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Dated: March 3, 2012
On February 17th, 2012 we had to make the painfully difficult decision to put our beloved and most special dog Chu down. At about 17 years and two months of age, Chu lived her last day February 18th up here in Boone with a unusually sunny day before having our vet come to our house to push her through to the other side.
If you are getting this email, you either cared for, knew, interacted, or loved that special creature, and I thank you for playing that part in her life. You knew of her many unusual non-dog traits, the unexplainable ‘coincidences’ that happened at different stages of her life, and how much that animal meant to me over the past 17 years of my life, and 6 years of Melinda’s life.
Chu didn’t last this long without being a fighter, and that fight began by being left in the wild as a pup in a small village in Hiroshima prefecture. Most of you know the story but life changed after seeing her multiple times in the village I taught English in and the unusual spark that ignited in me for wanting to reach out and take her in. At that point a commitment was made to provide a loving life for her that would be three times above normal in an attempt to reverse her harsh and unfair beginnings. The origin of her name “Chu” is from the Japanese word Chu(中)meaning: Balanced, Centered. I chose this word because I somehow felt right away that she had a balancing effect.
Through the years she worked through some of the early fears of being left at an early age, beat out a few illnesses, stayed strong, fit, and healthy until about age 15, when dementia started its cruel and indiscriminate process.
We will travel back to Japan this April to honor Chu with where it all began and spread some of her ashes in a village ceremony. We will then go to Wakayama to where Chu’s breed is recognized to originate and where her link with Buddhism has designated her rare breed to be a national living treasure: Koyasan. It will still not even come close to honoring just how much she ‘gave’ to so many people she crossed paths with.
This poorly named site does a good job of explaining a little more about her special heritage: http://www.cutepuppiesforsale.net/kishu-dog-breed/
Her Zen-like, contented soul personally touched cancer patients, the elderly as a volunteer at a convalescent home, and too many children and adults to mention. This 1 minute video captures what so many people thought of when they heard the word “Chu”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kisNmZG3amM&feature=related
A site which we made that celebrates Chu: http://chuchan.weebly.com/
Below are some of the people I would like to honor who were touched in some way or another in knowing Chu throughout more than a dozen different places she lived and multiple adventure trips around the country that she experienced. My apologies for anyone I may of left out or has also since passed.
If you are ever thinking of having an animal in your life, remember that saving a life via adopting a pet can be an incredibly rewarding experience.
Tim and Mel
Mayumi S. – for being there at the beginning and many years after – your care and love for her was equivalent to that for children. Original Okasan
Rocky san – your care and concern. And also for helping to put into reality the town of Mitsugi doing a news article on Chu 11 years after leaving Japan.
Andres A. – for making her first homemade dog tag
Vision Quest participants -The junior high students with whom I journeyed for 3 weeks who, while tackling daily 60 mile bike rides, would in unison yell out “Chuuuuuuuu” for inspiration and motivation in helping to push onward.
Cynthia L and family – for your connection and care of Chu while at Bastyr
Nina – for caring for Chu that 3 weeks, and allowing her share her life with your family
Terry M. – your care and love for Chu on so many occasions
Margo B – your love for dogs had certainly included Chu
Matt – your love and ability to value Chu
Amber C. – You always asked about Chu with such sunshine in your voice. Levi sharing her bed with Chu was priceless.
Adrian F. – you ‘got’ Chu and connected her to things spiritual
Letha G. – at 93 years old, you stitched a beautiful dog sweater from scratch that remained with Chu her entire life.
Bonny B. – you instantly connected with Chu and always kept her in your life
Peng – for your loving care
Elaine F – your soulful talks about your life as a child in Japan and Chu’s regal personality
Naomi B. – for accommodating a dog in your house when you had not planned to
Harumi M. and Sayaka – for your devoted care and placing Chu high on a pedestal. Harumi for that chance meeting that only took place because of Chu and how that started a friendship
L and J Radak – for your loving affection and generosity in all things Chu
Karen O – for treating Chu so ‘specially’
June K – How Chu loved hiking with you and your dog
Lydia and Dave – for loving Chuster as if one of your own
Amy B – for loving Chu instantly upon meeting
Sara 0. For finding and giving me a picture of Alanis Morissette (another fellow vegan) holding a dog that looked identical to Chu ;-)
Sarah O – (UK) you had a special connection with Chu
Megan C – what fondness to think of you playing with Chu
Robyn F – She was a ‘super chu’ for you
Kevin G – for your natural connection and expressions of love for Chu
Kim F. – for your care and fondness of ‘vanilla love’ which you loved to call Chu. She will always be the "the funny little white dog" to you.
Diane N. – for your care and attention
Shinya Y – for capturing Chu perfectly with photography and your special Japanese prints you gave during graduation
Marta V – thank you for looking the other way when I would bring Chu to the office
Leslie and gang – Chu was better from knowing y’all
Dee W. – you have a way with animals and showed that each time you met or talked about Chu
Lisa B – for your care and knowingness of Chu and the place all animals deserve in our lives
Kris G – your kindness in caring for Chu and accommodating our stays
Paula M – your love of the animal world was certainly present when interacting with Chu. Helping re build a website telling Chu’s story was so kind
Kristen J – for your understanding of how important Chus life was
Theo and Holly – your sincere love and affection for Chu. Your gift of a dog bed when we left California was especially touching.
Claudia D – you loved Chu as if she was a cat (and in many ways she acted like one)
Althea – you and Chu were the sweetest companions
Tanya – for the ‘first glimpse’ of Chu and how that affected you and started a friendship
Hikari – for how your Youtube video of your Kishu dog put us in touch and we realized we lived in neighboring towns (Oakland and Alameda)
Xxs – for rescuing Chu on the pacific coast beach – I am indebted
Hope – for ‘finding us’ in Piedmont park because of Chu and starting a friendship
Risa san– for being one of the only Japanese to move to the US and bring a Kishu to the states. And for allowing Chu to walk in the annual San Francisco Cherry Blossom parade
(HR at Cancer center) – your natural love of dogs shone through with Chu
Ralph and Ann B. – you treated Chu like family
Bryan and Jean B. – your honest love and willingness to accept Chu
Amy B. and Gang - how comfortable you always made Chu and how you made her a special part of your life. Sofia for your special bond.
Karla – you touched us so with your love on that last day
Lee and Cindy – your love was true and you get the ‘mystery’ of Chu
Spencer – your forever captured Chu with your artwork and are far beyond your years as an artist at age 11
Jane and Sam B. – your almost daily stops on our road to talk about Chu were so meaningful and your treats were appreciated.
Jennifer S. – though you never met Chu, you were so inspired by her ‘story’ that you put me in touch with editors and illustrators in California to write a children’s book. Beyond special.
Remi, Mira, and Cort – for learning to like and love dogs from first meeting Chu
Aiko – for the surreal coincidence of also rescuing a Kishu dog in Japan, also naming it Chu, also bringing it back to the states, and for me finding you via your hand woven Guatemalan tapestries that featured your white dog Chu woven in them. How we found each other I will never know but we did and a day came where both Chus met together in Walnut Creek.
Contact Dr. Radak
radaktim @ hotmail . com
On February 17th, 2012 we had to make the painfully difficult decision to put our beloved and most special dog Chu down. At about 17 years and two months of age, Chu lived her last day February 18th up here in Boone with a unusually sunny day before having our vet come to our house to push her through to the other side.
If you are getting this email, you either cared for, knew, interacted, or loved that special creature, and I thank you for playing that part in her life. You knew of her many unusual non-dog traits, the unexplainable ‘coincidences’ that happened at different stages of her life, and how much that animal meant to me over the past 17 years of my life, and 6 years of Melinda’s life.
Chu didn’t last this long without being a fighter, and that fight began by being left in the wild as a pup in a small village in Hiroshima prefecture. Most of you know the story but life changed after seeing her multiple times in the village I taught English in and the unusual spark that ignited in me for wanting to reach out and take her in. At that point a commitment was made to provide a loving life for her that would be three times above normal in an attempt to reverse her harsh and unfair beginnings. The origin of her name “Chu” is from the Japanese word Chu(中)meaning: Balanced, Centered. I chose this word because I somehow felt right away that she had a balancing effect.
Through the years she worked through some of the early fears of being left at an early age, beat out a few illnesses, stayed strong, fit, and healthy until about age 15, when dementia started its cruel and indiscriminate process.
We will travel back to Japan this April to honor Chu with where it all began and spread some of her ashes in a village ceremony. We will then go to Wakayama to where Chu’s breed is recognized to originate and where her link with Buddhism has designated her rare breed to be a national living treasure: Koyasan. It will still not even come close to honoring just how much she ‘gave’ to so many people she crossed paths with.
This poorly named site does a good job of explaining a little more about her special heritage: http://www.cutepuppiesforsale.net/kishu-dog-breed/
Her Zen-like, contented soul personally touched cancer patients, the elderly as a volunteer at a convalescent home, and too many children and adults to mention. This 1 minute video captures what so many people thought of when they heard the word “Chu”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kisNmZG3amM&feature=related
A site which we made that celebrates Chu: http://chuchan.weebly.com/
Below are some of the people I would like to honor who were touched in some way or another in knowing Chu throughout more than a dozen different places she lived and multiple adventure trips around the country that she experienced. My apologies for anyone I may of left out or has also since passed.
If you are ever thinking of having an animal in your life, remember that saving a life via adopting a pet can be an incredibly rewarding experience.
Tim and Mel
Mayumi S. – for being there at the beginning and many years after – your care and love for her was equivalent to that for children. Original Okasan
Rocky san – your care and concern. And also for helping to put into reality the town of Mitsugi doing a news article on Chu 11 years after leaving Japan.
Andres A. – for making her first homemade dog tag
Vision Quest participants -The junior high students with whom I journeyed for 3 weeks who, while tackling daily 60 mile bike rides, would in unison yell out “Chuuuuuuuu” for inspiration and motivation in helping to push onward.
Cynthia L and family – for your connection and care of Chu while at Bastyr
Nina – for caring for Chu that 3 weeks, and allowing her share her life with your family
Terry M. – your care and love for Chu on so many occasions
Margo B – your love for dogs had certainly included Chu
Matt – your love and ability to value Chu
Amber C. – You always asked about Chu with such sunshine in your voice. Levi sharing her bed with Chu was priceless.
Adrian F. – you ‘got’ Chu and connected her to things spiritual
Letha G. – at 93 years old, you stitched a beautiful dog sweater from scratch that remained with Chu her entire life.
Bonny B. – you instantly connected with Chu and always kept her in your life
Peng – for your loving care
Elaine F – your soulful talks about your life as a child in Japan and Chu’s regal personality
Naomi B. – for accommodating a dog in your house when you had not planned to
Harumi M. and Sayaka – for your devoted care and placing Chu high on a pedestal. Harumi for that chance meeting that only took place because of Chu and how that started a friendship
L and J Radak – for your loving affection and generosity in all things Chu
Karen O – for treating Chu so ‘specially’
June K – How Chu loved hiking with you and your dog
Lydia and Dave – for loving Chuster as if one of your own
Amy B – for loving Chu instantly upon meeting
Sara 0. For finding and giving me a picture of Alanis Morissette (another fellow vegan) holding a dog that looked identical to Chu ;-)
Sarah O – (UK) you had a special connection with Chu
Megan C – what fondness to think of you playing with Chu
Robyn F – She was a ‘super chu’ for you
Kevin G – for your natural connection and expressions of love for Chu
Kim F. – for your care and fondness of ‘vanilla love’ which you loved to call Chu. She will always be the "the funny little white dog" to you.
Diane N. – for your care and attention
Shinya Y – for capturing Chu perfectly with photography and your special Japanese prints you gave during graduation
Marta V – thank you for looking the other way when I would bring Chu to the office
Leslie and gang – Chu was better from knowing y’all
Dee W. – you have a way with animals and showed that each time you met or talked about Chu
Lisa B – for your care and knowingness of Chu and the place all animals deserve in our lives
Kris G – your kindness in caring for Chu and accommodating our stays
Paula M – your love of the animal world was certainly present when interacting with Chu. Helping re build a website telling Chu’s story was so kind
Kristen J – for your understanding of how important Chus life was
Theo and Holly – your sincere love and affection for Chu. Your gift of a dog bed when we left California was especially touching.
Claudia D – you loved Chu as if she was a cat (and in many ways she acted like one)
Althea – you and Chu were the sweetest companions
Tanya – for the ‘first glimpse’ of Chu and how that affected you and started a friendship
Hikari – for how your Youtube video of your Kishu dog put us in touch and we realized we lived in neighboring towns (Oakland and Alameda)
Xxs – for rescuing Chu on the pacific coast beach – I am indebted
Hope – for ‘finding us’ in Piedmont park because of Chu and starting a friendship
Risa san– for being one of the only Japanese to move to the US and bring a Kishu to the states. And for allowing Chu to walk in the annual San Francisco Cherry Blossom parade
(HR at Cancer center) – your natural love of dogs shone through with Chu
Ralph and Ann B. – you treated Chu like family
Bryan and Jean B. – your honest love and willingness to accept Chu
Amy B. and Gang - how comfortable you always made Chu and how you made her a special part of your life. Sofia for your special bond.
Karla – you touched us so with your love on that last day
Lee and Cindy – your love was true and you get the ‘mystery’ of Chu
Spencer – your forever captured Chu with your artwork and are far beyond your years as an artist at age 11
Jane and Sam B. – your almost daily stops on our road to talk about Chu were so meaningful and your treats were appreciated.
Jennifer S. – though you never met Chu, you were so inspired by her ‘story’ that you put me in touch with editors and illustrators in California to write a children’s book. Beyond special.
Remi, Mira, and Cort – for learning to like and love dogs from first meeting Chu
Aiko – for the surreal coincidence of also rescuing a Kishu dog in Japan, also naming it Chu, also bringing it back to the states, and for me finding you via your hand woven Guatemalan tapestries that featured your white dog Chu woven in them. How we found each other I will never know but we did and a day came where both Chus met together in Walnut Creek.
Contact Dr. Radak
radaktim @ hotmail . com