My new hangout spot!

Amidst the packing of stuff at my house, I used my shiba mind control to have the humans leave my room's closet open so I can continue hiding my treats and toys. The closet has been open for probably a week now since daddy accidentally packed up most of mommy's clothes. (Daddy keeps forgetting that mommy doesn't have a lot of clothes. Surprise, yeah? She fills about half of the 6 foot closet with clothes and that's all she has. Her collection of shoes is small too: 1 pair of hiking boots, 1 pair of tennis/running shoes, 1 pair of mid-calf boots, 1 pair of flip flops, and 1 pair of those ballet slipper shoes that you can wear out in the street (Oh, I forgot 2 pairs of real ballet slippers (one old and smelly and the other is semi new that's used for performances). She used to dance and was going to join the school's Chinese culture dance club, but their practice times didn't work with her schedule. Maybe next year.). Anyways, mommy opened the closet to look for clothes that daddy packed up in a suitcase one day and just left the closet open (suitcase closed.. boo =( ) I now use the suitcase that has some of mommy's clothes and a lot of daddy's clothes as my new hang out spot.

Not My Fault!

Today, mommy went to play fetch with me outside. All was going well, until she realized that earlier today she saw something brown quickly scurry by. At first she thought it was a lizard, so she just went back to her work, but now that she was outside, she decided to see if it was still there. That was when she found this.. Now, I promise you, I didn't do that. This morning, I was up at the top of the hill watching my neighbor take care of his grape vines, and then I sunbathed/napped. The only rustling I made was when I decided to find a place to do my business. I did not touch that bird, not even when mommy went to go look at it. I was too interested in playing fetch. After mommy found that deceased bird, she rounded me up and cut our game of fetch short. I'm now going to nap because I can't play fetch until daddy throws the bird away, but at least I got a dental treat for not being interested in the bird.

Mommy knows exactly what I do when I'm outside and she's at home, because her workstation is right next to the sliding glass door, and any tiny noise will make her look outside to see what "trouble" I'm getting into.

Here is another view of the bird: The bird looks like it's been there a while, but after the scurry, mommy does remember it being a little more on the windy side. She was contemplating closing the sliding door a little to keep warmer.

By the way, pictures were uploaded to the Updates! post.

A Day Full of Excitement!

To start the day, I decided that it was a good idea to use the human's spare backpack (and my spare leash) as a bed... It actually wasn't too bad comfort wise.. I really like it here because mommy's legs are usually right next to me when she sits at the computer table.

Around 1500, mommy and daddy brought me to a new dog park to play with my shiba friend Hana (from the San Diego Shiba Meetup group). She's a beautiful cream snuggle shiba. She is quite content curling up in your lap to sleep (the opposite of me!). [Mika's mommy: I love how Hana's tail has a tiny curl at the end.. it's so cute!] Well, after the dog park, we decided to hit up UTC mall for a late lunch/early dinner at Miami Grille and to walk around the mall. This mall is an outdoor mall, and it's so cool: they even have patches of grass for us dogs and doggy pick up bags! Hana and I attracted a lot of attention at the mall, everyone was looking at us like we're a new breed of dog. A couple of people got really excited and wanted to pet us, which we were all for. Too bad the humans didn't bring any treats... I'm sure we would have gotten a lot if they had.

Most shiba hate water and avoid it like the plague... Mommy thought I was one that just didn't like it (not hate, just dislike), but boy, did I prove her wrong today! At UTC mall, there are a bunch of fountains near the Macy's side and I pretty much ignored them during the first pass, but when we passed them on the way back, I was all excited about them. While we were walking next to the fountain, I would put my front paws up to see what was there. And I would not stop looking up to see what was there.. I'd pop up every couple of feet because it was just so much fun to look at the water in the fountain. At one point, there was a little waterfall area where the water in the fountain spilled to a drain on the ground. I decided to get a little wet and I put my paws into the waterfall area. I didn't even flinch; I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. At one point, I had hopped up and was balancing on the waterfall area getting ready to jump into the water. Can you imagine the horror daddy and mommy were in when they saw me balancing on the waterfall area getting ready to jump in? Too bad daddy pulled me off the waterfall.. that would have been really fun jumping in and swimming around then getting mommy's car all wet. This picture is the second time I went to the waterfall area.. You can see daddy pulling back on the leash because I was getting ready to go back up. Afterwards, they let me get up on the sitting area next to the water, but kept a close eye to make sure I didn't jump in. I'm completely content being up there next to the water. Look, I'm even staring at the water to show it that I'm not afraid!

Oh, during my whole intrigue with water thing, Hana's mommy was wondering what I would do if there were fish in the fountain.. Mommy and daddy were unsure, I guess we'll just have to see at the pet store. =D

Hide and Go Seek!

Today, I decided to play hide and go seek with mommy... This is where I decided to hide and try to camouflage with all the brown around me.. (sorry for the weird furniture and random sea bag.. We're packing up to move to our new house with the humungo yard!)

Stealing Cold Air

For the people that have been keeping track of the weather (or living here in Southern California), you know that today, 19 April 2009 is quite warm. So warm that the humans had to turn the fan on... which I decided to lay next to or in front of because that is where I would get the most cool air. I mean, come on, humans don't have a coat of fur, like we dogs do, why do they need the fan? It's warmer for me to sit here than it is for them to sit there. Anyways, I'm hogging the fan for a good reason.. to keep me cool since I have a nice double coat (that mommy enjoys very much 2 times a year).

Oh boy.. this post is taking longer to complete than expected.. Mommy said something about waiting for the pictures to finish uploading and then she has to manually rotate the pictures because the camera doesn't do it?

zzZZ

This is how I decided to sleep tonight... (Taken by daddy's cellphone camera.. I believe I heard mommy snickering while taking the pictures)


Feels like a tongue night tonight...

I was also dreaming because my back leg kept twitching and my lips were quivering.


I woke up soon after a few more pictures of the same thing were taken. Now, I'm curled up and napping again. The bed looks like it's small for me, but I love curling up in this bed and napping. Mommy did an experiment, she took my big California sized king bed and put it next to this round bed. I like to lounge on the California king, but I like to sleep on this round bed. My kennel is currently being cleaned (the bedding is in the wash), so I don't have my kennel tonight. I'm quite picky. If my bed or anything I sleep on is dirty (in my opinion, even if I made it "dirty" by licking the whole part I sleep on clean), I will refuse to sleep on it. I will sit and stare at you until you take the dirty bed out of my sight and clean it. Mommy found that out when I decided to tongue clean my bed (it started out as a regular paw cleaning) and the next thing she knew, I was sitting outside of my kennel looking at her refusing to go in. Mommy then looked in the kennel and my bed looked clean, just felt wet with no odor (she smelled it to make sure I didn't pee on it.. why would I pee on my own bed?). I still wouldn't go in after she dried it with a towel; it needed to be washed and dried before it was clean enough for me. Tongue cleaning was not enough..

Anyways, happy =P sleeping night, everyone!

I forgot to say, the camera has been found!

RIP Ruby

Mommy's friend's dog passed away at the ripe age of 12, 5 days ago. This is Ruby.

She was always so happy to meet mommy. Mommy remembers dropping by her friend's house with her sister, on their way to go biking around the neighborhood, and playing with Ruby. She remembers the day that her friend, her, and her sister helped her friend paint the fence. Well, it was more of painting the fence a little, then playing with the dog, then painting the fence a little more, etc... all while a little paint war going on between humans. No paint got on Ruby, but she was very happy to have guests around. Ruby probably wanted to get some paint on her because she loves baths. Mellow Ruby loved to be wrapped up in blankets and loved being around her family. Mommy misses Ruby and she's sure people who knew Ruby would too.

May Ruby rest in peace.

Updates!

The trip I took two weeks ago was really fun. The drive wasn't too bad. I napped a little and then stayed up with mommy the rest of the way. I felt the need to stay up with her. After she figured out that I was staying up with her, she would stick her hand back and I would lick her hand to let her know where I was. I would get pets after that. Then when I got to mommy's house, since I didn't know it was her house, I felt the need to turn towards the street and growl at the empty street to warn everyone else that I was there and ready to protect mommy. I had fun sniffing around mommy's house, everything smells different and mommy's mom's food smells so yummy! I kept following her around the kitchen. I wouldn't make a peep, or touch mommy's mom, but I would stand there (or sit) and look up and try to get a better smell of what she was cooking. Too bad mommy told her not to give me any human food, because I would've gotten some without that warning.. boo..

The first full day after we arrived, mommy's brother invited some of his friends over, and one of his friends had a little terrier named Biscotti. He was super cool until he tried to mount me... that wasn't cool, but we still got along super well. Brother's (shortening Mommy's brother to brother) friends were so cool! They played fetch with me until I didn't want to play fetch anymore.

Then, that evening, I went with mommy to mommy's best friend's house. That house smelled like a bunch of other dogs. I had tons of fun sniffing around the house. Mommy and mommy's friend couldn't figure out why I kept growling at the sliding door. It wasn't because of my reflection, I could care less for my reflection in the mirror, and there wasn't anybody outside, and no cats that we could see. But I get along with cats, so that couldn't be the reason. Mommy thinks I can see spirits, you can make that decision yourself after I finish this post. Mommy made me suffer that night when I was at her best friend's house. I guess she didn't think we would be there until almost 3 in the morning, but we were and my kennel wasn't there. Mommy and her friend tried to make caves for me to sleep in, but I saw right through them... they weren't my stuff. I ended up pacing the house and growling at the screen door until I got too tired, then I finally curled up and napped until it was time to go (10 minutes later).

The next day, mommy let me sleep in a little, then I was able to nap in the yard until someone came home. She went to visit her cousin and because their little kid is still super young, I couldn't go, but that was for the health of the kid, so I don't mind. Little kid needs to build his immune system up before meeting new pets and visiting new places.

The next day, during the day, I chilled in the back yard and slept until the evening where I got to visit Dad with a Belgian malinois (super trained!) and a shepherd/lab mix. The Belgian was a good influence on me, I stayed close to mommy (close enough to be petted constantly), and was pretty good at following commands. The shepherd/lab mix and I got along, she's picky about who she gets along with. I'm glad I made friends with her! I had fun there! I learned how to use two doggy doors. I was great at using one, but was hesitant about using the other at first, but after a short while, I was going in and out like a pro. Oh, I forgot, in the morning, I stared at the wall and growled and barked at it. My shadow wasn't there, there were no lizards or bugs, it was a blank white wall and I was 7 feet away from it growling and barking.

Next evening, I got to go with mommy to meet her friends, and some of them brought their dogs too! I had tons of fun getting a lot of attention, and sniffing butts. I was also super good about the creme puffs that mommy had sitting in the front seat. I didn't go near them, nor did I sniff them! I stayed in the back and just curled up and got comfy.

The next day, mommy was requested to go work for her aunty during the day, so I was at home. Every day I'm home during the day, mommy would always play fetch with me until I refused to give up the ball, signaling to her that I'm done playing fetch. When she got home, she saw that I was napping in the computer room with Brother, so she asked him to watch me. She shut the door behind her and took a shower. While she was drying off, she felt what she thought was a rumble. She then went to the computer room and asked Brother what happened. He said that all of a sudden, I got up quickly from my bed and stared at the door, then growled and barked at it. Brother and mommy couldn't figure out what made me bark or growl, so they just shrugged it off, and mommy called me into her room.

Ever since I was brought to mommy's house, I was always hesitant to sleep in mommy's room. I would always roam around her room or laid next to the door until I got really sleepy, and then I'll sleep in my kennel. Mommy started noticing that I was uncomfortable sleeping in my kennel, so she put my bed out next to her chair, instead of telling me to go into my kennel, she just let me be until I got too tired. I ended up sleeping in my kennel anyways, but way later after mommy slept and I made sure mommy was safe.

Anyways, the day after the barking in the computer room incident, mommy took me with her to visit some of the kids she used to tutor. They are interested in getting a puppy, I believe a bishon frise. They also wanted to meet me not believing that I look like a fox. I had lots of fun there. I got treats and went slightly into my "kid-mode." (Kid-mode = calm me.. I have two modes: normal mode=hyper, energetic me, and kid mode=calm me to be around kids.. I was never taught these modes, I just naturally switch when I see that I'll be around kids.) The kids mommy tutored aren't little kids, so I had fun playing fetch with them and I knew I didn't have to be completely calm and boring around them.

After having fun with the kids, I was tired, so I napped on my way to meeting with mommy's friends again. This time, the weather was much colder, and I had a ton of fun! I met "Moms" and "Pops" and was super easy on the leash when "Moms" was holding it and walking me around. I also tried the Easy Walker harness... that didn't work out very well.. it was too big for me, and it just didn't fit me correctly. I am getting better at leash walking without the Easy Walker, so it was something that I didn't need. Mommy returned it a few days ago, since it didn't fit. Anyways, some of mommy's friends wanted to get some coffee, and I wanted to follow, so we went to Starbucks where we met some of Saki's friends! What a small world! I had lots of fun meeting Saki's friends!

Later that night, mommy had me get back into the car and she said something about being a surprise for me? Anyways, I didn't know where we were going until we got there: airport! We went to the airport to pick daddy up!! I was super happy!! What a surprise! Next we went to daddy's brother's house where I met two more puppies, but they were very scared to meet me. I didn't stay there too long, daddy forgot some stuff, so we had to go to the supermarket to pick the stuff up. I guess it was a good thing I was in the car.. there were some people just hanging out in front of the supermarket and eying mommy's car. When mommy and daddy came out from the supermarket, the people were further away from the car. They probably thought I was a fox and figured they should stay away from the "wild fox" that is just chilling in the back of a car. =D

Anyways, daddy stayed at his brother's house since he had to fix some website stuff for his brother, and I went home with mommy.

The next day was just me chilling in the backyard while mommy and her family went to the cemetery to do their 2 times a year visit thing. When I got home, and mommy finished packing, I took some pictures with mommy's family. Mommy's mom was quite a surprise, she was bitten by a dog when she was a kid, so she's afraid of dogs. I think I did my job in melting that because she wanted to take a picture with me! She was quite happy that I was pretty quiet and didn't bark at everything, and greeted her when she came home with my tennis ball. I would drop the tennis ball at her feet when she came home, that's how I greeted her (not hopping all over her like I did the first day. I'm sorry mommy's mom! I didn't know until mommy had a talk with me.. I also don't hop on people much, I'm usually pretty good at controlling myself when it comes to hopping on people, I don't know what came over me.. I'm sorry!). I also grew on mommy's dad, a few days after me being there, he went to take pictures of me on his phone to show his friends at work! I think I worked my way into mommy's family quite well! Mommy's brother wants me to visit again, and so do his friends! During the trip, I found out that mommy's mom's co-worker's mother-in-law owns a shiba! Actually, it wasn't too big of a surprise, mommy's mom's co-worker is from Japan, so she was bound to know someone that owns a shiba, they are quite popular there.

Okay... so now, here are some stuff that was left out in the paragraphs above:
-mommy's room was the room that her grandma passed away in. She put my kennel right in the middle of where her grandma passed away in that room.
-computer room is where her grandpa passed away. That room used to be grandpa's room until he died.
-mommy has always had the feeling that some people familiar follow her around her house during the week that she is supposed to visit the cemetery.. she says it's the creepy feeling that someone is watching you.. She also doesn't know when she is supposed to visit the cemetery until a couple of days before she is supposed to go. Her family uses the lunar calendar to determine when they are supposed to visit the cemetery, and mommy finds it too confusing, so she never bothered to keep up with the lunar calendar.
-mommy's best friend's mom had their house blessed by the monks and had spirits expelled from the inside of their house...
-mommy's best friend used to be able to see spirits when she was a little kid, and they still try to communicate to her when she sleeps, and it freaks her out, so there always has to be one other person sleeping in the room with her or the door has to be open with another person sleeping in the room next door, and the TV has to be on when she sleeps.

Okey dokey, enough about creepy stuff...

Daddy found a house and it has a gigantic yard! They're looking at getting another dog, probably another shiba. I like being king of the land, but I guess if they find a shiba that fits in with us, I won't mind sharing.. we'll see.. Another one on their list is an akita. Daddy grew up with two and wants another. Our yard would definitely be big enough to keep two full grown ones, but they're just looking for one other dog. They're up to any dog my size or bigger, but would definitely prefer to rescue a shiba. If anyone knows of any shiba in the San Diego area that are up for adoption and don't mind living with another shiba, let us know. The house inspection is real soon, hopefully that goes well, so I get a nice big yard! Wish us luck!

Oh, I forgot to add.. Mommy and daddy lost the camera, they don't know where it is around the house, so no pictures from mommy and daddy anytime soon...