After Shake the dachshund left, we took a break from fostering for several months. We started again recently and this cutie pooch has been staying with us for a couple of weeks. His name is Saboten, which means ‘cactus’ in Japanese. It is not his real name though, so he doesn’t really understand when someone calls ‘Saboten!’. Nobody knows his real name or age because Saboten was found abandoned in a cage. This is Saboten’s profile page in ARK website. I can’t imagine why someone would just get rid of a dog like Saboten. He behaves very well, doesn’t make a mess […]
Tag: fostering
One year with Fuwawa
One year ago we met Fuwawa for the first time. She has lived as a breeding dog for the first seven years of her life until the breeder had to close down. Initially, the breeder wanted to put down all of their Chinese Crested dogs but fortunately they didn’t have enough money to do so. They handed all the dogs to the ARK shelter instead, who then sent Fuwawa to us to be fostered. The first few days in our house, Fuwawa was still very nervous and spent most of her time hiding in her crate. She was debarked by the breeder so […]
Goodbye Shoronpo and Hello Shake!
A couple of weeks ago we said goodbye to Shoronpo as he has finally found a forever home! It is always a bittersweet moment when it happened. We are happy though to see him go and will always remember the time when he is in our home. Congratulations Shoronpo! After Shoronpo left, we welcomed Shake, an 11 years old female dachshund. Her name means ‘salmon fish’ in Japanese and it is pronounced like ‘shock-eh’. When her previous owner had to move out of their home, for some reason they couldn’t take Shake with them so she was brought to the shelter. She actually came to […]
Goodbye Shiitake and Hello Shoronpo!
Shiitake finally found his forever family after more than three months in foster care! I was beginning to worry that he wouldn’t get adopted because he was so shy of strangers. Shiitake was fine at home with us, but at the adoption events he would hide in a corner so nobody would see him.He befriended another foster dog called Hara, where he met when he sometimes stayed in another foster family. She was about the same size and age as Shiitake, and just as shy as him too. At adoption events they would crumple together and hide. Then a family came to adopt Shiitake after seeing […]
Bellatrix blazer – Papercut patterns
You might have seen this blazer several times if you follow me in Instagram. This is my new favorite jacket, the Bellatrix blazer by Papercut Patterns! Actually I always thought that I was not a blazer person. Maybe a bomber jacket or coat person, but not a blazer one. However, after seeing so many different version of this blazer around the blogosphere, I got the urge to at least try making one. I didn’t want to buy a whole supply for something that I might not wear daily though, so I turned to my store bought clothes to find something. It […]
Shiitake the puppy
It has been more than 2 weeks into the new year but it is still January so I guess saying ‘Happy New year!’ is still okay. Well, happy new year! This handsome pup just came to our house three days ago. he was born five months ago in a temple on the mountains by a stray dog mother. All the six puppies were rescued by the age of two months, they were hairless because of mange (skin disease) at that time. They were all named after mushrooms. You can read the story about them in ARK blog. This one is […]
Foster updates: Okowa and Koten
Okowa has finally been adopted! It is such a wonderful news because Okowa had already spent one year in the ARK shelter in Osaka. A lot of people have doubt adopting her because of her age. But one month after she moved to Tokyo, she finally found a forever home. Her adopter is a lovely young couple who already has a couple of chihuahua. We are so happy for Okowa. After Okowa left, we took care of Koten, a five tears old male Maltese-Poodle mix. He only spent one week in our house because someone is already got interested in […]
Okowa the Chihuahua
We’ve got a newcomer yesterday! Meet our new foster dog, Okowa the Chihuahua! Okowa is a 14 years old female chihuahua who had to go to ARK shelter since her owner was hospitalized and can no longer take care of her. It is very sad to think that she has been loved her whole life and then had to live in a shelter in her old days. Okawa has been staying in ARK Osaka shelter for a year before she was moved to Tokyo in hope to find an adopter. Despite her age, she has no medical issues except for being toothless. […]
Welcome Fuwawa!
We have a new family member! After spending one month with Fuwawa, we fell in love and decided to adopt her. I still can’t believe that we have our own dog now! When a pet in ARK has found a forever home, the round pendant is exchanged with a star pendant. Here is Fuwawa with her new star pendant! Sadly Fuwawa was debarked by her previous owner so she couldn’t make a proper bark. But each day she is looking happier and more comfortable. Every night she sleeps beside Sidra and enjoys being petted until both of them fall asleep. […]
Screen printing newbie: ARK dog scarves
I recently volunteered to make these dog scarves for ARK to replace the worn-out ones. The old ones are slip-on type with casing to thread the collar, which is perfectly fine if there is only one or two dogs. But when there are five or more dogs, taking the collar off and putting it back again can be quite a hassle, so they asked me to make a non slip-on scarves. After several prototypes, I came up with this one. The scarf is double layered, topstitched around the edge, has rounded edge, and a small loop to keep the ends […]