Shiba Inu: A Remarkable Journey

Buying a dog, can be quite daunting. How do you know what a good breed is? How do you truly know a dog is meant for you? Dogs are quite loyal. They are honest, humble, and will always love you no matter what. Growing up, I had a Yorkshire Terrier, named Rosie, who will be 16 years old in March 2011. After I got married, my husband surprised me one Christmas morning back in December 2005. Read on, if you are thinking about getting a Shiba Inu.

I still remember that Christmas morning of 2005. I woke up and thought I was dreaming. Something climbed on top of me and was sniffing me. I quickly sat up. It was a furry Golden creature, with a red bandanna on her neck. She had a cute fox face and a curled tail. I quickly said to my husband, "Please tell me this is one of our neighbor's dogs that accidentally got in our house." He said "Nope, this is your Christmas gift, what do you want to name her?" I looked intensely at the dog, and thought back to my Grandmother's dog back in India. She had a bulldog named Sheeba, who had died years back. I quickly said to my husband lets name her "Sheeba."

I had never seen this breed before. I found her tail to be especially funny as it stood straight and curled on the top. My husband was in disbelief when I said to name her Sheeba. He instantly was like "Noooo, way!" I asked him what happened, and he then broke the news to me that her breed was called "Shiba Inu." Right then it hit me, that this dog was destined to be a part of my life.

I was also pregnant at the time with my first daughter, Simran. My husband had told me this breed would be good with kids, according to the store that he had bought her from. She looked quite innocent, and had a twinkle in her eye. I kept thinking she would stay the size she was. I know now Shiba Inus are stubborn, independent, loyal, big, and destructive, when they are puppies.

In a few days, Sheeba ate the sheetrock in our downstairs' bathroom. She ate on anything wooden, including our wood floor, and a piece of our wooden railing leading upstairs. She would eat the mud out of my indoor plants. Her speed in running was astounding. She could run faster than any animal I have ever seen, and at times would go in a frenzy doing laps around our glass table. As time went on, she grew bigger and bigger. I was nervous as I was pregnant, and thought how could this breed be good with kids?

My other dog Rosie was never this destructive. She had never physically eaten wood, even when she was a puppy. Amazingly, when Simran was born and I brought her home, Sheeba sniffed her and walked away. She was intrigued by Simran, but that was about it. To this day, I have never seen Sheeba jump on Simran or knock her down. It was like she instantly understood that no mischief would be tolerated with my daughter.

Sheeba kept growing. In 2007, I was pregnant with my other daughter, Sahara. That April 2007, we got a large scare. I went into false labor and had to be rushed into the ER. My mom stayed back with Simran at my house. The next day when she was cooking something, the smoke alarm went off. My mom opened the door a little to let some air into the house. Shiba spotted the door open, and darted out the door. When I returned from the ER that morning, my mom was hysterical. She told me Shiba had run out the door and she was not sure where she had run off too, but thought she saw her heading across the street to a bigger development of houses.

I quickly started running as fast I could. Being seven months pregnant and in false labor the night before, I could not run as fast as I wish I could have. I caught sight of Sheeba and was a bit relieved. Upon calling her name, she ran faster towards me and back away. My husband was with me and tried to also capture her. Soon, my dad and sister joined the team, but no one could grab a hold of her. We brought treats out, but that did not work either. I was crying as I thought I may have lost Sheeba forever.

After 1.5 hours of chasing Sheeba, we gave up and lost sight of her. I had cramping in my abdomen from running, and had to lie down. I prayed to God, that she would be okay and that someone would capture her, as I knew she had her name tag on. An hour passed which seemed like a very long hour. I kept praying Sheeba did not get hit by a car as she had crossed one main road and a Highway when we were trying to get her earlier.

The phone finally rang and the man on the phone told me he had found my dog, but she would require a few stitches. I thought perhaps, Sheeba had gotten nicked by a car. I quickly told my husband and we instantly left to get Sheeba back. The person who had called us lived on a small farm, about four miles away where he had found Sheeba. When we got to the Farm, I gave the Owner the leash. He then told me we would not need the Leash and that Sheeba had a bit of bleeding from her abdomen.

He broke the news to me that his 2 Doberman Pinschers, who were trained as hunting dogs, had seen Sheeba, and thought she was a Groundhog from her golden fur. They had attacked her, when he had stepped in. Sheeba did not fight back; she surrendered and just lay on the ground, while his dogs tore her apart. My heart sank when I heard this and the owner carried Sheeba out, who was covered in blood. Sheeba closed her eyes and was whining in pain. We quickly rushed her to her veterinarian 's office. He had to perform emergency surgery as Sheeba had three large lacerations. One was very close to her bowel. For ten days, Sheeba could barely walk. My energetic dog became frail and quiet. As time went on, Sheeba got better and her three incisions healed. Thought her recovery was very painful, Sheeba could walk again.

That incident definitely, changed my life forever. During the month Sheeba healed, I realized how much I loved her. I thanked God for saving her and for healing her. The dog that was so destructive suddenly became so loyal to me. With time, Shiba stopped chewing wood. She now demands very little and has become very obedient. We almost lost Sheeba in April 2007, through the unfortunate ordeal, but God was gracious as we did not. Sheeba is now 5 years old and is excellent with my two daughters. From the very first moments I saw her, I knew Sheeba was destined for me.