11 year old Shiba Inu dog left in the wild...

[draggar]

By the Frankfort, KY humane society because they thought it was a coyote.

A few links on the story:

http://www.wkyt.com/frankfort/headlines/99075159.html

http://www.thedogpress.com/SideEffec...0081_staff.asp

http://www.courier-journal.com/artic...n-for-a-coyote

http://www.petside.com/petsideblog/2...-dog-for-w.php

No one at the shelter questioned this judgement?

Here's a few facts:

Shiba Inus are typically red with a white underbelly. Coyotes are usually brown or grey.

Shiba Inus are usually around 20-25 pounds, Coyotes are around 35-45 pounds.

Shiba Inus are typically 13-15 inches tall. Coyotes are typically 23-25 inches tall.

Shiba Inus have a tail that curls up (like most spitz breeds), coyote's tails are usually down or flowing.

I had a few Finnish Spitz (which are extremely similar to Shiba Inus) and they were commonly mistaken for foxen, but NEVER a coyote. Hell, Pongo (vlcak) looks more like a coyote. I've seen many coyotes in the wild and I can't see how a shiba inu would be confused for a coyote.

This really scares me - what if Luna or Pongo break out (both are vlcaks)? They'll surely think they're wolves and either instantly kill them or "release" them to the "wild".

Of course, the head honcho of the shelter is sticking by the employees' decision.

[Greenday]

I'm guessing the Humane Society there is run by people who know absolutely nothing about dogs. Shiba Inus look NOTHING like wolves. Small foxes, maybe. But a wolf? No idea what the hell they were thinking.

[MaggieTheCat]

Gotta wonder why a purebred, AKC registered animal wouldn't be microchipped, or at least have a collar/tags on. One of this articles said that she didn't have a collar, but none of them mentioned if the shelter even checked for a chip. If the dog had no ID at all on her, that's a fail on the owner's part. Still a bigger fail on the shelter's, though.

[Red Panda]

They look similiar to coyotes so I can understand the confusion. You can't really use size as a way to say they are wrong because it could just be a small coyote. Even color is iffy because coyotes can come in so many varieties. Its a rare dog and most humane societies lack the money to train their employees to identify every breed from sight. The owner is at fault for not having a collar on the dog.

[muses_nightmare]

From the picture of the dog I saw, it looked nothing like a Coyote. Especially the tail, I mean, have you ever seen a coyote with a curled tail? I've also never seen a Coyote that colour before, and I've seen quite a few of them. Maybe they're just different up here?

I don't get the impression that the shelter checked for a microchip, they could have maybe, but it sounds like they took one look and assumed coyote. The owners should have had a collar on the dog sure, but it doesn't excuse what happened to their dog because someone couldn't be bothered to take a closer look. Don't most purebreds have a tattoo or something like that?

[draggar]

They look similiar to coyotes so I can understand the confusion. You can't really use size as a way to say they are wrong because it could just be a small coyote. Even color is iffy because coyotes can come in so many varieties. Its a rare dog and most humane societies lack the money to train their employees to identify every breed from sight. The owner is at fault for not having a collar on the dog.

I have never seen one that looked like a coyote - and this is coming from years of attending and exhibiting at AKC / UKC / IKC dog shows.

I can see confusing a malinois with a coyote, and maybe some mixed breeds but a shiba inu?

They're not that rare, in fact, they're one of the more popular spitz breed due to their size (next to Finnish Spitz and Pomeranians).

Also, the temperament that they mentioned (the dog walked nicely on the leash, didn't act scared or aggressive / defensive towards anyone) is a far cry from a wild coyote. They generally don't like humans but will stalk them to make sure we don't wander into their den area). An officer would NOT have been able to just easily walk up to a wild coyote and leash it up.

Our vlcak is microchipped since collars can break off but did the shelter even attempt this if they thought it was a wild animal? I know nothing is mentioned about it in the articles about the dog (shame on the owner if she wasn't).

Edit: As for not having the money to train their employees, there are websites (free) that they can go to to familiarize themselves with the breeds ESPECIALLY if they're the one making these calls. There are also books.

[Greenday]

They look similiar to coyotes so I can understand the confusion.

The only similarity between a Shiba Inu and a wolf is that they walk on four legs.

[Red Panda]

From the picture of the dog I saw, it looked nothing like a Coyote. Especially the tail, I mean, have you ever seen a coyote with a curled tail? I've also never seen a Coyote that colour before, and I've seen quite a few of them. Maybe they're just different up here?

I have never seen one that looked like a coyote - and this is coming from years of attending and exhibiting at AKC / UKC / IKC dog shows.

Here is a wild thought. Maybe the employee hasn't seen a lot of coyotes in person or atteneded a lot of dog shows. Its easy to claim two breeds look nothing alike if you are familiar with them but if you aren't then you won't notice the subtle differences.

Edit: As for not having the money to train their employees, there are websites (free) that they can go to to familiarize themselves with the breeds ESPECIALLY if they're the one making these calls. There are also books.

Even if the materials are free if they don't have the budget to pay for them to train then it won't happen.

[draggar]

Here is a wild thought. Maybe the employee hasn't seen a lot of coyotes in person or atteneded a lot of dog shows. Its easy to claim two breeds look nothing alike if you are familiar with them but if you aren't then you won't notice the subtle differences.

Let's think about this. I know I mentioned it before but I'll mention it again.

Shiba Inus are typically 20-25 pounds while coyotes are 35-45 pounds. But, as you said, it could be a small coyote so we can leave this out.

Shiba Inus are traditionally red with some white on them, some are all white.
Coyotes are typically grey and/or brown with some white on them.

A Shiba Inu has a short nose / muzzle especially for a dog, coyotes are typically longer.

A Shina Inu's tail will curl up (like most spitz breeds) while a coyote's tail will hang or flow in movement.

Since the dog was out loose for a while, I won't get into dirty / healthy looking.

According to the officer:

From http://www.wtop.com/?sid=2010236&nid=456:

He said he doubted it was a coyote since it peacefully went with the officer who released it.

(this is also quotes in several other news sources)

This is very atypical of a coyote. A coyote would have been very skittish and defensive - if the officer was even able to capture it. Coyotes generally don't like humans (and the daily coyote is an exception to the rule - that dog she got as a pup) and would avoid us when they can unless they felt threatened.

If it was a coyote it would have acted very differently in the shelter - most likely even attempt to bite someone but since it wasn't mentioned in the article we can assume it didn't happen (if it did try to bite someone the humane society would have had a MUCH better case for putting the dog down).

The dogpress link has a video with pictures of the dog bring released - there is no way anyone could confuse the dog with a coyote.

Also - if you're making these judgement calls shouldn't you at least have a basic knowledge of dogs? Even if the person didn't know what a Shiba Inu was they should have noticed with the shorter nose, curved tail, earset, etc.. that it was a spitz breed(Shiba Inu, along with Akitas, Malamutes, Pomeranians, Finnish Spitz, etc..) and not a wild animal. If they don't have the finds to properly train and have the tools then hire someone who knows or at least get a second opinion.