UPDATE: Shiba Inu “Lili” Is Home!

We have a message from Ramen Cromwell, owner of 1-1/2-year-old Shiba Inu Lili, who tells us she has been returned to her appreciative owner. Lili slipped from her collar Tuesday night, February 7, while out with her walker.

Ramen shares the tail, uh, tale, that led to Lili’s return: A couple saw her in the neighborhood and pursued the shy critter to come to them. They were unsure of the dog’s owner, since her collar was missing, and believed she might have been abandoned. Meanwhile, Ramen says, “ We spent two long nights putting up signs and registering with every dog finder site and organization we could find. A big tip came in when someone who saw a flyer reported he had seen a dog matching Lili’s description appear in his building.”

Ultimately, when the couple that had possession of Lili took her to One Love Animal Hospital—“now fully attached and hoping to clear her for themselves”—the vet discovered her chip, which led Lili back to her rightful owners.

Ramen offers to all: “Much thanks to everyone who helped and gave us their support and especially the couple who chased her down, which reunited us.”

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  • stuart

    hooray! Shiba had her excellent adventure and now she’s back to tell the tale…or tail.

  • http://pistachiopony.com maria

    That is my favorite breed! Great she was found…I might have kept her she is so cute. :P

  • http://selfabsorbedboomer.blogspot.com Claude Scales

    Great news!

  • Montague St. Neighbor

    Amazing!! I’ve been on the lookout for Lili and I’m SO glad to hear she’s back home.

  • AEB

    Terrific! Does this pet-lover’s heart more than good!

  • Bette

    It was very cool that I got a call from a “Pet Amber Alert” worker regarding Lily. Wonderful that such a thing exists and good to know for pet owners.

  • CrankyOne

    Yay!!!!!!!!! :-)

  • Anna B

    I’ve been keeping an eye out for Lili too and hoping I’d see good news every morning on BHB! So happy she was found safe!

  • WillowtownCop

    I don’t know if this was the case here, but I hate to see dog walkers with 5 or 6 or even more dogs. They can’t possibly keep an eye on all of them, and if one gets away, they can’t chase it and still hold on to the others.

  • GHB

    So happy for Lili and Ramen. Please get Lili a harness from which she can’t escape!

  • Master Of Middagh

    @WilliamstownCop The same thing could happen while only walking 2 dogs though, let alone 5 or 6. Are you suggesting an ordinance limiting humans to one dog per walk?

    There’s a pretty decent solution to the problem though. There’s that couple- the bald fellow and the blond lady. They walk lots of dogs around here and you most often find them together. That way, if a doggie makes a break for it, the other one can go chase it down. I don’t which one of ’em is the runner though, they both look like they’re in pretty good shape- they probably take turns…

  • Happy Neighbor

    Dear Ramen:

    I am so relieved that Lili was found by that nice couple. I personally can identify with you since I had a dog run away from me last year. Luckily she was found but I spent the whole night putting up signs in the area and riding around looking for her and calling out to all the pet care places in the neighborhood.

    Kudos to that nice couple that found your dog. I am sure Lil is happy to be back home.

  • AL

    I am very happy for you that Lilli back in your warm embrace. Now, PLEASE, do the responsible thing and remove the many signs you posted. I’ve probably removed about a dozen myself. By leaving the signs up, you do a disservice to the next person who may post a sign pleading for help in finding their lost pet. People become inured to signs if not removed once the need is past.

  • AEB

    Yayzu Christi, AL, give the woman a chance!

    She got the dog back yesterday. Her nerves have undoubtedly taken a beating. She wants to spend some time with her recovered pet. She’ll get to the sign removal.

    And/or in the meantime, why don;t YOU tear some of the signs down as you encounter them?

  • AEB

    (Sorry,AL, see you already have removed some.)

  • AL

    AEB Did you not read my post? I encountered about 12 in the course of doing some errands in the Heights today and removed each and every one. I think it’s important that signs be removed promptly. I did my part and now ask LIli’s owners to do theirs.

  • Lili’s owners

    Hi, we are Lili’s owners and we started taking down signs last night after we got Lili back. We also had a group of people including us working on it this afternoon. When I walked around again early this evening, I did not see any signs. Believe me, we have been working on it since Lili came home, but we can not be everywhere at once to take all the signs down. Forgive us if we missed a few signs and if we did not take them down promptly enough for your liking.

    Besides that, we were very touched and greatly appreciate all the support from everyone during this horrendous ordeal. Thanks a lot! This is a great community that we live in!

  • WillowtownCop

    I wasn’t suggesting an ordinance – I was suggesting people exercise common sense, which apparently isn’t easy for some people. It’s like a babysitter watching a lot kids – sure, one can get snatched if there were only two, but it’s much harder for one person to pay attention to six of them – and if you do have to chase after one, it’s much easier to take one additional child with you than five. If I had a dog, I would pay the walker (extra if necessary) to take my dog out solo instead of in a pack. I don’t know if that’s what happened here, but it’s not an uncommon practice. It’s just a stupid one. Anyway, I’m glad the dog is safe.

  • Josh G

    Cute doggy – happy ending – fantastic!

  • AL

    Lili’s Owners

    I just returned from doing a single errand in the North Heights and saw at least 10 more of your signs: on Clinton, State, Henry, Hicks, and Atlantic. I did not have the time to remove them since they were put up to last (understandably). I gave you locations so that you may do the job.

    You misunderstood my initial post. By leaving your signs up, you do a grave disservice to the next pet owner who puts up signs in a desperate attempt to find their missing pet. You increase the chance of passersby dismissing the new signs as being just more Lili signs that were not taken down after her safe return.

  • AL

    CORRECTION: I obviously meant the South Heights – as the streets named indicate.

  • AL

    MORE Atlantic Ave Lili signs spotted today – east of Court, going at least as far as Hoyt.

  • Heightsguy

    Only on this blog would the anxiety for a lost dog immediately morph into an attack on the dog owner for not taking down all their signs instantly. I am sure they are doing their best. I’m sure not only are the owners exhausted but also lost work time, I met Ramen at the dog park during work hours asking for Lili. Holy Caramba. This is Yenta Central! Don’t forget the stroller moms in Starbucks who get their change out too slowly and the mysterious hooded man. Leviticus tells of the scapegoat driven into the wilderness bearing the sins of the tribe. That tradition is live and well on the BHB.

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  • AL

    Heightsguy, You fail to see how Lili’s owners jeopardize the next owners chance of finding THEIR lost dog by not taking their signs down promptly. Yes, “promptly” is the word I use in my posts – not “instantly,” having me believe you simply want to rant not post a reasoned reply. Signs are most important during the first 24 hours of a pet’s or a person’s going missing.

  • Knight

    Give it a rest already, AL. You made your point and the dog’s owners agreed with you. They didn’t post all of the signs themselves so they probably don’t know exactly where they all are so that they can remove as imminently as you would like.

  • Chris

    Yeah! I’ve seen the signs and I’m so glad Lili is back home.
    In defense of dog walkers though, I always try to get my dog on the rout/time of day with the most dogs. Not to make it harder on the walker. But dogs are pack animals. They roam in packs. And when your dog walks with 5 or 6 other dogs, it chills them out in a way a 2 dog or single dog walk doesn’t. Their little dog pack order eases their anxious minds.
    I babysat a friends dog who was 8 pounds of total neurosis when she came to me. After 2 weeks of walking daily in a large pack….she became a really good dog.
    My walker uses an extra chain that’s just a back up and can stop the dog if it slips its regular collar. But in the end, the reward of a large pack walk is greater than the risks.

  • hb

    instead of complaining about taking the signs down, why don’t you help a neighbor who just went through a traumatic experience, by TAKING DOWN THE SIGNS YOURSELF when you know the lost dog has been found? pay it forward! so happy lili’s been found. i have a shiba inu who escaped from my backyard twice – thankfully he was found within an hour both times, but it is one of the suckiest situations to be in!

  • KT

    So glad to hear she’s back home! I was down by the Riverside Bike path/West side Highway and had my young shiba slip his collar last year but managed to grab him before he realized he was loose. So we did a collar switch to prevent it again. Stopping my heart in fear once was plenty!

    I’ve had good luck with the Comfort Flex Harness with him and a martingale collar (also known as a limited slip collar). He has both and I use one or the other depending on if we’re walking, biking, or skating. The shibas have such triangle shaped head I know how difficult it can be to get a collar to stay on, especially if they start running backwards. These worked great for me though!

    Harness (easy to get on a wiggly shiba who doesn’t like to step in to one)
    http://www.amazon.com/PetPDC-ComfortFlex-Sport-Harness-Medium/dp/B005S6WHH0

    or

    Martingale collar
    http://kninecouture.com/category_12/Martingale-Collars–Everyday.htm

  • Heightsgirl

    AL, if you are this concerned over signs, then you need to sort out your priorities. There Are much bigger things to fret over, and they would actually be worth your time and energy.