Success Story: Cherry

The Japan Times and Tokyo ARK have given Angels with Fur kind permission to reprint notices regarding pet adoptions (see: potential pets who have been featured on the Angels with Fur site). In addition to requests for adoption, they also publish success stories about pets who find new homes. Here is the latest success story.

Kyoko Kitaguchi poses with her recently adopted Cherry (right) and Boss, another dog she had adopted from ARK. Cherry was first featured here last November. She had been abandoned by her first owners and left locked in an apartment when they moved out. She spent seven long years at the shelter waiting for a home. Finally, adopted by the Kitaguchis, Kyoko and husband, Hiroki, Cherry is now part of a caring family. Love and care have done wonders. Kitaguchi, however, refuses to take the credit. “It is Cherry who is trying her best to fit in with us.” This is the third dog the Kitaguchis have adopted from ARK. Although they recognize how adorable and cute puppies are, Kyoko says she has a fondness for older dogs and also sympathizes with them. “Like humans, the loneliness that comes with age is a very sad thing.” Also, she feels more of a bond with older animals. “Unlike with puppies, I find it easier to communicate with older dogs. There is something about older dogs that I love.” And, Kyoko, there’s something about you we love! From ARK and The Japan Times, thank you for giving Cherry a home.

Originally published in the Japan Times on Saturday, July 18, 2009. Photo by Kyoko Kitaguchi.

Interested in Adopting a Pet?

Please email ARK at tokyoark[at]arkbark.net or call 080-6146-3889 (English) or 080-6517-8913 (Japanese). Tokyo ARK is a nonprofit organization founded by Brit Elizabeth Oliver. It is dedicated to rescuing and rehoming abandoned animals. All animals are vaccinated, neutered, and microchipped. Prospective new owners undergo a screening process.

The Japan Times supports stray and abandoned animals by publishing this photo box every Saturday in the Weekend/People section of the paper. The information is then archived here on the Angels with Fur site one week later, on the following Saturday.

See also: Other potential pets who have been featured on the Angels with Fur site

Success Story: Ryota and Memina

The Japan Times and Tokyo ARK have given Angels with Fur kind permission to reprint notices regarding pet adoptions (see: potential pets who have been featured on the Angels with Fur site). In addition to requests for adoption, they also publish success stories about pets who find new homes. Here is the latest success story.

Featured in late March, siblings Memina (tortoiseshell) and Ryoto (all black) had waited 10 months at the ARK shelter before finding a permanent home with Jessica Ocheltree and Makoto Kozuka of Tokyo. Above, Ocheltree holds Ryoto while Kozuka sits with Memina. “They were the ideal cats to adopt together,” says Ocheltree, originally from Arizona. “We are both at work all day, so they keep each other company and appear to spend most of the day sleeping. When we come home they are always pleased to see us, but they aren’t panicked.” Ocheltree had had pets all her life until she came to Japan five years ago, and missed having animals around. For Kozuka, however, pets were a first, thus the decision to adopt older kittens as they believed there would be less stress all around. Shy Memina has come out of her shell and taken to Kozuka, but both cats will follow their new owners around the house. To Jessica and Makoto, thank you for keeping this brother and sister together and making them a part of your family.

Originally published in the Japan Times on Saturday, June 27, 2009. Photo by Jessica Ocheltree.

Interested in Adopting a Pet?

Please email ARK at tokyoark[at]arkbark.net or call 080-6146-3889 (English) or 080-6517-8913 (Japanese). Tokyo ARK is a nonprofit organization founded by Brit Elizabeth Oliver. It is dedicated to rescuing and rehoming abandoned animals. All animals are vaccinated, neutered, and microchipped. Prospective new owners undergo a screening process.

The Japan Times supports stray and abandoned animals by publishing this photo box every Saturday in the Weekend/People section of the paper. The information is then archived here on the Angels with Fur site one week later, on the following Saturday.

See also: Other potential pets who have been featured on the Angels with Fur site

Success Story: Jay

The Japan Times and Tokyo ARK have given Angels with Fur kind permission to reprint notices regarding pet adoptions (see: potential pets who have been featured on the Angels with Fur site). In addition to requests for adoption, they also publish success stories about pets who find new homes. Here is the latest success story.

The lovable Newfoundland Jay, pictured here with his new owner Ikuo Oiwa, was kept chained up inside an empty office at his former home. He was not allowed to play or approach other dogs. After being featured here in late April, he was adopted by Ikuo and his wife, Hiroko. The Oiwas, who reside in Ehime Prefecture, love big dogs and also have a female Bernese mountain dog named Flan. Ikuo flew to Tokyo to meet Jay, then flew him back to his new home. Jay is now part of the family, with a new big friend to run and play with, and a huge dog park to romp in. The Oiwas have even converted the car so Jay can ride to the park more comfortably. Most importantly, he has found a family that cares about him and loves and understands his breed. From ARK and The Japan Times, we extend the Oiwa family a most heartfelt thank-you for adopting Jay and showing that big dogs too can find love and wide open spaces in Japan.

Originally published in the Japan Times on Saturday, June 20, 2009. Photo by Hiroko Oiwa.

Interested in Adopting a Pet?

Please email ARK at tokyoark[at]arkbark.net or call 080-6146-3889 (English) or 080-6517-8913 (Japanese). Tokyo ARK is a nonprofit organization founded by Brit Elizabeth Oliver. It is dedicated to rescuing and rehoming abandoned animals. All animals are vaccinated, neutered, and microchipped. Prospective new owners undergo a screening process.

The Japan Times supports stray and abandoned animals by publishing this photo box every Saturday in the Weekend/People section of the paper. The information is then archived here on the Angels with Fur site one week later, on the following Saturday.

See also: Other potential pets who have been featured on the Angels with Fur site

Success Story: Nozomi

The Japan Times and Tokyo ARK have given Angels with Fur kind permission to reprint notices regarding pet adoptions (see: potential pets who have been featured on the Angels with Fur site). In addition to requests for adoption, they also publish success stories about pets who find new homes. Here is the latest success story.

Nozomi (foreground, right), featured here in January, has found a new home with Brenda and Darryl Gibson of Yokohama, and Shoga, a dog the Gibsons rescued five years ago. The Gibsons, originally from Canada, accepted Nozomi without a trial period. ‘‘We could tell she was going to work out as soon as she got to our apartment,’’ says Darryl. Nozomi is ‘‘already a member of the family and a great companion for Shoga, who was used to having an older dog around.’’ The Gibsons’ first dog, whom they had found, died at the age of 17 last year. The fact that the 9-year-old Nozomi was an older dog was actually ‘‘a large part of the attraction,’’ according to Darryl. ‘‘I suspect younger dogs and puppies don’t have too much trouble finding homes, but older ones do and we had decided that if we got another dog after our first one died, we would want to make sure she was a dog that was perhaps somewhat unlikely to find a home elsewhere easily.’’ Thank you Darryl and Brenda, from The Japan Times and ARK for thinking of the older animals who are all too often passed over. Thank you for giving Nozomi a home, most surely a home with heart.

Originally published in the Japan Times on Saturday, March 7, 2009. Photo by Drew Gibson.

Interested in Adopting a Pet?

Please email ARK at tokyoark[at]arkbark.net or call 080-6146-3889 (English) or 080-6517-8913 (Japanese). Tokyo ARK is a nonprofit organization founded by Brit Elizabeth Oliver. It is dedicated to rescuing and rehoming abandoned animals. All animals are vaccinated, neutered, and microchipped. Prospective new owners undergo a screening process.

The Japan Times supports stray and abandoned animals by publishing this photo box every Saturday in the Weekend/People section of the paper. The information is then archived here on the Angels with Fur site one week later, on the following Saturday.

See also: Other potential pets who have been featured on the Angels with Fur site

Success Story: Lin

The Japan Times and Tokyo ARK have given Angels with Fur kind permission to reprint notices regarding pet adoptions (see: potential pets who have been featured on the Angels with Fur site). In addition to requests for adoption, they also publish success stories about pets who find new homes. Here is the latest success story.

Featured here for the first time early last month, Lin (right) had suffered the loss of one eye from an infection that nearly took her life out on the streets where she had been abandoned at birth. Rescued, she was nursed back to health at ARK and has now found a permanent loving home in Tokyo with Yukari Yaju, her partner, and their black cat Kai. ‘‘Kai and Lin get on so well now, like brother and sister. When Kai can’t find Lin he will call for her in a soft voice and go looking for her,’’ says Yaju. It was indirectly because of Kai that Yaju decided to help Lin. ‘‘Kai’s mother had been a stray, whom I helped when she was injured. I couldn’t keep cats at the time so a friend took her. I thought of Kai’s mother and how I wanted to help stray cats if I could. I wish there could be even one less cat without a home, so I wanted to take Lin.’’ Yaju, currently working as a university administrator, says Lin is a perfect fit for her and her partner and has quickly become a member of the family. ‘‘Lin is quite a comfort to us. With her, our happiness seems to have grown.’’ Yaju was in no way put off by the fact that Lin had only one eye. ‘‘I had no qualms. On the contrary, it actually made me want to help her more. I was deeply impressed by the way she would look at me with all her might with the one eye left her,’’ Yaju says. And, we at ARK and The Japan Times are mightily impressed with you, Yukari, for giving Lin a home. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Originally published in the Japan Times on Saturday, March 28, 2009. Photo by Yukari Yaju.

Interested in Adopting a Pet?

Please email ARK at tokyoark[at]arkbark.net or call 080-6146-3889 (English) or 080-6517-8913 (Japanese). Tokyo ARK is a nonprofit organization founded by Brit Elizabeth Oliver. It is dedicated to rescuing and rehoming abandoned animals. All animals are vaccinated, neutered, and microchipped. Prospective new owners undergo a screening process.

The Japan Times supports stray and abandoned animals by publishing this photo box every Saturday in the Weekend/People section of the paper. The information is then archived here on the Angels with Fur site one week later, on the following Saturday.

See also: Other potential pets who have been featured on the Angels with Fur site

Success Story: Tom

The Japan Times and Tokyo ARK have given Angels with Fur kind permission to reprint notices regarding pet adoptions (see: potential pets who have been featured on the Angels with Fur site). In addition to requests for adoption, they also publish success stories about pets who find new homes. Here is the latest success story.

For the little papillon Tom, life had gone full circle, from shelter to home to shelter again. At ARK as a puppy, he was adopted only to return nine years later when his beloved owner passed on. The no-longer-young Tom was not only heartbroken, he was under stress from the constant noise in the shelter. His saving grace came in the form of ARK’s winter holiday foster program, a short-term program that brought him to the Kanagawa home of the Fujimakis in what father Arata refers to as “our destiny to have (Tom) in our family.” Arata says the family now considers Tom, age 10, its “youngest boy” and “a precious member of our family.” He even attributes Tom and the teamwork involved in caring for him to having helped “unite the family” and make it “even stronger.” Arata says he was “deeply fascinated” by Tom’s “wealth of expressions” and that outdoors “when we walk together, the time spent together makes us realize the beauty of nature, something we’d long forgotten.” The love Tom feels for his new family and the love felt for him is evident in the radiant smiles of all above: (from left) mother Kikuko, son Yu, 12, father Arata with Tom, and daughter Nozomi, 14. To the Fujimaki family, thank you ever so much for giving this little dog a home and your love!

Originally published in the Japan Times on Saturday, March 7, 2009. Photo by Yoko Miyao.

Interested in Adopting a Pet?

Please email ARK at tokyoark[at]arkbark.net or call 080-6146-3889 (English) or 080-6517-8913 (Japanese). Tokyo ARK is a nonprofit organization founded by Brit Elizabeth Oliver. It is dedicated to rescuing and rehoming abandoned animals. All animals are vaccinated, neutered, and microchipped. Prospective new owners undergo a screening process.

The Japan Times supports stray and abandoned animals by publishing this photo box every Saturday in the Weekend/People section of the paper. The information is then archived here on the Angels with Fur site one week later, on the following Saturday.

See also: Other potential pets who have been featured on the Angels with Fur site

Success Story: Lan and Beeno

The Japan Times and Tokyo ARK have given Angels with Fur kind permission to reprint notices regarding pet adoptions (see: potential pets who have been featured on the Angels with Fur site). In addition to requests for adoption, they also publish success stories about pets who find new homes. Here is the latest success story.

For these two former ARK dogs, both featured in The Japan Times and both adopted at different times into the same family, life has barely just begun. Lan (left), who was adopted at the age of 10 by Denise Tange (right) and her daughter Aya (center) in February last year, had spent many long years at the shelter. To see Lan, renamed Lani now, at the canine equivalent of middle age, is virtual proof that life begins at 40. Beeno (right), adopted in October and also middle-aged, is discovering a new confidence in himself and his shyness has turned into something of a sophisticated air of wisdom. The Tanges, who live a busy life in Tokyo, thought it made good sense to adopt two older dogs, mature dogs that even visit the office. Both Lani and Beeno were adopted while husband and father Paul (left) was away on business trips, so now wife Denise, originally from the U.S., says of Paul, ‘‘He gets a little nervous now after his business trips because he is not sure what will be waiting for him when he gets home. Luckily he loves dogs!’’ The wonderful part of this story is that Beeno and Lani are always together, sleeping on the same bed, the same cushion. They are happy to be out of the shelter and more than happy to share their wonderful new home. To the Tanges, from The Japan Times and ARK, a most heartfelt ‘‘Thank you!’’ for not only adopting two dogs, but two older dogs, the ones so often left behind.

Originally published in the Japan Times on Saturday, February 21, 2009. Photo by Paul Noritaka Tange.

Interested in Adopting a Pet?

Please email ARK at tokyoark[at]arkbark.net or call 080-6146-3889 (English) or 080-6517-8913 (Japanese). Tokyo ARK is a nonprofit organization founded by Brit Elizabeth Oliver. It is dedicated to rescuing and rehoming abandoned animals. All animals are vaccinated, neutered, and microchipped. Prospective new owners undergo a screening process.

The Japan Times supports stray and abandoned animals by publishing this photo box every Saturday in the Weekend/People section of the paper. The information is then archived here on the Angels with Fur site one week later, on the following Saturday.

See also: Other potential pets who have been featured on the Angels with Fur site

Success Story: Tama

The Japan Times and Tokyo ARK have given Angels with Fur kind permission to reprint notices regarding pet adoptions (see: potential pets who have been featured on the Angels with Fur site). In addition to requests for adoption, they also publish success stories about pets who find new homes. Here is the latest success story.

Tama was one of the old ones, the overlooked ones, animals that lived in the ARK shelter year after year and never found a home.

He spent eight years at ARK in a pen with other cats and was 12 years old when he was featured here in June of last year. There was still hope. It went by the name of Kaneko — Shinobu Kaneko.

Kaneko visited the shelter to see a dog and says, “my feet stopped in front of the cat room.” She and her daughter went in to see the adult cats. “Each cat came up to say hello and some sat on my lap,” she remembers.

Choosing one would be tough, she thought, but then her daughter picked one up. She had never picked up a cat and “wasn’t very good at holding him comfortably.” The big red-and-white cat was Tama.

He quietly put up with the strange position. He even looked happy. Kaneko knew Tama was an older cat but that he was healthy and, perhaps more importantly, “I saw how well he was fitting in with my daughter despite the stranglehold.”

The Kanekos had come for a dog, however, and felt it was better to not bring two new animals home at once to adjust. Kaneko abandoned the idea of adopting Tama, and he was left behind yet again. Kaneko continued to think of Tama, however, over the next few months. After seeing him on the ARK blog, she decided to bring him home.

Tama has settled in well at the Kaneko home. He holds his own among the boisterous dogs and enjoys “boxing their ears with double punches.” His favorite pasttime, however, is snoring happily under the warm kotatsu.

ARK and The Japan Times extend a special thank-you to the Kaneko family for the good times they’ve given Tama. Every old boy needs to feel like a kitten again.

Originally published in the Japan Times on Saturday, January 24, 2009. Photo by Shinobu Kaneko.

Interested in Adopting a Pet?

Please email ARK at tokyoark[at]arkbark.net or call 080-6146-3889 (English) or 080-6517-8913 (Japanese). Tokyo ARK is a nonprofit organization founded by Brit Elizabeth Oliver. It is dedicated to rescuing and rehoming abandoned animals. All animals are vaccinated, neutered, and microchipped. Prospective new owners undergo a screening process.

The Japan Times supports stray and abandoned animals by publishing this photo box every Saturday in the Weekend/People section of the paper. The information is then archived here on the Angels with Fur site one week later, on the following Saturday.

See also: Other potential pets who have been featured on the Angels with Fur site

Dog for Adoption: Sakura

Ed’s note: Sakura has found a new home!

One doesn’t often see stray dogs living on their own in the Tokyo area, but Sakura did just that. Homeless, she lived in a park in Saitama and relied on the kindness of passersby to give her food. Some days she would get food, some days she wouldn’t. One dog owner who often walked his dog in the park worried about Sakura as the days grew colder. He tried his best to feed her every day and to find out if anyone was caring for her other than himself. In the end, thanks wholly to the goodness of this man, Sakura was rescued and brought to ARK. A gentle soul, the now 3-year-old Sakura has never shown any aggression. Despite being caught, collared, and bundled into a crate to be taken to the shelter, she remained calm. Charming in her intelligence, she is a very quiet dog, friendly toward other dogs, but not overly submissive, timid, or high-strung. No whimpering, whining, nervous frail pup here, the ginger-color, big-eared Sakura is wise beyond her years. She is what one would call ‘‘a real dog’’ and she needs a real home.

Originally published in the Japan Times on Saturday, January 17, 2009. Photo by Wendy Mostafa.

Interested in Adopting Sakura?

Please email ARK at tokyoark[at]arkbark.net or call 080-6146-3889 (English) or 080-6517-8913 (Japanese). Tokyo ARK is a nonprofit organization founded by Brit Elizabeth Oliver. It is dedicated to rescuing and rehoming abandoned animals. All animals are vaccinated, neutered, and microchipped. Prospective new owners undergo a screening process.

The Japan Times supports stray and abandoned animals by publishing this photo box every Saturday in the Weekend/People section of the paper. The information is then archived here on the Angels with Fur site one week later, on the following Saturday.

See also: Other potential pets who have been featured on the Angels with Fur site

Success Story: Helen

The Japan Times and Tokyo ARK have given Angels with Fur kind permission to reprint notices regarding pet adoptions (see: potential pets who have been featured on the Angels with Fur site). In addition to requests for adoption, they also publish success stories about pets who find new homes. Here is the latest success story.

Maron, formerly Helen, was featured here in October. The long-haired dachshund was able to be rescued from the impoverished conditions of a puppy mill, where she and others were kept in cages barely large enough to move around in, where they lived out their lives without being washed, exercised or given any sort of veterinary care. After her rescue, Maron’s plight came to the attention of the Maruyama family of Yokohama. Now she spends her days discovering the wonders of walks, cuddles by Ryuya (left) and Airi, tasty treats and the joy of freely socializing with three other dogs at the Maruyamas, including another dachshund being fostered by the family. Maron, a swift learner, has learned simple commands such as ‘‘come,’’ ‘‘sit,’’ and ‘‘stay.’’ We at The Japan Times and ARK extend a most heartfelt thank-you to the Maruyamas for giving a dog whose days were bleak at best a new life amid the warmth, love and freedom of their family.

Originally published in the Japan Times on Saturday, January 3, 2008. Photo by Noriko Maruyama.

Interested in Adopting a Pet?

Please email ARK at tokyoark[at]arkbark.net or call 080-6146-3889 (English) or 080-6517-8913 (Japanese). Tokyo ARK is a nonprofit organization founded by Brit Elizabeth Oliver. It is dedicated to rescuing and rehoming abandoned animals. All animals are vaccinated, neutered, and microchipped. Prospective new owners undergo a screening process.

The Japan Times supports stray and abandoned animals by publishing this photo box every Saturday in the Weekend/People section of the paper. The information is then archived here on the Angels with Fur site one week later, on the following Saturday.

See also: Other potential pets who have been featured on the Angels with Fur site