Tokyo was adopted from our local shelter July of 98. Denver was just getting too well behaved, I guess. It was kinda quiet in the house. We needed to add some spice! Toky's story is unknown. The dog warden picked her up as a stray in a very rural area. My guess is she was the product of some farm dog. She's a very skinny 33 lbs. We're not sure of her age, somewhere under a year old. She had been sitting at the pound for 10 days before my son and I visited. She was one that was easy to pass up. She wasn't begging for attention. She wasn't even the "prettiest". She was sitting in the corner of her cage, pressed up against the bars so you could scratch her, if you wanted. She kept her head tucked and carefully wagged her tail and pressed harder into the bars, if you stopped to look at her. I couldn't get her to stand up in the cage for a good look. She is very submissive and didn't want to come across in any way as challenging. When I poked my fingers thru the bars, she gave me her paw and carefully licked my hand and tossed her head like "come on! lets go!". That got her a trip to the outdoor pen to play. Outside she was full of spunk, she could run like the wind, jumped and pounced like a cat, and yet sat down beside my son and threw a paw over his lap. She looked right at home.. so we planned on bringing her home!

Policy is she had to be spayed before she could come home from the shelter. Turns out young Tokyo was pregnant. Poor baby. She was too young and thin to have a litter, and too many unwanted dogs already. Thank God she didn't have them on the street on her own. She was spayed and now has stuffed babies to play with.

Tokyo is still new here, still has many things to learn. She doesn't understand English! She doesn't know "sit", "come" or "treat". She tilts her head in wonderment when Denver suddenly starts dancing around after I've whispered "treat". But, she does know that a wave of your hand means "get". She does know that it's not always a good idea to let a human approach her. And from the way she ducks her head when you go to throw a ball, I'm pretty darn sure was use to getting chased off. Despite it all.. she's a very loving dog, very gentle and trusting. Comical too! It's always play time! Tucking her head and batting with her paws, rubbing into you, and playing keep away! From the first time she got a chewy, you could trust that she wouldn't growl or bite over it. We could lay our heads on her while she chewed or take it away from her. What a sweetie! The fact that she can be so trusting while not having a family says mountains for her personality.