Shibapalooza 2011

On Saturday, July 16, 2011 the Shiba Club of Southern California held their 6th annual shiba picnic (aka shibapalooza.) The 10am-3pm event was open to both club members and non-members and was held in Yorba Regional Park in Anaheim, California. It was a fun filled day with shiba games, raffles and lunch. Thanks to my pawsome shiba friend prince Zuko, I attended the event decked out in a fancy pink camo bandana.  For readers who aren't familiar, "twiba" is the hashtag for shibas on twitter.  For those who want to get your own bandana from K9 Design, Zuko posted ordering information here.

So what was shibapalooza like, and who was there?  It was a gorgeous SoCal day and there were beautiful shibas everywhere! Not only did I get to hang out with Zuko and my Arizona shiba friends, little Taro, Rinji and Mika, but I got to meet new shiba friends as well, like Zuko's sister Suki who drove down from NorCal. And I finally got to meet Walking Yuki, she's the pretty cream shiba in the picture below. There were plenty of treats to eat, so we didn't find any need to stray. 



Walking Yuki and Tokyo



I also got to finally meet other SoCal twibas Mika & her Kai Ken brother Kyuubi, and shiba Sachi, and Chloe, and NorCal shibas Sinjin & Sienna (be sure to check out the video of me & Sienna playing.)  There were so many shibas that I missed quite a few that I wanted to meet.

Pet Communicator

My people also prescheduled a 10 minute session with pet communicator Dr. Monica who was at shibapalooza. My people told Dr. Monica my name, age and how long I've lived with my people plus what other animals I lived with. She petted me very briefly and then my appointment started by Dr. Monica gathering mental pictures of how I was feeling. She explained that while I enjoyed being outside and the picnic/park was an interesting place, it was a little intense for me as it was very different  from my normal day. She also went on to say that I was feeling very special at the picnic and very much liked that I got to wear a bandana. 

Suki, Tokyo, Zuko (and a glimpse of Rinji)

My people then had the opportunity to ask specific questions. My people asked about what I do at home while they are at work and if I was okay being alone. Dr. Monica described images of my day and indicated that  spending time looking out of the windows was very important to me. She explained that I enjoy my place and there is always something for me to do, like playing with my meowie brofur Capone. She also mentioned (with a smile/laugh) that I think Capone is a very funny cat and he's a riot. Since I've been on 12 airplane flights, my people also asked about my feelings about flying. She  indicated that  for the time being, I wanted to continue flying with my people, even though it makes me a little anxious in the beginning when we arrive at the airport and at the end when I hear the wheels coming down, instead of being without them. They also asked if I would like to try going to doggie daycare. Since I have never been to doggie daycare, Dr. Monica described it to me and I indicated that I wasn't sure, but was willing to give it a try. She pointed out that I did not indicate that I don't like other dogs, so this was a very positive sign.  [Note, I was not physically engaging with Dr. Monica during the session. After my initial hello to her, I settled down facing the opposite direction of her and my people.]



Taro

Katsu, Tokyo, Mika (AZ), Mika (CA)

The shibapalooza event is an on-leash event. So was it crazy having so many shibas all together on-leash? Actually, not at all.  Would I go again to shibapalooza? Absolutely! The event was a lot of fun for dogs and people. If you can, I recommend you try to attend next year as well. Be sure to check out http://tokyoshiba.tumblr.com/ for more pictures -woof!