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2007.09.29 Sat

Noah and His Cool Friends (continued)

Hello everyone, this is Noah. Sorry to have kept you waiting while I went for a walk! Now I’d like to introduce my other three roommates to you all.




This is Non, and he’s Ran. Another one of my friends, Sakura, is the third sister in this bunch. Lucky for her, she got re-homed! I wonder who’s next?




Non is shy and a bit scared in some respects; however, he loves it when people gently stroke him, so he shows his stomach to you and demands you stroke it. The imploring upward glance he makes when you stroke him is a very calculated maneuver. If you give him snacks, he’ll get even more attached to you!




Ran is similar to Non, in terms of appearance and shyness. However, when he meets people for the first time, he does a good job of walking, and he has a relaxed personality, so I think he’s well-suited for living with an older person.
(By the way, I’m very playful and prefer an energetic family.)




This is Kureta, my sister. Kureta has some strange qualities. Basically, she loves taking walks, but sometimes it seems that something is bothering her, and will start panicking. Why she does that I don’t know. I don’t think she knows either.




Although she was healthy for a long time before, about six months ago, she started having epileptic seizures. There was a good medicine available to prevent the seizures, so now she is not having them and is very healthy.
As her older brother, I must say she is a spoiled and adorable little one who loves hanging around with people! Right now, she has a summer cut and looks like a baby bear, but basically her fur is black, rich, and gorgeous!




We have gotten used to living at ARK, but actually we long for a family of our own who will love and care for us. For those of you who are looking to welcome a dog into your family, please consider us too! If we get the chance to live with you, we would live anywhere in Japan, no....wait...anywhere in the world with you!

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2007.09.25 Tue

Noah and His Cool Friends

Hello all, it’s me, Noah! Long time no see, huh? Today I’d like to introduce my roommates to you all! Even though my roommates aren’t sick, and are relatively young, for whatever reason they can’t get rehomed! We’ve been together for three wonderful years now, and I just can’t figure out what’s going on! Maybe it’s because our kennel is tucked away in the back and potential adopters can’t really see us. Hey, over heeeere!




This here is Ichiro, and here’s Jiro. They’ve been here at ARK since they were puppies. In the doghouse, they happily run up to people they meet for the first time, but when it comes time to take them for a walk, its impossible!




Before Jiro goes on his walks, he always hides at the back of the kennel. He lies down on his back and gives us a big pouty face. It’s as if he’s saying “Leave me alone, I really don’t want to go for a walk!” What’s more, during his walks, he suddenly refuses to walk! As I love walks, I simply cannot understand this behavior! All of the staff say that they won’t be able to rehome him if he keeps this attitude up, and they have tried many different ways to get him to walk. But wait a minute, Jiro, you’re acting this way on purpose, aren’t you? Just to get all the special treatment and attention from the staff! Cheeky...




Hey, here’s Ichiro! This guy loves people and wants them to love him back- we know this, but buddy, consider this! He actually really hates going outside and prefers staying in the dog kennel! From way back, ever since he came face-to-face with a group of hikers, he’s hated walking on this particular path, even if no one’s there. He just completely refuses to walk! He may have at one point been hit by sticks that resemble the hiking sticks those hikers had.

So that’s siblings Jiro and Ichiro. They’re really docile dogs, who warm up to people quickly. Around me they can be a bit gloomy, though -what the heck!

Oops, I’ve been talking too much- it’s time for a walk! I have three more friends I want to introduce you to, but I’ll do that later! Until next time!

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2007.09.18 Tue

Animal Nurses

Although the heat in the daytime is still unbearable, it has started to get cool in the morning and evening, and there is a sure sign of autumn in the air. Around ARK, it’s the peak of rice-harvesting season, which makes the people here very busy. The photo shown is an image of the rice harvest. I hope the photo conveys the crisp, clean autumn air. The tree in the lower left is a chestnut. Can you see the green burrs?

Kiyo-san is the name of the man who adopted Ume-kun recently. He posted a comment on this blog regarding a very significant topic. I have put the comment on this page to share it with readers.

Kiyo-san, please send me nice photos of Goru, Yuba, and Ume who were all adopted from ARK. Ume-kun’s fans from all over Japan are anxious to see him!

−−−− A comment from Kiyo-san, adopter of Umenosuke −−−−−
Hello, I am the owner of Umenosuke. I remember that Ume was rescued by ARK just as I was leaving my job with ARK. His eyes and gestures (the characteristics which captivate everyone!) left a big impression on me. Both the fact that I used to work at ARK, and that my former student worked at an animal hospital in Ouji, Nara which Ume used to go to before moving to ARK, made me feel a certain sense of destiny. So I decided to adopt Ume.

It has been eight years since I got my license as an animal nurse. Even though the occupation is starting to be acknowledged more widely, many people, especially those in provincial regions, believe it to be the job of someone who simply runs errands, or spends all day cleaning up after animals. A great deal of effort is being made to upgrade the animal nurse license to a national license, and I intend to do whatever I can to help achieve this. As an animal nurse, I want to provide assistance, protection, and sense of happiness to animals in a way that veterinarians cannot. Nurses shower love and comfort on animals behind the scenes. When you go to an animal hospital, please take note of the nurses who are working hard in the shadow of veterinarians. Please show your appreciation by simply saying "Thank you." With that, nurses will be more encouraged to provide the best nursing care for animals.

P.S. When I return to my apartment after work, Ume comes to greet me so excitedly. Is this the happiness that a dad feels?! =)

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2007.09.14 Fri

Chibi the Shiba (2)

Chibi’s habit of pulling hard on the leash when we went for walks was really bad, so we turned to the “if you pull, we won’t move” method of training. But if Chibi couldn’t go where he wanted, he got angry at us, and he started to bark at the person holding the leash. It seems he was telling us “Why are you stopping!?” or “Come on, move!!”.

Now he makes eye contact and when the person walking him stops, he sits down beside him/her. When he goes in and out of the enclosure he even knows now that he has to sit and wait.

And he has some more tricks! He can jump in the air and catch his treats, carry a ball in his mouth when we go for walks, and a whole lot more.




“Aren’t you forgetting to give me my treat?”




Previously, Chibi was very sensitive about being touched but now he leans against me and lets me cuddle him. He can even lie on his back, totally relaxed with all the strength having left his body.

He’s a very smart boy who catches on quickly, but is also a bit domineering, so it was important for us to show him who is in charge. It’s the same for any dog.

Oops, I should take back what I said about him in my previous entry! I was wrong about him being naughty and bossy, but full of life. He was just a diamond in the rough waiting to be polished!

Now we’re just waiting to hear from you!
We hope someone out there will choose Chibi!

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2007.09.10 Mon

Chibi the Shiba (1)

To put it simply, I would have to say that Chibi is naughty and bossy, but full of life.

When he first came to ARK, we soon realized he was not as cute as he seemed; he was brimming with behavioral problems including aggressive barking, demand barking, leash pulling, loss of temper and nipping. We could only dream of re-homing him as he was. We knew we needed to give him a second chance through discipline and socialization training.

We took every opportunity to discipline him: during walks, cleaning times and meal times, and whenever we passed in front of the enclosure. In training a dog, you need to maintain a consistent attitude, and repeat things again and again until the dog learns.




Chibi would be extremely aggressive towards middle-aged men. We think it’s due to some trauma he went through before coming to ARK. But rather than trying to find out the cause of the trouble, it was more important to improve his current behavior.

When somebody we were sure he would bark at appeared, we gave him a treat (food). We wanted him to equate seeing something he didn’t like with getting food, and to turn the dislike into like. At first he didn’t pay any attention to the food, and he would let out his hostility by barking so much. But, little by little, we saw an improvement. Now, he’s calm when we go on walks and when he barks, he doesn’t bark in the same manner as he did in the past and is not aggressive.




I ask lots of different people to take him for walks and give him food. I’m observing how he acts with people as well as getting him used to many kinds of people. Once he becomes friendly and doesn’t bark at people, I hope he’ll find a good family and be loved by everyone.




When I give Chibi a treat, he doesn’t pay any attention to my hand or fingers, he just grabs the food. I fixed this problem using two methods. One way was to overreact a little, and yell out really loudly “Ouch!” whenever he bit me with his teeth, to show him that biting hurts. The other way was not to give him any food while he was biting my hand. I would push my hand far back into his mouth and open it up until his teeth weren’t touching my hand, and then I would put the food in his mouth.

(But, Chibi, your bites really hurt! It’s been a tough battle for me…)

Now he’s gotten much better. Sometimes when he gets excited or I give him food the wrong way, his teeth hit the mark, but if I put the food into the palm of my hand, he can take it nicely. I think that people have to think of different ways and compromises.

Chibi’s story has become so long. I’ll continue it another day.