Zorro is a big red shiba owned by my brother, Billy, his wife, Bridget, and their son, Wally. Mark and I do pure-bred rescue work with Akitas and Shibas and received a call from the Methuen MSPCA shelter in early spring of 2000: they called to tell us they had a shiba that they couldn't place and to ask if we wanted to take him into rescue. I drove down to see the dog and was shaken by the sight of a very young, very hysterical shiba crouched in the back of his kennel screaming. The shelter workers reassured me that he was much better when away from the commotion of the shelter so I took him for a walk and was delighted by his friendliness and good nature. Mark and I kept the dog, then called "Hunter" for 2 1/2 months until Billy and Bridget met him and fell in love. Zorro has come a long way since that day in the shelter. Today he is a handsome, self-assured fellow, wonderful with people and steadily losing his fear of strange dogs. Recently, Billy and Zorro have been training in Rally-Obedience (an exciting new dog sport). I keep saying that they should compete for a title, but neither of them are convinced yet.
Zorro and his "little sister" Morgan (an Akita/Shepherd mix who could pass for a Kai Ken), peaking through the gate.