Category Archives: Life Lessons

So I’m a Dog Person

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Birthday card front with dog illustrations

I’m curious about something: At what point do people begin to see you as a “dog person”?

I guess the quantity involved is a big factor and if so, what’s the magic number when the moniker becomes unavoidable? Two? More than two? More than three? I’m smiling as I write this because there certainly are worse things to be known for and I don’t really mind, although “dog lady” sticks in my craw a little. Craw lady. No.

Let me just say this: I think if a person even has just one dog, but they begin to dress it up in little outfits every day and push it around in a stroller, the label might be knocking at their door as well. Just saying. Fair is fair, right?

In either case, once you are a bonafide “dog person”, people will begin to give you things that are doggy. Doggy tchotchkes. Sometimes they are really wonderful things (and not at all tchotchkes) that they make themselves, like this birthday card that a good friend made for me. I was so happy when I opened it and I cherish it. The truth is my birthday was lousy this year, because my ailing dog Henry took a turn for the worse and it seemed that day might be his last. But this sweet card with these seven pups she drew cheered me up a lot on that sad birthday. And it reminded me that no matter what’s going on, being a “dog person” really is a wonderful gift in itself.

Japan’s Beloved Hachikō

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Hachiko statue, Tokyo

I suppose that by now most people are well acquainted with the story of Japan’s famous Akita Hachikō, but how can a blog titled Dogs Make Everything Better not include it? It must! First of all, it’s a true story. Second, it has to be the number one example of a dog’s fierce loyalty to his friend and the powerful bond that can exist between dog and man. And third, Hachikō is especially the winner now that the tale of Edinburgh’s poor little Greyfriar’s Bobby has been pretty much debunked. Boy, what a dagger that was!

For those of you that don’t know about Hachikō, here’s the story. By the way, there is a movie that was released in 2010 directed by Lasse Hallström called Hachi starring Richard Gere and Joan Allen, but it’s loosely based on the true story. The 1987 Japanese film Hachi-kō is the real deal and I’m hoping to see it soon. Um, with subtitles.

The story begins in Tokyo in 1924. A professor at Tokyo University by the name of Hidesaburō Ueno acquired Hachikō to be his dog, a golden brown Akita. Each day the pair would walk to Shibuya Station together, where Professor Ueno would take the train to work. When he would arrive back at the station at the end of the day, Hachikō would always be there at the precise time to meet him and together they would walk home. This continued until one day in May 1925 when Professor Ueno suffered a cerebral hemorrhage at work and died. For the next nine years the ever loyal Hachikō continued to arrive at the station each afternoon at the same time, hopeful that Professor Ueno would once again step off the train.

Hachikō and Professor Ueno

Fellow commuters noticed Hachikō waiting and remembered seeing Professor Ueno with the dog each day. Eventually they started bringing him food and treats. Newspaper articles were published, and before long Hachikō became a national symbol of family loyalty for the Japanese people. Children were taught to honor and respect Hachikō’s remarkable vigil and to recognize it as an example for them to follow. Before long, the nation’s interest and awareness in the honorable Akita breed also grew.

In the spring of 1934, a bronze statue was erected outside the Shibuya Station and Hachikō himself was present for its unveiling. The spot where Hachikō waited in the train station is permanently marked with bronze paw prints and text in Japanese detailing his lifelong loyalty. During World War II the statue was sacrificed and melted for the war effort, but a replacement was made and erected in 1948. Each year on April 8, a solemn ceremony takes place at Shibuya Station to honor Hachikō, attracting hundreds of dog owners to pay their respects. And last month, rare photos from Hachikō’s life were shown at the Shibuya Folk and Literary Shirane Memorial Museum in Shibuya Ward, the show wrapping up on July 22.

Once again, it’s a dog at the helm showing us how we should behave and honor the special people in our lives. So thanks for stepping up, Hachikō. Sure wish you could come back, and this time maybe run for President?

Thanks to Wikipedia, for some facts.

Erica Preo is CEO & Creative Director of Pantofola, pure luxury Italian goods for dogs.

The Story of Finn

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This story about Finn is the inaugural post of my blog Dogs Make Everything Better because she embodies everything that’s great about dogs. She will forever serve as inspiration for my business venture as well as being “the one that got away.” Apologies for the length, future posts will be much shorter.

Before I begin, I must disclose that I currently have a household with 4 dogs, and really had no business sniffing around for another, but…

One day I was looking at the available dogs online at my local county shelter. There was one that had caught my eye, in fact I’d read her bio on a previous visit to the site. She was described as a “Spitz Mix”, which ended up being a Chow Mix but I have learned since that shelter staff can get colorful when it comes to creating curb appeal. When I called, they said she was still available so I decided to stop in the next day on my way out of town (who does that?) to see her.

I had never been to the county shelter before, because it’s just too heartbreaking for me. So in the lobby I asked them to bring her out so I could avoid the trip to the back kennel area. She was beautiful, I knew she would be. The color of French vanilla ice cream and a very regal stance, curled tail and splotchy tongue. She ignored me at first, this dog called Sophie that was not at all a Sophie. I took her outside to the enclosure to spend some time with her and eventually she gave me the time of day, sort of. We watched together as people backed up their SUVs, popped their hatches and discarded dogs they no longer wanted. When the crowds left we went back inside and I told them that I was thinking about adopting her but I’d need a day or two to think it over. I was told that she had already been there for 44 days, which is a very long time for an over-crowded shelter. By law they must take new strays and keep them for a minimum of one week and therefore adequate shelter space is at a premium, so there was no guarantee that she would not be euthanized that very afternoon in order to make room for newcomers. And, as they pointed out, seven had come in during the last hour alone.

The dog looked up at me on cue and somehow made her eyes sparkle. She turned her head this way and that way, making eye contact and sparkling like I’ve never seen. Even if she hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have left her there. I was going to save her. Somehow. The system, an irresponsible owner, a bad economy, the backing up of an SUV and a popping hatch, whatever circumstances had brought her to this point, I wasn’t going to let them to take her from this world. No way. In February I lost my dog Henry, a beautiful Malamute mix, to cancer and I did everything I could to give him as much life as possible, down to the minute and the morsel and literally the very last warming ray of sunshine on his body. So how could I justify turning my back on this beautiful healthy sparkling dog? I figured she was still owed a lot of rays of sunshine.

She had a good bath. A trip to the vet. A few hours with a trainer. Lots of good food and a nice bone. Brushing, ear scratching, massages. Walks. A few escapes (but who wouldn’t want to just run after being kept in a cage for 44 days, exercise limited to brief walks and only on Saturdays?). We had a long conversation one evening under the stars and we figured out that her name should be Finn. We said she was always Finn, and nobody knew that before, but we did. Finn.

And just as we settled in to be best friends forever, it became apparent that things were a little sticky at our house. Introducing her to my other dogs wasn’t so successful. And having just spent 11 years in a household with keeping two dogs separated that didn’t get along wasn’t something I could enter into again. The trainer’s advice was “you do not have to fix this…what you should do is take her straight back to the shelter.” Um, no. Because Finn is such a sparkly star and the heavens knew just what to do with a star like that (and also because I’m an extremely stubborn Capricorn) she ended up getting the best life instead. Ever.

My mom mentioned to me that her friends had been recently talking about the void left in their lives, their dog having passed away almost two years before and they missed her so much. Having no other pets at home and grandchildren that lived out of state, I knew that Finn would be the star of the show with them. And so they met Finn. She apparently turned on the sparkles and they all fell in love with each other on the spot. Now Finn (sigh, they changed her name to something else, but a rose by any other name…) spends her days and nights lavished with attention and love and ear scratches and you name it. What’s better than that?

Now I have to be honest: I was pretty blue the following week. We’d really bonded, Finn and I. But she taught me stuff, just the way dogs always do. I learned to let go and recognize my limitations. I reminded myself that she was better off with these people who were such a great fit and could give her the kind of home that I could not. And what a warm feeling to ease someone’s sadness with a new dog, never to replace the one they lost but to create a new perfect match. But what really took my breath away, what still takes my breath away, is the realization that I saved her! So yes, another victory for the underdog! It means that people popping the hatches on their SUVs and dumping dogs at shelters like garbage don’t win when someone does something to step up. Dogs like Finn can win. And win big. And that’s really huge.