My name is Beki Myers

and I am the "Shiba Scout"

It has been now two years since I typed up my very first adoption contract and I look back on our first year in rescue.  What started out as a small attempt to rehome a young Shiba who was no longer wanted by his family (read Tensai's story in Our Graduates section) in the summer of 2007, blossomed into something amazing that I never expected.  In 2008 alone, Shiba Scout Rescue took in 38 pure bred Shibas and Shiba mixes.  We have had 30 successful adoptions in 2008, with the remaining dogs awaiting their new homes while in foster care. 

Of course we couldn't do it alone and I owe a great amount of thanks to all of our volunteers, foster parents, our veterinarians Dr. Rowe of Banfield and Dr. Rustgi of Mountain Wood Pet Hospital and their staffs, the staff members of the various animal shelters that assist us in getting these dogs into rescue instead of being euthanized, all the supporters and donators even if it was just your spare change at an adoption event, and of course our 30 new Shiba Inu Pet Parents out there! 

Here I am at a foster home with, from left to right,

Ookami, Senshi and Seishou, with Byako below.

Why a Shiba Inu?

A love of Shiba Inus didn't actually begin with me, rather it started with my dear friend Cinda who worked with me at a doggie day care and boarding facility.  I myself liked big dogs, and I mean BIG dogs; Great Danes, Saint Bernards, Alaskan Malamutes, etc.  Cinda, however, fell for three Shibas that came to us regularly, each from different families, to stay.  The Shibas warmed right up to her and she was determined to one day have her very own.

Here is Cinda's Shiba, Kaya at 12 weeks old.

Two years later, I was hired as a trainer at PetSmart where I was encouraged to get my own dog in order to take it to work with me. At the time I did not have a dog myself, however, Cinda, had just acquired her new Shiba puppy, Kaya.  I began taking Kaya to work with me and training her and I was blown away by how intelligent she was, even at the young age of 9 weeks old.  She stole my little heart and I fell for the breed immediately. Unfortunately, Cinda informed me she would be moving in a few shorts months out of town.  Since my condo only allowed dogs under 30 pounds, a Shiba Inu was a perfect fit.  That is when I began looking for a breeder and found my own baby in Dallas, Texas. His name is Kuro-Seishou (koo-d/lo  say-shou with the "ou" sound like in "ouch"), which means “Dark Spirit”, and he can be found working with me at PetSmart.

Where do our Shibas come from?

In 2008, Shiba Scout Rescue took in 38 dogs.  But where do they all come from?  Many people ask me this because they are usually baffled by not only how popular the breed apparantly is but by how many that are actually in need of being rescued. 

Many of our dogs come in as "owner surrenders", which are dogs who can no longer be kept by their owners for various reasons.  We have seen cases of fear, food aggression, and mild dog aggression, in addition to families that had to move or had children that the dogs were not adjusting to.  Although it can be sad and sometimes even frustrating to take a pet out of a home that it knows, we try to see it as always an opportunity to give the dog a wonderful and fulfilling new life; that although a door has closed, a window has opened.

The other half of our dogs come from shelters.  We have taken in dogs from Larimer Humane Society, Boulder County Humane Society, Table Mountain Animal Center, Aurora Animal Shelter, Adams County Humane Society, Peublo Animal Services, La Junta Animal Shelter, Cheyenne Animal Shelter and even one dog all the way from Fayatteville Animal Shelter in Arkansas!  The majority of these dogs were going to be euthanized due to either space capacity or because they failed part of their temperament test.  We are glad to report that due to the staff members that contact us from the shelters, we are able to take the dogs in and work with them to get adopted instead of seeing them be put down.

What's with the all the Japanese names?

Most of our dogs that we adopt out are listed with Japanese names, some of them very awkward to pronounce.  But why?  We feel that the first step in cleaning the slate and helping a dog adjust to a new life is a new name.  Shelter dogs that come in as strays do not come in with a name and although they are listed with a name during their stay at the shelter, it can be a stressful period of time for them and therefore may not make good associations with that name.  Dogs that are surrendered by their owners sometimes have their names changed because they may have learned to ignore their name or that it means something negative if the dog was surrendered for behavioral issues.  The good thing about dogs is that they live in the "now", not the "yesterday", so a dog of any age or any background can be retrained to learn not only a new name but also a new lifestyle.  The reason behind the Japanese names is to give the dogs something unique and different that we as humans don't hear everyday.  Sure it's cool that the Japanese dogs get Japanese names but dogs don't speak human language of any sort so whether they are referred to as Tensai, Max or Potato Chip, a name is just a simple way to get the dog to pay attention and hopefully get some great things out of it!

Here is my own Black and Tan male Shiba Inu, Seishou, at 8 weeks of age on his first day off the plane back in July of 2007.

Now at a year and a half old, Seishou sits upon Santa's lap wishing for bones, cattle hooves and squeaky toys for Christmas 

This page is new and still under construction.  There will be more to come soon!  Any suggestions or ideas of what you want to see on our website? 

Send them to shibascout@yahoo.com