ARK Tails

Chappy came to ARK when her owner passed away. She is the mother of Mako, who I wrote about before.
（Mako still has not been adopted either...）

After coming to ARK, she was very wary and always hid when someone entered the cat house. Even when we wanted to do a medical check on her, she would not come out, so we just called her name or tried to tease her with a cat teaser, and did not touch her against her will. That continued for many days.



Chappy kept moving from one cat house to another, and spent time with many cats, but she did not get along very well with other cats. Right now she is living in a small house that can hold just one cat.



To our surprise, her mood improved dramatically after she started to living by herself. Sometimes we see her waiting for people, snuggling up to people, and even playing with them. We sometimes wonder if she is the Chappy we used to know when she was living with several other cats!


She doesn't get enough exercise in a single cat house, and we also can't spend much time with her. Our best hope is that Chappy has some good luck and leaves ARK happily ever after.



Chappy will turn 10 years old this year. Many cats can live up to 20 years nowadays, and Chappy has only come halfway. She is the perfect cat for those who want a cat who snuggles a little but likes to keep a moderate distance, as well as those who value a balanced and quiet life with a cat.

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★Kobe GREEN DOG Adoption Event
　　Date: February 21 (Sunday) 12:00-16:00
　　Place: GREEN DOG SQUARE
　　The participant dogs and cats are currently being decided!

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It seems that Balzac still hasn't learned his lesson so he had to come back to the "Tiger's Den" this week.

The strong, daring Balzac would be suited to the following types of families:

★ Active families!
★ Families with hyper kids!
★ Lively families!
★ Houses where people come and go often!
★ Families that will walk him often!

I also recommend him to first-time pet owners♪



Here's Balzac in his Elizabeth collar after being neutered.

He's ready to find a loving new home!
We hope you'll come to meet him!!

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★Kobe GREEN DOG Adoption Event
　　Date: February 21 (Sunday) 12:00-16:00
　　Place: GREEN DOG SQUARE
　　We are currently deciding on the participants!

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17 beagle-mix puppies were rescued at the end of last year.
They were separated into small groups, but still the fighting among them never ceased.



Among the pups, there is one boy that stirs up trouble no matter which group he's in.
Meet Balzac.



His former owner called him "Mushi," short for "Yowa-Mushi" which is Japanese for "coward."
The nickname is misleading, however, as it turns out that he's not the target of bullying, but rather that he causes trouble by being a sassy smart aleck!

Once a fight breaks out in Balzac's enclosure, the barks of excitement spread like wildfire to the other enclosures and soon the puppies there are fighting as well.

So, the "Tiger"s Den" was alerted about this state of emergency.
The call for help was received by "The Educators" in KK's home.




Kind to the well-mannered, they welcome polite pups with exposed bellies and sniff-able bottoms, but one impolite gesture will garner a smack from Koruri, followed by a chomp to the head by Kamome's huge mouth (look at Kamome going at him in the picture!), while Michiru and Lega vocalize their approval.

It is interesting to see what's acceptable and what behavior is crossing the line. The rules and boundaries between dogs are really quite intriguing. "The rules of dogs should be taught by dogs."



Balzac was constantly butting heads with the other puppies at the shelter, but he was being very obedient with our 4 dogs.
Study hard so you can become a well-mannered dog, Balzac!



That being said, Balzac is very friendly and interacts well with people.

But, Balzac, that doesn't mean you have to greet everyone you meet on your walks. That way we'll never get anywhere!



We took a trip to the home centre together.
He didn't act particularly frightened or panicked, but remained still like a cat.
Let's experience a lot of things while you're still young, Balzac.




He was immediately able to use his toilet pad successfully.
Even if he's sleeping, he'll wake up and go to the toilet pad, finish his business and go back to his bed.

He isn't skittish, he doesn't bark, and he doesn't get carsick.
Where did the troublemaker from ARK go? Why, he's a very easy boy to take care of!




It was only for a few days, but his stay at my home allowed me to see personality traits and qualities of Balzac that were not visible when he was among other puppies at the shelter. These qualities are the characteristics that are important for potential adopters to know about.
Was it a good experience for you too, Balzac?

We'd better not hear about more fights breaking out, or it's back to the Tiger's Den for you!

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★Kobe GREEN DOG Adoption Event
　　Date: Feb. 21 (Sun)　12:00-16:00
　　Place: GREEN DOG SQUARE
　　We are now deciding the participants!

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We rescued 30 Chihuahuas in December. Despite our concern that there were so many of them, they are leaving ARK one by one for their new homes.
We'd like to thank you for donating money and food since many of them need checkups and medical treatment.



This is one of them, Leo. Finally, he is able to look for a new home.




Because of high suspicion of hydrocephalus, Leo fainted several times when he was at the breeder.
After he came to ARK, he coughed a lot and we were worried about his health.

We were concerned if he would be able to be neutered and find a new home. But blood test and chest X-rays turned out to be fine and he was successfully neutered the other day.



However, it turned out that he has a tracheal collapse.
It's no problem as long as he doesn't get obese and refrains from hard exercise.
He doesn’t cough anymore and doesn't need medicine.

Hydrocephalus is a common congenital disease in Chihuahuas.
Leo doesn't have any problem as long as he doesn't play too hard with other dogs or bumps his head.
I suppose a lot of Chihuahua owners are handling hydrocephalus well.



Leo is a friendly, gentle, selfless, and well-behaved boy.
However, his disease makes it difficult to find his happy future home.

I wonder if he will be able to find someone who understands his situation.
I hope he'll be happy as much as other dogs!

Pourlean was kept in an animal-hoarding situation. She had many puppies because she hadn't been spayed, and her previous owner kept taking in abandoned dogs. However, due to economic difficulties, the owner was unable to care for all the dogs. Pourlean is one of the dogs taken in by ARK at the request of the owner.



Pourlean is shy around strangers. At first when I tried to take her out for a walk, she kept following the staff member in charge of her and seemed insecure.

Pourlean scares a bit easily. One time she panicked and broke her cage.

Her experiences consist of not having had many opportunities for human contact and having been locked up in a cage. Therefore, experiences that are different from normal or that are "new" are frightening for her.

These problems wouldn't have occurred if she'd been able to experience different situations and be socialized from when she was a puppy. But that's water under the bridge now.



During our walk, she didn't pull on her leash and she managed to walk slowly with me. She was playful too. Deep down inside, she's really friendly and likes to be near people.

She wasn't very good around other dogs. When Pourlean wanted to play, she couldn't introduce herself very well and wasn't able to make friends, but she's improved on that front and now has a new roommate.



The training for her to adjust to the cage at the kennel is going well. Even though I'm not her regular caretaker, when I tell her to, she goes into her cage without any resistance.



Is this right??



No matter how old a dog is, humans can help change that dog. She responds to our love.

There is a belief in Japan that we all have an invisible red thread that connects us to our destined partner. We hope Pourlean will find a family at the end of her red thread--a family she's destined to be with.

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Why not purchase some as New Year's present?☆
How about as prizes for your New Year's parties?☆
★☆★2010 ARK Calendars On Sale Now!★☆★

[Price]
Wall calendar: 1000 yen（tax included）
Desk calendar: 700 yen（tax included）

[How to order]
Please contact us with your name, postal code, address, telephone number, type (wall or desk calendar) and quantity you wish to order.

E-mail: calendar@arkbark.net
Telephone: 072-737-1886
Fax: 072-737-0712

[Method of payment]
A deposit slip with the total (including postage) will be shipped to you with your calendar.

For more details, click here.☆