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The Akita-Mura
Cyber Show was produced in order to raise awareness for the
After 3 weeks of living on rainwater, Kiri was down to 50 lbs. and Tamashii only 40 lbs. and near death. Akita rescue was contacted, but due to the weakened state of both dogs, vaccinations would have to wait, and a public boarding facility was not an option. A private individual was found who had one open kennel, and was willing to foster these dogs. After a few months of regular feeding, both dogs regained their health and normal weight. Unfortunately, it was at this time that Kiri also came in to heat, unnoticed by her caretaker. She became pregnant by Tamashii just before Tamashii was neutered. Her pregnancy progressed, and when recognized, Kiri was brought to the vet's office to confirm her pregnancy. It was determined she was too far along with her pregnancy for a spay/abort to be safely carried out. |
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On behalf of Kiri, and all of the other deserving Akita rescues out there, we want to thank you for participating in Akita-Mura. The success of Akita-Mura demonstrates that despite the ideological and personal differences of those devoted to the Akita breed, we can all pull together to help end the suffering of our own Akita's less fortunate relatives.
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Such is the story
of Kiri, a young Akita female found at an abandoned house in Joliet,
Illinois. She was kenneled with a male Akita companion, Tamashii, both
left without food and water for nearly 3 weeks. The dogs were near death
when taken in by the animal shelter. Kiri's story begins when Akita
Rescue took her in....
It was at this
time that an up until now uninvolved party stepped forward and
volunteered to foster Kiri and whelp her puppies. Time was crucial as no
one really knew when Kiri was to deliver. So she was brought to
Michigan, where 5 days later, she whelped 14 (!!!) puppies, 13 of which
survived delivery. With supplemental feeding, the bunch was vet-checked
and seemed to be thriving until the morning of day 7, when two puppies
were discovered dead in the litter box. Another puppy was in respiratory
distress, and was rushed to the vet, along with the dead puppies. The
ailing puppy went downhill so fast, it was put down to end it's
suffering. A necroscopy was done on two of the puppies, and the bad news
was delivered later that afternoon. A diagnosis of Canine Herpesvirus
was made. Canine Herpesvirus is almost always fatal to puppies under 3
weeks of age, and despite drastic efforts, the entire litter was lost in
two long days. You can read more about Canine Herpesvirus here: 
Kiri eventually
recovered emotionally from her loss, and became a "house dog"
for the first time in her life. It was discovered that she was quite the
clown, smart as can be and extremely energetic. She loved nothing more
than to spend time with the family and play with the resident male
Akita. She developed a whole new repertoire of tricks, and loved to go
for rides in the car. The resident female (Akita), however, was
extremely upset that this interloper was spending time at her house and
their mutual animosity was making life difficult, to say the least.
Despite her foster's falling deeply in love with Kiri, it was realized
that she must find a home of her own, for safety's sake. Doing this was
quite a challenge, because despite Kiri's wonderful qualities, she had
been abused in the past, and it took time for her to trust new people
and she had an initial dislike of men in general.
After 8 long
months of juggling dogs, God sent Kiri the perfect home. Her new home
was with a single woman, no kids, who worked out of her home and already
had an older longcoated Akita rescue. Kiri adapted quickly to her new
home, and took her couch privileges seriously! As an added bonus, she
lived close enough for her foster parents to visit regularly. She is now
a much calmer dog, who has learned to trust people and enjoy life to the
fullest. Her older companion went to the Rainbow Bridge last spring, and
even though she misses him, she is enjoying her only-dog status at this
time. And after being neglected and nearly starved to death at one point
in her life, Kiri now rarely misses a meal!