Kage is our second shelter rescue dog. If you look at the thumbnail version of this pic, it's nothing special, but if you look at the larger version you see everything that is Kage, especially the sparkling eyes. This happy face greets me every morning, whenever I come home from even a 10 minute jaunt outside, and whenever I go to bed he sits at the side of the bed for just a minute so I can pet him good-night before he saunters off to his own bed.

He was returned to the shelter several times and spent well over a year in the shelter and I have no idea why. He was probably abused in a former home because when we first got him he was very skittish about food and fast movements near him and cowered from any slightly loud noise. The shelter told us his rear leg was broken at some point and his nose and part of his face is a bit crooked, so we don't know if someone injured him or if it was an accident.

Kage has been with us for closing in on a year now. His favorite thing in the world is not food and treats, like his "bro" Parker... it's being loved. He just wants to be around people all the time. His tail wags and wags and wags, and he bounces and spins, but when you gently put your hand on him, he quiets down, just becomes still, and sits there quietly as if he's trying to absorb the love through your hand. If you take your hand away, wagging starts again, and he sometimes raises a paw to try and move your hand back onto himself.

He often sleeps with his eyes part-way open... as if he's afraid he'll miss the opportunity to be pet by someone.

I'm so glad we adopted this several-times-returned older dog. Kage is a Good Boy.



(Note: He came with the name... this is not pronounced in the Japanese way but the same as "Cage." Apparently he was named after Nicholas Cage, lollllllllllllllllllllll, but the shelter thought it was a little cruel to call a dog living in a cage regular-old-Cage.)