Breed: Unknown Mix
Nicknames: "Dude" (I'm the only male dog in the pack), "White Shadow"
(I tend to stick real close to Mom), “Bud” (short for “Buddy”).
Birth date: I was a puppy rescued out of the Orange County Animal
Shelter in May 1994 (so mom guesses I was born between Oct ’93 & Jan ’94).
Favorite dog to run with: I used to love running with my sisters Ani
& Button, until I retired from running.
Favorite toy: I love to chew on tennis balls, but Mom only lets me
have them on very special occasions (I work them so hard, I burst them &
then rub my gums raw if left too long with them and then Button comes along
& swallows the pieces). Next to tennis balls, I like finding & taking out
the squeakers from fleece toys (& tearing out all the stuffing, too)! But I
think my favorite “toy” is my sister, Button – I just love torturing her by
play snapping at her when she passes by me sometimes.
Favorite food: Peanut butter, cheese & popcorn! I’m not a finicky
eater & will eat just about anything a human eats. When I’m bored or
anxious, I eat paper products. Toilet paper straight from the roll is my
favorite choice for “extra fiber”, but I’ll also eat Kleenex (including the
box), mail, magazines, paper towels, receipts, and whatever else I can find.
Favorite pastime: Definitely, hanging out with Mom. Trash can diving
& rooting through boxes & bags (including purses & briefcases) for paper
items to munch on.
I’m best friends with: My Mom, Dad & sisters Ani & Button.
Pet-peeves: Not being able to stay with Mom all the time. Not being
able to have a human nearby at all times.
I love my parents because… They love me (almost as unconditionally as
I love them)! I know they’d do almost anything to keep me healthy & happy.
My bio: Mom found me looking sad and alone in an almost empty
section of the Orange County Animal Shelter. She had stopped by there on her
way home from work as a spur-of-the-moment birthday present to herself. She
had sworn off of getting another all white dog because a previous all white
dog would always manage to get dirty within seconds of leaving the bathtub.
But there I sat, a needy little puppy with 2 Dumbo-sized, “bat-like” ears
staring at her with eyes asking, “Why not me?”
Mom stood in a long line & waited to inquire about me at the service window.
Even though there were already 3 names of interested people on the list, she
added her name to the list. The worker instructed Mom to call the shelter
back on Tuesday after 10am (it was a Saturday afternoon) to check on my
adoption status. Right after leaving the shelter, she was at a pet store
buying a few supplies, plus a “just-in-case” puppy-sized collar & matching
leash and put it all in her car – even though she didn’t think she had a
chance of getting me. She got home and forgot to take the bag of pet things
out of the car.
Early on Monday morning, while she was in the middle of a work meeting, she
received a call from the Shelter telling her she had 20 minutes to get to
the Shelter to pick me up or I’d be given to the next name on the list
(someone had shown up at the Shelter & was demanding that I be released to
him/her). Mom flew out of her office & drove like mad to get to me (good
thing she worked close to the shelter at that time) – she was almost hit by
a car on the way over (Mom had the right of way). But she made it safely &
without further incident. As she drove, she realized that she had my new
collar & leash in the car with her – what luck! The shelter normally doesn’t
let dogs out without being spayed/neutered, but because of the weird
situation that arose, I was released a day early & without being neutered
(Mom did have to leave a refundable neutering deposit). With everything
happening the way it did over the 3 day period, Mom thought it was only
natural that I be called “Jiko” – which means “accident” in Japanese.
Even though I wasn’t an only dog (I had an older sister, a Belgian Tervuren
also rescued from the same shelter, “Cassie”), Mom found out early on that I
had separation anxiety. As I wasn’t being destructive to property or myself
(just marking in the house & barking a lot), Mom didn’t medicate me. Mom
used behavior modification and other non-drug methods. They worked well
enough for a long time.
About a year later, Mom ended up rescuing an injured red & white Akita named
“Max” from the Vet who fixed him up. That’s when we found out that Cassie
only liked all white dogs. Poor Max, Cassie kept terrorizing him. A few
years later, Max had to be euthanized for behavior complications after
repeated epileptic seizures (possibly stemming from his prior abuse). By
now, Cassie was close to 17 yrs old, suffering from a host of health issues
(including strokes). Because of my separation anxiety & Cassie’s age & color
bias, Mom started looking for a new companion for me. She found my sister
Ani at the shelter. (You can read all about Ani in the Athletes section.)
Shortly after Ani arrived, we began lessons for mushing commands. Before we
knew it, we were pulling a cart as we ran on our neighborhood sidewalks.
When Mom & Ani went to Alaska for their mushing “boot camp” at Plettner
Kennels, I stayed home (drugged out to numbness) & my Grandma came by
everyday to sit with me until my Dad got home from work. Mom says I wouldn’t
have liked all the air travel & was too old to adapt to just a week in
Alaska before the long, lonely flight back home. Even though I didn’t go to
Alaska, I was still a much better lead dog than Ani ever will be. I would
concentrate, think & listen to Mom at the first command.
Suddenly I had another sister, Button. Now there were 3 of us running
(“sidewalk surfing”) – I ran in lead & they ran in wheel. (You can read all
about Button in the Athlete’s section.). Mom left the 3 of us with Dad for 2
weeks as she went to Alaska for 2 weeks for the 2004 Iditarod. Dad didn’t
follow the dog care instructions Mom had left for him and I developed a
really bad case of separation anxiety – I hurt myself escaping from the yard
and was out lost for several days before being caught by the dogcatcher. Dad
got me out of jail & the next day I broke out again & was hit by a car a
block from my house. I spent 2 days at the Vet’s under observation. I was
lucky that I wasn’t hurt seriously – but I looked awful with shaved areas
where I had big, deep cuts & scrapes, a broken tooth, broken toe nails &
dirt & grease all over!. Fortunately, Mom came home the day after I got home
from the Vet to nurture me back to health. The physical injuries healed, but
it was a long road to mental recovery and since then, I’ve been receiving
medications for my separation anxiety.
In March of 2005, I decided I’d had enough of running & I took
self-retirement while running out in Cutler, CA at my Dad’s parent’s ranch.
In the middle of a run I laid down right in the middle of the trail. When
Mom took me off the gangline, I walked over to the cart, climbed on it, laid
down & refused to get off it until we were back at the house. Yes, I made
the girls pull me and Mom on the cart all the way back – Mom had to bend
down hold my tail off the ground & away from the back wheel while steering
the whole ride back. I relaxed & enjoyed every moment of that ride back!
With my advancing age, arthritis is starting to affect my lower back & leg
joints, but I can still get about & jog a little. I don’t like being left
behind when everyone goes out for a run, but I don’t want to run with them
(I can’t keep up). So when Mom has someone who will walk with me around the
park, she’ll bring me with my sisters when they go out for a run. If Mom
gets another dog or two to pull the cart, maybe she’ll let me ride on the
cart as they run…. I’d really like that!!
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