Video of Our New Dog Playing

[BigDun]

Here is a video of our new dog Kaede (pronounced Ki-eh-day) playing with our 4 year old shepherd/husky mix.

http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/p8pfLvv1X04

[Jessie]

They're both gorgeous!

[BigDun]

She has quite the interesting back story. We went out looking at all the shelters/rescue agencies on Saturday. The options weren't great for small, female dogs, < 4 years old. My wife showed me a picture of a dog that was being fostered in a city about an hour north of us that seemed like a good fit. As soon as I saw her, I knew she was the one, but I didn't tell my wife so I wouldn't influence her impression. We sceduled a meeting for 3:00 on Sunday and were warned that the dog in question had already been placed, but the new owners had returned her to the foster mother two and a half months later. We were curious as to why the new owners had returned her, but all the foster mother could say was that the dog was very shy.

We show up and the dog is very timid, but after about 15 mintues, she was coming up to us and smelling our outstreched hands.

Her history is that she is originally from Tiawan. Apperently there isn't enough shelter space for unwanted pets to be fostered, so a lot of unwanted animals get dropped off at "The Mountian" (Google it). There is an agency in Seattle that goes to "The Mountain" to find dogs that aren't too ferrel, and brings them to the states for placement. She travelled from Tiawan, was quarenteened for three months, and then placed with her foster mother.

Somehow she came out of foster care with the name Chi Chi. I'm sorry, but a dog from Tiawan which appears to be part German Spitz with a Spanish name is just wrong. My wife and I enjoyed a book series by Lian Hearn called Tales from the Otori. The lead female character's name was Kaede (again pronounced Ki-eh-day) so we looked up on line what Kaede ment, and it is the Japanese word for Maple. It appears to be a very popular Japanese name and we plan on getting her Kanji character inscribed on a tag to put on her collar. We know that Tiawan and Japan are totally different cultures, but at least it's oriental in nature.

Anyway, she and our current dog get along very well and watching them play together has provided hours of entertainment.

[dazie]

Great story!  She looks really healthy and happy.


What are you feeding her?

[BigDun]

We started getting our dog food from a local company that makes home made, all organic, healthy pet food when our last dog's health started fading. She did so well on it, we have started feeding all our dogs the food. It's a little more expensive than canned, but really not much when you figure out how little good food they need vs. the amount of canned food they need. Something to do with the % digestability being higher in the fresh made food.

[dazie]

Yup.  Higher quality food may cost a little more in the bag, but your pet doesn't need to eat as much.

[Dry then Catch]

I enjoyed watching this video and now realize I can easily sneak into your back yard

[BigDun]

Yeah, good luck with that. My back yard is surrounded by blackberry bushes. Perhaps the most deadly of the fruiting vines.