Shiba Inu Spirit Loki The Shiba I Am Shiba Jenna and SnickersNikko’s Mama sent me this link in the comments a while ago and I had intended to feature it in a blog post… a while ago. I want to make one of these so bad, but it’ll have to wait until I can get more ink for the printer.
We took Shassi to the vet and asked about euthanasia and whether it would be kinder at this point. After the vet looked at Shassi and heard our description of what her life was like, she was of the opinion that Shassi was not ready to be put down.
Shassi is still eating well, she is showing some interest in her walks and she is not stressed as long as she is in familiar places. She is sometimes incontinent, but she is not messing herself in the place where she sleeps. The vet said that the constant pacing circles and “not being there” is normal for dogs suffering dementia and Shassi is likely a victim of that.
Shassi has failing kidneys and a heart murmur, but for a dog at the far end the breed’s normal lifespan, she is actually doing very well. I am very happy that Shassi will be with us for longer and hope that she might reach her 16th birthday after all.
Sometimes it’s nice to be wrong. For now, at least.
One thing that has troubled me for some time is the pricing that my local SPCA has for their dogs:
Dogs $225
Dogs – Toy Breeds: $325
Dogs – Purebred (documented by appropriate paperwork): $325
I emailed them and was referred to the BC SPCA, which apparently sets all the prices and got this response:
Thank you for your email, which has been refered to me for reply. After much debate, we did increase prices for purebreds over two years ago. I agree philosophically that purebreds are not “better” dogs, but the economic reality is that the public will readily pay more for such dogs, and as a charity we must maximize our revenues. Yours is the first such comment on this pricing in two years. Thank you for sending us your concern and we will certainly consider all such input.
Best wishes,
Bob Busch
BC SPCA GM Operations
I am perplexed. The SPCA could maximize their revenues by breeding their dogs to produce puppies that could be sold for more money than older adults, but they don’t. Why? They would tell you that it would be contributing to the overpopulation of unwanted dogs and they would be right. But how is charging more for purebreds working to eliminate overpopulation? It brings more money, true. But it also introduces the insidious thought that, “Well, even the SPCA thinks irresponsibly produced purebreds and toys are more valuable than regular ol’ Lab mixes! Papers must mean something!” which, if you think about it, is pretty much the opposite message that the SPCA wants to get across to people.
Here’s what I sent back to Mr. Busch:
Hi, Bob,
If I have sent you the first comment on the pricing in two years, it may mean that most of the people seeing the pricing are thinking that it’s natural for purebreds to be “worth money” and that “papers” mean that the dog is somehow worth more than other dogs. I would submit that, contrary to maximizing your revenues, this pricing policy is actually working against them, by perpetuating the myth that these dogs are somehow more valuable than the ordinary dogs that had the misfortune to be born mongrels. It’s difficult for the SPCA to encourage people not to breed their dogs solely for profit when the SPCA is trading on the image of the purebred dog to make more money.
Thank you for taking the time to read and respond to my email,
Julie MacTire
Thoughts?
The latest news is that I don’t know what is happening with Shassi, which is one of the problems when you leave a dog to be taken care of by other people, even if those people are your family. My mother and aunt are inclined to see if there is anything left to be salvaged and I’m feeling somewhat betrayed by the fact that they set me up to believe that they had made the choice to put her down.
We’re going to await the vet’s decision, but my original opinion still stands; she doesn’t seem to be having a good time and she doesn’t seem to be aware of the things around her most of the time. If she can have a longer happy life, that’s great, but at this point I doubt it and only want to make her comfortable. Keep us in your thoughts on Saturday and I will update when the decision is made. I won’t have her suffering simply because she isn’t showing obvious signs of pain.
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In other news, apparently my host’s move to the new server was not without casualties
In a nutshell:
The owners of Bella, the missing Shiba report:
“…from the standpoint of felony liability, the DA had to prove Animal Control had clearly made the defendant aware he had an aggressive dog, or prove it had bitten before. Regardless of what had happened in the previous attacks, Animal Control was not able to show they had clearly educated the defendant about the aggressive potential of his dog, even after 3 aggressive dog calls.”
If you can’t tell that you have an aggressive dog, you should stay the fuck away from everything that walks on four legs or two. Put yourself in a diaper and turn in your driver’s license while you’re at it. For the rest of us. For the children. For whoever or whatever will keep you away from normal, sane human beings who take responsibility for their actions.
(in retrospect, I realized that that post had not been deleted. Oh well.)
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There is a happy story associated with Bella’s family. They have adopted Sammy, a rescue Shiba Inu in dire straits. Don’t miss his story!
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An Oregon puppymill has not been shut down yet and they had Shibas:
Oregon Humane Society “Snugglebunnies” Page
A somewhat graphic page on the Shibas rescued from “Snugglebunnies”
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The blog A Winnie Day has an awesome post about a Shiba seminar that Winnie’s person attended. There’s some interesting perspectives on the Shiba’s history as a hunting dog that Shiba people shouldn’t miss.
Remember Bella, the Shiba who was attacked by a loose pit bull and is still missing? Here’s the latest from her owner, Terri: Court update from 18 February 2009, Update on Sammy, and thanks to all of you
An excerpt:
However, from the standpoint of felony liability, the DA had to prove Animal Control had clearly made the defendant aware he had an aggressive dog, or prove it had bitten before. Regardless of what had happened in the previous attacks, Animal Control was not able to show they had clearly educated the defendant about the aggressive potential of his dog, even after 3 aggressive dog calls.
Excuse me? There isn’t a “Fucking Moron” clause somewhere that states when someone gets a dog, it is THEM, not the local government’s responsibility to educate themselves in the aggressive potential of their dog and adequate control measures? If this man had to be legally told, after several attacks and complaints, that his dog was aggressive and he should keep it under control, legally he should be kept in a diaper, his driver’s license taken away, and all of his possessions kept in trust for him, since he so obviously is mentally incompetent to keep them properly and responsibly. (Come to think of it, that would be a great response to irresponsible dog owners.)
How is it that a dog owner who fails to do their duty to their dog and to their society is protected from punishment? Why are people standing idly by and twiddling their thumbs with breed-specific-legislation while people like this CHOOSE to let their dogs run loose, to display aggressive behaviour and to inflict violence on people and animals alike? How fucking stupid ARE these people, who continue to whine about the “vicious pit bulls” and “savage rottweilers” and ignore the vicious, savage members of their own species who wilfully put them and their loved ones in danger?
Seems to me that our so-called intellectual superiority isn’t something we should boast of, when we aid and abet these criminals by refusing to consider their choice to endanger us – and the animals who depend on them - as the very serious of crimes.
Shassi is not long for this world. I was talking with Mom tonight and we agreed that it’s pretty clear that it’s time for us to do our duty towards her. She is on autopilot; there is no personality anymore and Mom says it hurts her to look at Shassi when she remembers the vibrant little dog she used to be. We’re going to schedule it for the 21st, if we can.
She’s been there for half my life, over 15 years.
My boyfriend and I are both sick – him with a massive ear infection and me with a galloping case of bronchitis. Mischa is by far the worst off of either of us and has spent most of last night and today in a semi-conscious state in front of the TV. Tierce has stuck close to him in the last 24 hours – staying downstairs where Mischa had set up his sick bed and curling up on the couch beside him.
This is where you go, “Awwwww! Issocute! He wants to be close to his sick master to give him comfort!” Remember, though, that this is the dog that sent Mischa to the hospital a year and a half ago by chewing through his dialysis cord. This is also the dog who has been taking his smelly, disgusting beef stick and dropping it on Mischa’s head all day long today. Quite honestly, we’re not sure if he wants to be close to Mischa because he genuinely cares or because he’s waiting for Mischa to die.
Me: Well, it’s good to not have to drive home after the event.
Friend: Here’s the bed. I’m afraid that we couldn’t move the rabbit’s pen, but she shouldn’t be too noisy.
Me: Rabbit?
Tierce: Rabbit?
Me: Thank Dog we brought Tierce’s pen.
Friend: Well the rabbit’s pen’s sides are pretty high, so Tierce shouldn’t be able to get in there anyway.
Me: I’m not going to tell her the story of how you scaled the compost heap, then jumped on to the top of the neighbor’s shed, then dropped six feet into the neighbor’s yard.
Tierce: No, don’t tell her. It’ll make the surprise all the greater when I-
Me: STAY AWAY FROM THE RABBIT!
Tierce: I’m just *sniffing* it!
Friend: He’s just sniffing it. Oh, look! He’s wagging his tail! He wants to be friends!
Me: Are you friends with your beef cattle?
Friend: No, why?
Me: Never mind. Lovely house you ha- STAY AWAY FROM THE RABBIT!
Tierce: I was just snif-
Me: You were plotting where to bite!
Tierce: I think you’re being way too paranoid.
Friend: Are you talking to the dog?
Me: No, I was establishing my dominance by means of verbal cues that alert Tierce to the imminent danger of his furry little neck being wrung.
Tierce: She’s being meeeaaannn to me!
Friend: Yes, she is being mean to my widdle fuwwy pwecious. Pwecious puppy don’t wanna eat my bunny, does Pwecious?
Tierce: Define ‘eat’.
Me: He looks like a cute little 23 pound tiny husky who loves everybody, but he’s a KILLER! I’m not leaving him alone down here!
Friend: Besides, our rabbit’s really big. She’s nearly his size.
Me: This is the dog that I can’t take into the dog park because he deliberately picked a fight with a 110 pound Rottweiler and I’m not subjecting other dogs to him again.
Friend: But he’s so cute!
Tierce: But I’m so cute!
Me: And a world-class jerk.
Tierce: Well, if we’re going to call each other names…
Friend: How can you feel that way about your own dog?
Me: Easily.
Tierce: She hates me. She starves and beats me, too.
Friend: Poor ‘ittle cutie!
Me: Look, I know my dog. I know that given a tenth of a quarter of a half a chance, he’ll kill your rabbit in the bloodiest, most disgusting way possible and quite possibly vomit what he ate up on your carpet and relieve himself of the rest in a stream of diarrhea that starts at the bottom of the stairs and ends somewhere underneath your couch.
Friend: …is this from personal experience?
Me: With a rabbit, no. With one of my friend’s children’s beloved pets, no. Believe me when I say this that I do not want this to become personal experience.
Friend: Uh, you can put his pen over here.
Tierce: Damn it.
Friend: …I also have some plywood you can put across his pen for a roof…
Tierce: That sucks.
Me: That would be lovely.
