I heard from Chuck yesterday, and he sent along some great pictures of Che. Here's what he says

<
I've been meaning to send you some new Che pictures for a while now.

Here is a picture of him at Paws in Chelsea, where we boarded him over
Thanksgiving. He was about 11 months then: http://www.pawsinchelsea.com/difference.php
As you can see, he's giving one of the caretakers a hug! We try to
discourage this, but it is very cute! (by the way, I highly
recommended Paws in Chesea! They did great!)

Also, below is a photo from last weekend, when Yvonne took Che to
Coney Island! (Che has this funny habit of jumping on walls and
windows to look over/into things. It's pretty amusing, although
sometimes people get startled! This morning he jumped up on the
counter at the Post Office, which was a big surprise for the postal
worker!

I'll also mention that we've completed two obedience classes with
Pawsative (which you recommended to us) and they've been great. I
highly recommend them too.

We're having a great time with Che. He is a lovely dog and so much fun
to be with. We're so happy that he's part of our lives!

best,
Chuck>>



Look at that expression! Che always was a character

Between the puppies and having the flu, I find I've gotten behind in a lot of things. I missed our February birthdays

So without further ado, Happy Birthday to Flyer, who was TEN years old on February 23! He just had a complete check up and blood work up earlier in the month, and he's in great shape - I'm surprised he's doing so well, as he is so darned big - nearly 29 inches at the shoulder and holding steady at 160 pounds. Granted, he is a little overweight, but not more than about ten pounds. Here's one of my favorite pictures of him, taken when he was about 3 years old right after a snowfall. That's not grey on his face, it's snow! And the old faht still loves to play in the snow.



On February 28th, Shrek turned 5! Seems like just yesterday we were driving up to NH to pick him up. His mother is Flyer's sister - can you see the family resemblence? This photo was taken last winter; since then, Shrek has been neutered and he has really filled out and bulked up and looks terrific. Isn't that always the way?

This wasn't as easy as it might look, but I finally got a "face shot" of everyone this evening.

Brady



Eli



Hootie



Kelly



Kitty and Wilbur



Mona



Roxie

Thursday, I got an email from Martha Sherrill, an author who recently wrote a book about Akitas. We had spoken a few years ago when she was doing some research on the book. She wrote:

<I would like your home mailing address. My book about the rescue of the akita breed in Japan after the war -- and the life story of one of the central figures in the preservation and restoration of the breed -- is being released in hardcover this week. I would love to send you a copy in gratitude for the time you spent talking to me, and for your help and openness in general. In the end, none of the U.S. history of the dog breed really became part of the book. There's only a brief mention, in the last chapter, about the split. But I do think you will find the story compelling and no less fascinating.

If you have an email list of U.S. akita people who might be interested in the book, or getting on my mailing list -- and tour schedule, I'd be happy to send them more information.

Here's a link to the amazon page with a description of the book. I'm very happy with the book jacket. It's a photograph of Morie Sawataishi at 88 years old, heading off into the mountains with his grand champion, Shiro, who died just 2 months ago at the age of 16!

http://www.amazon.com/Dog-Man-Uncommon-Faraway-Mountain/dp/1594201242/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204215855&sr=1-1

Thanks again,
martha>>

Martha is doing several book signings, and is also going to be on a couple of NPR radio stations doing interviews. One of them is a call in show, which should be interesting!

She would love to hear from anyone about the book at _DogManBook@gmail.com_
(mailto:DogManBook@gmail.com) .

I've listed the book signings and radio show dates below.

>

AUTHOR TOUR SCHEDULE

MARCH 3 7 PM WELLESLEY BOOKSMITH
WELLESLEY, MA

MARCH 7 7 PM JABBERWOCKY
AT THE TANNERY
NEWBURYPORT, MA


MARCH 13 7 PM BARNES & NOBLE TRIBECA
WARREN & GREENWICH STS
NEW YORK CITY

MARCH 17 7 PM VROMAN'S BOOKSTORE
PASADENA, CA

MARCH 18 11 AM THE COMMONWEALTH CLUB
OF SAN FRANCISCO
(NON-MEMBERS $15)

7 PM COPPERFIELD'S BOOKS
& MUSIC
SANTA ROSA, CA

MARCH 19 7 PM RAKESTRAW BOOKS
DANVILLE, CA

MARCH 20 7:30 PM CAPITOLA BOOK CAFÉ
CAPITOLA, CA

I can't wait to read the book, I know its going to be fascinating!

I can't believe the puppies are going to be 4 weeks old already tomorrow! They are walking around and growling and playing with each other, just like miniature dogs. And they are really enjoying their food! When I come in with the food dishes, even if they are all sound asleep, they all jump up and run over to me - they want to eat! I think Trudy is happy to get the break, although she won't be pleased when I start cutting her food back to begin to dry her up!