Yoshi the Brave

One of my favorite things about what I do is meeting people ~ especially the shop owners I do consignment with.  I have learned that people who own gift shops/boutiques are fun-loving and caring people.  And often they are animal lovers.

Much like Stephanie and Scout in New York City, Janet of Hapa Collective in Seal Beach, California runs her shop daily with the help of her 14 year old poodle, Yoshi.  Yoshi (which means "the best" in Japanese) is no ordinary poodle.  Janet shared his remarkable story with me:

(Photo courtesy of Janet Peters, Hapa Collective)

Yoshi was found running (on three legs) on a highway in Denver.  A motorist stopped to pick him up (all four pounds of him) and took him to a local animal shelter, thinking for sure his owners would come to claim him.  How could they not?  He is adorable.  All by himself in a cell, no one ever came and his days were up.  A shelter employee felt so sorry for Yoshi she took him home and asked Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanaab, Utah to send an email on their adoption site to see if there was someone who could adopt him and give him a forever home.  They estimated Yoshi's age at the time to be between 10-12 years old.


I [Janet]saw the email and convinced my husband to drive halfway (we were living in Utah at the time) to meet with Yoshi and his foster parents.  For me it was love at first site.  A wee one indeed ~ on three good legs running around the park where we met. 

We quickly adopted him and took him home.  The vet indicated that Yoshi's leg had been fractured years ago and never set or taken care of.  That is why he only has the use of three legs.

He has a 17 pound, 14 year old "brother" cat, Murf.  Although the papers said Yoshi gets along well with cats, we found that to be not quite true.  Yoshi chases Murf around the house, is very possesive of us and growls anytime Murf walks by him.  But all Murf has to do to get away is jump up on the first stair on the staircase and sit there licking his paws and sneering at Yoshi.  Yoshi can not negotiate the stairs due to his leg so all he can do is sit and growl.

His favorite hobbies are eating, walking a few blocks then being pushed in his stroller (he gets tired fast), sleeping and hanging out with us.

Yoshi is a wise soul; he often has a faraway look and I wonder what he is thinking, where he has been, what he experienced in his 12 years before we met him.  One can only wonder.
Hearing his amazing story, I decided that if any puppy deserved to have a Wee One made in his likeness, it was Yoshi!  So last week Wee Yoshi met real Yoshi.  I think they have become best friends.

(Photo courtesy of Janet Peters, Hapa Collective)

(Photo courtesy of Janet Peters, Hapa Collective)

I was also struck by the series of coincidental happenings between Yoshi and me. I live in Denver and he was found in Denver. I have a 14 year old dog (Simba) and Yoshi is 14.  I have an 18 year old cat (A-choo) and Yoshi has an older cat in his life.  Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanaab, Utah is an animal rescue organization I have personally supported for a long time.  So in honor of Yoshi, the best dog in Seal Beach, $1.00 from every sale of pet toys in my Etsy shop (more will be added soon!) will go to Best Friends.  Thank you, Yoshi (and Janet) for being such an inspiration!