2 years ago today - September 29

I was talking with a friend today and realized that it has been 2 years exactly since I picked Jazz up from her breeder. In honor of that momentous occasion, I've pulled some dates from the last 6 years that led me to where I am today.

September 28, 2003 – Beloved Husky, Torbin Vladimir of Gorky Park passed away in his sleep.
June 2004 – caught sight of gorgeous dog, called a Shiba, makes me think of a blond Gorky, wouldn’t it be nice to have a small version of a husky??
August 2004 – New house is finished, where will the dog area be??
February 2005 – Caught a dog show on TV, saw the Shiba again, must do more research on it, the Akita, and the Norwegian Elkhound.
September 2005 – I think Dad would deal better with Mom’s death if we had a dog. Start researching the Shiba, eliminated Akita due to size – I want the kids to easily be able to walk the dog, can’t find anyone local with an Elkhound to meet.
January 2006 – Maybe the time isn’t right for a dog, Steve just got a new job and I’m working crazy hours again, got to put it off again.
July 2006 – just spent the week with brother Joe, his Samoyeds make me long to have a dog in my life again.
September 2006 – Fall Ball has started, where could I fit in the time for a dog—I’m never home!
April 2007 – Dad wants me to find a dog – I told him I’ve found the breed, it’ll be a lot like Gorky, just smaller.
May 2007 – I’ll get the Shiba in Dad’s memory.
June 2007 – There are so many breeders, who do I pick? How do I know who has the best dogs?
August 2007 – got an email about a Shiba in Athens for rescue. Called Steve (my brother), he’s good with the plan.
September 2007 – emailed every Shiba breeder on the east coast that does rescue – maybe drive to OH to pick up a Shiba?
September 15, 2007 – heard back from a breeder in NC, has a Shiba that has a skin allergy and doesn’t like other dogs. All I have to do is drive to NC.
Saturday, September 29, 2007 – left house at 5 am to go pickup rental car from airport to drive to Winston-Salem, NC. Met with the breeder for 10 minutes and was on my way with my Shiba. Spent the drive talking to Jazz.
October 2007 - attended 1st Shiba meetup - Jazz has a few issues with other dogs - will have to work on this.
December 2007 - another Shiba meetup - met Rachael & Chad and Dave.
March 2008 - joined this crazy forum called Nihonken.org - switched Jazz to a grain-free food rotation
April 2008 - did Pet Parade with Jazz
May 2008 - did 5K with Jazz, learned about Melatonin
June 2008 - Jazz plays with Jake - only growls a couple of times
August 2008 - brought home Fletch, rehomed after 2 weeks - Jazz wasn’t upset, participated in local dog show
September 2008 - Jazz gets a new friend, Sally the pug, Jazz shows her stuff at several responsible dog owner days with local AKC clubs
October-November 2008 - several playdates @ Rachael’s - Jazz is doing better with Niko
December 2008 - Jazz snarls and nips Niko
January 2009 - met Brad & Jen, Pam & Tim
February 2009 - started working on noise aversion training, met Victoria Stilwell
March 2009 - got to see Jazz “play” in the snow
May 2009 - took Jazz to a Braves ball game, drove with Jazz to PA to meet Jen & John, Kristin & Chris, Kris & Dan, Joe & Dawn, Beth & Tom, Casey, Jenny & Jon, Steph, Jason, Pam, and a few more crazy shiba people
July 2009 - moved, Jazz dealt with it great!! Had a watermelon social at a local park - Jazz got lots of attention.
August 2009 - took Jazz to fair at church - she played and was unfazed by the loud music.
September 2009 - met up with Pam on her way through Atlanta - on way back, met up with Pam @Dave's for a great breakfast.

We haven't posted much lately, but we've been pretty busy! There have been meetups, dog shows, photo shoots, a guest appearance and dinner with an out-of-town friend. In addition, Jazz has begun shedding, so there's been some extra grooming going on around here.

The meetup was a small group, but nice. The location - Camp Woof, Norcross, GA - was nice. They have a great store.

The dog show was fun, even though Jazz was unable to attend. There were some pretty shibas, but none came close to Jazz. LJ got to meet up with her shiba club, while forum members were gathering in Wisconsin. As much fun as the dog show was, she'd much rather have been in Wisconsin.

LJ borrowed a nice camera and took quite a few shots of Jazz - some turned out very nice - she needs to buy a dSLR very soon.

Jazz was a drawing card for a fair at the Church - lots of people stopped by for Jazz love.

Lastly, our friend Pam was passing through Atlanta and we got to have dinner with her - very nice. We're looking forward to doing this again real soon.