My Akita Story
Oftentimes, when people get a dog, they end up sticking with a breed. My aunt and uncle had three collies over the time they were alive, getting a new collie pup when the previous one passed away. Our family has been home to Akitas.
We got our first akita as a puppy from friends of my wife in the mid-1990s. They were going to breed akitas since they had a male and female, but the pair ended up mating too early per AKC rules so the puppies from that initial litter were not allowed to have “papers.” A papered akita puppy can be sold for over $600.
So they offered us one of the puppies for free and we brought him home. We named him Samurai.
Samurai grew to be a big boy at 125 lbs. But he was so gentle with all the kids in the neighborhood. He grew up as Brenden grew up and they bonded like the classic “boy and his dog.”
One day, when let out to do his business, he must have chased a rabbit or something and ended up getting one of his eyes put out, probably on a stick in a bush or something. The vet patched up the eye space and Samurai went on as if nothing was an issue.
Akitas can be territorial. One morning when let out, he charged across the backyard to the neighbor’s and fought the woman’s black labrador. I got him back into our yard. There was no fence at the time. Animal control was called by the neighbor and showed up at our door. I told them that the woman would walk her dog from the other street, around the block and let her lab do his potty on our property. I had repeatedly asked her to not do so and to also pick up after it, but she refused. I told animal control that Samurai viewed the lab’s use of our yard as infringement on his territory. We never got a citation though our homeowners insurance had to pay about $100 vet bill for her lab’s shredded ear. I then installed a fence between our yards.
Sadly, Samurai began wheezing one winter evening in the early 2000s. We took him to the animal hospital where the vet diagnosed bloat. Twisted stomach. She told us the operation would be well over $1000 which we did not have. The only other option was to put him to sleep. I asked how we could know definitely what the issue was and she said an Xray for $300. We had the Xray which confirmed the condition. It was a heartbreaking night. She led Samurai away and put a shunt in his leg. I then joined him in an adjacent room as he laid down next to me on the floor and she injected the medicine. He slowly fell asleep and passed away as I cried uncontrollably. All of a sudden his chest heaved and settled, startling me. The Vet said it was just gasses. Joni and Brenden then joined me with Samurai as we all cried and cried. One of the worst times ever..
We had Samurai cremated and kept the ashes in a small wooden box.
A few months later, the house seemed empty without a dog, we searched Petfinders and found three akita puppies at the Rochester Hills Humane Society. We drove across the state to see them. One nestled into Joni’s arms and that was the one she picked. Riley grew up and bonded to Joni. Joni would be in the bathroom in the evening washing her face in preparation to go to bed. Riley would stand watching her from the bathroom door. When finished, Joni would say “ready to go night night?” and Riley would follow her upstairs and sleep at the foot of the bed,
Riley grew to be about 70 lbs. had a pretty good long life. She got old and near the end we had to carry her up the stairs to the bedroom. She appeared to have doggie dementia near the end of her 15 years and passed away one night in her sleep in September of 2016. We had her cremated as well.
During this time, we found the movie “Hachi- A Dog’s Tale” starring Richard Gere.[1] The movie tells an Americanized version of a true story in which a professor takes the train to the city from his small town daily and his akita Hachi meets him every evening at the station when the train returns. One day, the professor suffers a heart-attack or aneurysm and dies in the city. Yet Hachi returns to the train station every evening for ten years waiting for him to return.
The real Hachi, actually Hachiko, was in Japan and passed away at the Shibuya train station waiting for his owner who passed away in 1925 The village was so impressed they put up a bronze statue in the late 1930s, but the statue was melted for war material during WW2. The town later put up another statute.
The Richard Gere movie is a tear-jerker. Get your tissues ready. I thought it was just an American telling of the story but recently discovered it is really a remake of a Japanese version of the story. That movie, titled Hachikō Monogatari [3] is in Japanese with English subtitles. I found it on DVD and bought it. There is also a kids picture book called “The True Story Of Hachiko Book Japan Hachiko Monogatari” which Joni acquired for me for Christmas.
Anyway, poor Riley passed away September 2016. We grieved for a while and then, as before, the house seemed empty. Joni wanted a smaller dog such as a Shiba in the 20–30 lb range. In February 2017, on a whim, I googled “Akita” on Craigslist and up popped an ad and photo in which the writer said “Found this dog wandering by Lamar Park.” Wandering?
I quickly emailed him and said if he had not found the owners I would take the dog since we had had two akitas before. He responded that he had just turned the dog into the county animal shelter.
My son was doing volunteer work there coincidentally and I sent him a text to check the dog out and he returned a video to me. I immediately went down to the facility to meet the dog and pay for adoption.
Brenden later said that Nakita (that was the name someone at the shelter had given her) was totally paying attention to him until I came into the room. We had to wait ten days and then picked her up after she was spayed per the shelter rules. She is totally bonded to me and follows me all around the house. She is a sweet lovable dog who really likes people though she is not good with other dogs.
Over the last few years I did more research on Akitas. The first akita to come to the USA was one given to Helen Keller. [4] Later, America GIs brought some back to the US after WW2. But akitas almost became extinct after WW2. Per the link, only a dozen or so remained until Morie Sawataishi dedicated himself to bringing the breed back to sustainable population.
Akitas were once all considered one breed, but in 2020 the AKC followed other nation’s ‘dog organizations” in splitting the breeds and recognizing that there are American Akitas and Japanese Akitas.
One can see from the photo below that the two breeds have similarities, but do look different. Japanese akitas are usually a bit smaller with a fox-like face whereas American akitas are larger with a more bear-like head. I once saw an American akita at a dog park that was probably 150 lbs!
A curious thing had happened during Morie Sawataishi’s quest as he bred the dogs to build the population. His breeding, and subsequent other Japanese breeders, used other Japanese Inu (dogs) to expand the gene pool which produced what is now considered the Japanese Akita. However, the American akita actually resembles the original akitas that almost went extinct! This resemblance is clear from the appearance of the statue of Hachiko at the train station as well as any old photos one might find online such as the one above with Hellen Keller.
She understands quite the vocabulary: Walk, outside, treat, down, as well as “up.” When we are outside and need to go back inside, I will say “Nakita- up, up, up” and she will run up the steps to the door. She also knows it is okay to say hello to people when I ask her “Nakita, do you want to say hi?”S
She is quite bonded with me. Today, Joni came into the living room with Nakita’s brushes and Nakita went to hide behind the recliner LOL. I coaxed her out and Joni began to brush her, which Nakita tolerated for a brief time before pulling away and coming back to me. Joni handed me a brush and I began brushing her for which she just stood there. Joni said, “ oh, you will let him brush you but won’t let me? Bitch” hahahaha.
Nakita and I have an evening ritual. About 730pm each night I will get a small dish of peanuts. I will eat one or two and give her one until the small quantity is gone. If I don’t get her “nummies” by about 800pm she will literally come stand in front of me and look at me as if to say “well, where are they?” Last summer, when Brenden and I were gone for several days backpacking, Joni decided to get the nummies. She gave Nakita a peanut, but Nakita promptly dropped it to the floor and walked away. She wouldn’t take the nummies from Joni. Joni said “Bitch” hahahaha.
Nakita brings a lot of enjoyment to our home. When she is excited because you are taking her for a walk but aren’t moving fast enough, she bats at the rocking chair or rocking stool in the living room with her paw. If you are not getting her dinner ready quickly enough in the evening, she will paw at the door runner under the door leading to the basement to get your attention.
She has such personality that her antics always elicit a laugh.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hachi:_A_Dog%27s_Tale
[2] https://en.japantravel.com/tokyo/hachiko-statue-in-shibuya/44644
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hachik%C5%8D_Monogatari
[4] https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/news/helen-keller-was-a-true-dog-lover/
[5] https://www.newsweek.com/man-who-saved-breed-84021
[6] https://www.ourdogsinternational.com/news/world-dog-news/usa-votes-to-split-akita-breed
