Hoku and Kai watched the show with us on the grass, occasionally saying hi to the other dogs in the audience, playing with each other and taking short walks in the shady areas to cool off from the sun. Our neighbors were an elderly couple with a sweet little Shiba named Hana to our right and two ladies with an Akita named Kuma to our left.
Hoku didn’t react much to being back in the show environment though he did seem to enjoy relaxing next to us, snacking on treats and smugly watching the show dogs from the sidelines (now that the pressure was off of him, of course).
While asking around to see if Hoku and Kai might be able to participate in future shows (and unfortunately, they can’t because they’re neutered), we coincidentally met Marisa Wilson who’s the current president of the Southern California Shiba Inu Club and one of Hoku’s previous owners who had also bred him. We brought Hoku (or Qing, as she had known him) over to say hi and he recognized her right away, dropping his ears and wagging his tail happily. It was really sweet. Marisa mentioned that Hoku had the bear-like features characteristic of her Shibas and that his nickname used to be Frank Sinatra.