The journey to the kennel

I don’t know what I was expecting to happen when I went to go see Raijin and bring him home. The drive to the Akitsu Shikoku Ken from Miami was beautiful. It’s a three-hour drive from Miami to Sanibel through route 41 and you cross the Everglades. Now I’m not one for long drives in straight lines, and this is one of those, but I think there was something particularly special about this one. The Everglades is a 1.5-million-acre wetland with several tour guide shacks scattered throughout the highway’s length promising thrilling experiences on airboats. You can also see men, women, and children fishing, camping, or even cycling along the highway from start to finish. Something interesting about the Everglades, that I didn’t know, is that it is home to the Miccosukee Indian tribe and that along route 41 is the United States’ smallest post office, Ochopee Post Office. I’m going to remember this drive because of these things and because it gave me time to think and come to terms with the fact that I was getting a puppy. I’ve always had dogs at my household, but Raijin would be the first male dog, and the first indoor dog that I train. That drive built up the excitement and the nervousness of that would culminate four months of planning and conversations with Akitsu Shikoku Ken’s breeder, Anne.

When I saw Raijin, I was so happy. I was a nervous he wouldn’t like me at first. Thinking about it now, I don’t think a puppy could ever not like anyone. Raijin’s brother was also there. To me, Raijin’s brother’s name will always be Fuujin, the god of wind in Japanese mythology (and brother to Raijin), but that wasn’t his real name. Regardless, Fuujin was a black sesame shikoku pup about the same size and weight as Raijin. After they played in the yard a while together, Fuujin departed to Arizona/Alaska with his owner leaving me with Raijin and Anne to talk about his important paperwork.

The amount of detail in Raijin’s paperwork is impressive. Anne prepared a manual on owning a Shikoku puppy with advice on everything from feeding and sleep to Vaccines and Microchipping. There was also information on training, overstimulation, socialization, and biting inhibition. The information would not be complete without his contract, his vet visit information, and his fit for travel certificate. Suffice to say that he has the whole package! Even his pedigree information.

After we finished talking about paperwork, we went back into the yard. We played a little more and got Raijin into his kennel. The trick that did it? Why tossing treats into the kennel of course! With Raijin safe inside his kennel, we departed for the hotel to take a much-needed rest. At the hotel, Raijin decided it would be ok to wander around the hotel room to explore a little. He growled at himself in the mirror and ultimately, lulled off to sleep by my side on the bed.