Here are some updated pictures of Pongy and the squirrel that was captured for stealing from the pear tree:

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So the big news (to the folks that aren’t my facebook friends) I’ve moved! It took several weekends of painting and cleaning my new apartment, but I finally took the initiative and stayed here starting two nights ago.

I have to admit it: I love living by myself. I love that only MY decision counts in the furniture (as crappy as it is), the placement of stuffs, and the freedom of doing what I want! It’s awesome! Plus, my commute to work is shorter and the scenery is beautiful.

Due to the fact that I wasn’t sure what was going to happen this week schedule wise, I’ve opted to leave Pong Pong at my parents’ house for the past few days. I get to see her tomorrow when I head back to lug more stuff that I forgotten. Since it’s going to be good weather in Jersey over the weekend, we’re going to explore the new place and town and see what dog friendly activities there are.

I can’t waits to see my Pongyyy!

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The thing is, a lot of pet owners are not interested in helping out homeless animals. Everyone have seen the sad SPCA commercials and take pity on the animals on the screen, but nothing more. Should we expect pet owners to step up and give a lending hand to those in need?

From the recent shiba meetup I went to, there was a very contrast group of members. There was families, couples, friends, and potential owners. Everyone leads very different lives, are in different situations and the only connection that brings everyone together is the love for our dogs.

I would never judge someone for not doing charity work. I’ve never been a big fan of volunteering at soup kitchens or hospitals. Is it right for someone to tell me off because I am not being generous enough with my time or my money and I am not helping out with their cause?

Also, not everyone is fit for volunteer work. There are people who cannot bear to see the sight of a dog who may not be there tomorrow. There are people who care too much and have to help every dog. There are people who cannot foster due to financial, living, and/or work obligations. Out of the three I mentioned, I am very much in the third category.

Here’s my situation:

Financially, I am pretty much at the end of the stick. I am counting every penny I am spending and there are saving goals I want to meet. I will be getting a very big increase in expenses soon and I do not want to wonder if I will have enough money each month. I want to achieve financial stability and volunteering doesn’t only take up your time, but gas and money.

I’m in limbo in regards to the living situation. I will make an announcement on it pretty soon but I’ll explain more about my current lifestyle in the next paragraph.

Though I work a ‘9-5′ job, I have sporadic days where it can turn from an 8 hour day to 10 or more. It takes me an hour to go to work and back. This makes 12 hours of not seeing my dog. Don’t worry, my dad takes her to work with him and does all the potty duties (hehe I said duty). I would never put the burden of another possibly unstable foster dog on him. I also know, he is not the greatest with proper training. You ought to hear all the fantastic tales of Pongy’s adventures out in the wild..

By the way, fostering isn’t just sticking the dog with your dog. You don’t just cross your fingers and hope that your obnoxious dog will only teach the foster the ‘good stuff’ and none of the ‘peeing-on-the-carpet’ stuff. Other than time you are willing to put in, you will get frustrated and annoyed. As a dog owner, I am sure you already know the obligations of looking after your own dog. You can’t go out for long periods of time unless there’s someone to check up on your dog. Imagine having a completely new dog in your house by him/her-self and the amount of destroyed furniture that will be waiting for you. Also, some rescues don’t pay for vet fees or that night where your foster ate some unmarked pills emergency fees. If they do, you still have to front the money first. For someone with a tight budget, 500 dollars is not money you can just throw down at a moment’s notice.

I am not trying to discourage people from fostering. I truly think it would be a wonderful experience. Unfortunately, it is not something you should jump into because you ‘want to feel good’ about yourself. It’s like owning a dog, except you can’t dump a foster on Craigslist. Isn’t the reason of fostering is to keep them off the streets?

So am I perfect foster candidate? Hells no. Am I even a good dog owner for my dog? Heh, let’s not even talk about that.

What are my options to help out if I cannot foster? Transport runs, monetary donations, and any other help that rescues need.

The thing is, all of the above usually takes up time. I feel that time is just one thing I cannot spare. I want to enjoy life and I hate to say it but the stress of fostering doesn’t seem to outweigh the benefits for me right now. Maybe in about 5 years, I will be more stable and have less of an entitlement attitude. Maybe I will arrive at that conclusion sooner. Who knows.

However, I will follow through on my ‘new year resolutions’. I will pick up pet transport runs again and continue to work on my web project in regards to it (thanks for reminding me Ting!). I will set aside money (very measly I am afraid) to donate to a shiba rescue. I will get involved in a shiba rescue, regardless of the fact that I feel that I will be an extremely flaky member.

So maybe the original poster got the point across. By saying some extreme words, the lurkers such as myself are riled up. Touche.

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Since January 15th, Pong and I have walked 13 times, at a total distance of 17.40 miles which concludes to 6 hours and 57 minutes.

It may seem like big numbers, but it really isn’t. That’s an average of 1.09 miles a day. I did skip a few days (especially weekends!) so hopefully I can increase this by the next month.

Here’s a video of Pongy on one of our walks:

The moment she saw the ball, she had to play with it. Then she got distracted by something so she walked away. I swear, she played with that ball for a good 5 minutes before I pulled out the iphone.

Goal for next month: 2.5 miles avg per day! :)

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2. You apologize to your dog when you accidentally make a noise that wakes him up.

3. Your dog sleeps just about anywhere he wants. Anywhere includes YOUR bed, the couch, that new awesome and EXPENSIVE laptop you just got…

4. You are eating out of a can while your dog eats specially prepared organic chicken cutlets with some rice because he has a ’stomache’.

5. Your car permanently smells like dog, but you don’t notice it.

6. All of your facebook pictures have your dog in it. ALL OF IT.

7. You buy anything that’s not nailed down about your dog’s breed.

And last one…since I can’t think of anymore..

8. You have a blog dedicated to your dog!!

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I saw this on a shiba yahoo group and thought I should warn people.

The U. S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to use Merrick Beef Filet Squares for dogs distributed by Merrick Pet Care with a package date of “Best By 111911” because the product may be contaminated with Salmonella.

The product was distributed nationwide through retail stores and Internet sales.

Although no illnesses associated with these products have been reported, the FDA is advising consumers in possession of these products not to handle or feed them to their pets.

In December 2009, the FDA conducted routine testing of Merrick Beef Filet Squares and detected a positive finding for Salmonella. A follow-up inspection found deficiencies in the packaging and manufacturing processes.

To read more of the article, click here to go to FDA’s official site announcement.

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“It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” – Mark Twain

As I have grown older, I have realized that I have to watch what I say, especially on the Internet. Almost every sentence I type can be interpreted differently and skewed in the wrong direction. In fact, if I write down every phrase I say in real life, I am sure it sounds even worse. Fortunately, with the addition of tone of voice and being with people who can understand what you are saying, it is okay for me to skip a few  words to get to my point. On the World Wide Web, not so much.

So here I go:

The reason why I have not posted much this past few weeks is because my life has changed drastically.  I have moved home due to Jon and I breaking up. The dogs have been split up: Pong Pong is staying with me and Jada with Jon. It is very hard for me to post this because I feel like such a rotten owner and it is a very big change for both dogs. I’ve asked fellow dog owners and friends for advice and the solution I’ve came up with is.. well, nothing. There isn’t anything I can do about it and I hate it.

Both dogs seem to adjust fine to the new lifestyles and thankfully they were not on-top-of-each-other-all-the-time close. I guess in a sense, they are more vigilant than humans. They have the ability to adapt faster and I think being with people almost 24 hours a day really helps.

As a concern, one of the shiba owners warned me that dogs might get depressed if they are separated. I’ve asked my ex-housemates to watch out for it for Jada but she seems happy and they actually said there is less destruction in the house. Pongy is also thriving fine but I have to take her to the dog park more often to associate her with other dogs. Like most shibas, she usually doesn’t play with other dogs but she loves the dog park. It’s weird, I know. I am also going to enroll her in an obedience training class to stimulate her (and me!)

So that is that. I will be creating a new layout soon for theINUs and to relate to the domain name, I will be posting more about other shibas and dog related news.

Also, going a bit off topic, I’ve decided to go full blown into a pet transport project I’ve been working on since college and throw myself back into volunteer work, particular with transports and shibas.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

What a smart man.

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