog, Henri, is an honorary Shibal Inu:

the three little shibas.

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This is the last of the fairy tale series. Happy to announce an upcoming new series starring Shio the Shiba! It'll be a good reference if you're considering to be or are a first time owner of a Shiba Inu. Betsy and I got to meet Shio and his person, Ting, at the Canine Cocktail Pawty a few weeks ago. They did not care to be friends but you know shibas... is cool~ is cool~

[L-R: Shio & Betsy]

Wsup to Anouk! And Luna, Emmie the Superdog & Snick! Was very nice to meet such fine shibas!

Last Saturday was Natto's 4th birthday! I'm told he celebrated in Korea with some fish cake and beef bones. Here he is in what looks like food comatose:

[One heppi mung mung eeh - Seoul, Korea]

Happy Birthday Natto!

Canine Cocktail Pawty Flier

Check it out! I made a flier for the Canine Cocktail Pawty that's coming up next week:

Am very excited as Betsy and I will be attending! We are looking forward to meeting Snickers and Emmie the Super Dog! I'm also contributing some Shibal Inu goods in their goody bags. Won't you come and pawty with us?

For tickets and detailed information, visit http://www.caninecocktailpawty.org/

Canine Cocktail Pawty!

Hey dudes!

First off, many many apologies for lack of posting! New comics will be up soon. Don't worry! It's certainly not due to lack of ideas. Shiba Inus provide endless inspiration for strips, especially these three knuckleheads. I've been away in Nashville, Tennessee where I made friends with Stella and Buckley the cats.


[Stella and some shoes - Nashville, TN]


[Buckley the scardy cat - Nashville, TN]

Please don't tell Kit and Betsy I made friends with cats. Very important lesson learned: I am very allergic to cats. This is a shame as Stella was very much like a dog and would roll over on her back for belly rubs. It also doesn't help she is very soft, plush, and irresistible to pet (please note Stella's excellent post on "Tums Rubbin").

Please stay tuned for new strips!

Secondly, are you aware Snick the Dog (whose owner is the founder of the NYC Shiba Rescue where Kit and Betsy are from) is hosting a Canine Cocktail Pawty to raise funds for Hike for Our Heroes? What a great way to meet other shibas and benefit such a great cause! I'd certainly love to meet Emmie the super dog! She's been helping her owner walk across America to raise funds for families of soldiers. If you can't make it out, please do consider making a small donation!

Hope everyone's staying cool!

rebetzel.

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Second part of fairy tale series. I saw this photo circulating among the Twibas (Tweeting Shibas) awhile ago which inspired today's strip:

heh heh heh~

Btw, you can follow Kit, Betsy and Natto on Twitter @Our_Shibal_Inu
Also have a Facebook fan page as well!

betsy & the pea.

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Betsy has been hogging all the dog bed cushions lately:

Donation to ARK!

Hi everybody!
Just wanted to thank everyone who participated in my fundraiser!
Donations have been sent to the Animal Rescue Kansai (ARK) today.
Your very generous donations came to a grand total of...

* drum roll *

$508.78

This comes out to be ￥41,646.

I hope everyone enjoys their prints and Shibal Inu goods.
You are all heroes! *round of applause*

I'll be continuing contributing portions of future sales to the NYC Shiba Rescue.
Thanks for caring about our animal friends here and overseas!

Tsunami-surviving dog rescue

Tsunami-surviving dog rescued after three weeks at sea:

I saw this video via Kaiju's Twitter feed. This dog was super lucky. I can't imagine what I'd do stranded for three weeks at sea. There's still time to pick a print! 100% of all proceeds from everything in the store will be donated to ARK to benefit animals from the Japan earthquake and tsunami. Pick-A-Print will end on April 12th!

--- EDIT ---

After rescue, the dog was reunited with its owner!

happy birthday michelle!

Happy birthday to Natto's owner, Michelle!

["You gonna finish that?" - Williamsburg, NY]

My favorite video clip of Michelle and Natto:

pocky.

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My friend, Tony, returned from Japan a couple weeks ago (right before the earthquake and tsunami). He brought back candies that are only available in Asia.

For example, green tea Kit Kat:


Mango Hi-Chew:


and cola flavored Mentos:


My favorites are those Japanese gummy candies:


And of course, Pocky.

Kit and Betsy's favorite snacks are homemade dehydrated pork jerky and marrow bones.
This is the dehydrator used to make their jerky:

What are your favorite human and canine snacks?

pick a print!

Hey dudes.
In light of the terrible earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan, I'm announcing a fundraiser.

It's time to pick a print!
Between March 15 - April 15, 8.5"x11" Shibal Inu comic strip prints will be on sale at the Etsy store for $15 each.

Your choice of Shibal Inu comic strip will be printed, signed and numbered.
Please note your choice of print in the shopping cart before proceeding to check out.

During this time, 100% of all proceeds from everything in the store will be donated to ARK to benefit animals from the Japan earthquake and tsunami.

Also, check out the ASPCA's steps to prepare your pets for emergencies!

Your support will be appreciated!

handsome.

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I'd like to get Kit a bow tie.
Here are some Etsy stores I've been looking at:
Pecan Pie Puppies - http://www.etsy.com/shop/pecanpiepuppies
Big Paw Collars - http://www.etsy.com/shop/bigpawsaints?section_id=7465663
Rover Dogs - http://www.etsy.com/shop/RoverDog?section_id=7299189

He will hate me... but oh will it be funny.

thoughts & prayers.

Praying for earthquake and tsunami victims in Japan.
Hoping everyone will be all right.

doppelganger.

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Have you guys ever seen the Japanese commercials for SoftBank?
They're kinda strange but pretty funny. I think they're ads for cell phone plans.
The featured family consists of a dad (the dog), mom, son (black dude) and daughter.
I can't decide which is more impressive: the talking dog or the black dude speaking in Japanese.

hachiko statue.

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I don't mean to offend. This really is what Kit would most likely do if he ever visited the Hachiko statue in Tokyo... or with any monument for that matter :p

hachiko bus.

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My friend, Tony, took this photo of the Hachiko bus on his recent trip to Japan.
Saw this article about the cause of Hachiko's death via Shiba Inu Hawaii:
http://www.komonews.com/news/offbeat/117241763.html?ref=guiltypleasures

Also, Shiba Inu Hawaii needs help donating supplies to rescued puppy mill dogs!
The rescued dogs also include shiba inus.
Check out their video here:
http://www.kitv.com/video/27034153/detail.html

Kit as William Wallace.

Here is Kit as William Wallace:

This was taken a few years ago on a cabin trip to upstate New York. Kit, Betsy, and honorary Shibal Inu, Henri are going to another winter cabin trip this weekend! It's gonna be a snow weekend blast. Will be back with more Shibal Inu adventures!

Happy Presidents Day!

bone fairy.

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Here is Kit trying to fall asleep despite excitement over visit from the bone fairy:

Kit tends to whine and cry with his bone in his mouth if he can't find a place to "bury" it.

*Shop Update*
I made a big plush Betsy which is currently listed at the Etsy store.
I'm planning on making both big and mini size plushes of all four Shibal Inu characters.
They will be listed as I make them so please make sure to check back into the store!
By the way, check out prize winners The Firefox Girls making friends with Betsy Firefox!

Also, have adjusted quantities and pricing on greeting card sets and totes are for sale at a reduced price.
Get 'em while they're hot!