Sake is a very special dog because she was a Harper before I was.  Sake is how I met my husband, Ben (pictured above), who lived in Dallas, Texas at the time.  He had looked at local Akita breeders but felt that they lacked a warm fuzzy feeling and then he found my website and contacted me.  As Ben contacted me as Sake was having her last litter assuming that he wanted to get a puppy.  As I usually do, I spoke with Ben at great length about a puppy and answered his questions and asked him some of my own.  It became apparent that, due to his career, he did not have time for training a puppy so I suggested an adult.  He was open to the idea so I showed him pictures of Sake and Kujo, another female that was up for adoption as she was retiring as well.  He settled on Sake based on my suggestion that her behavior would be better suited to him.  (Kujo ended up moving to Houston and the two girls rode together to their new homes.)  Ben and I kept in touch as she was a retired dog of mine and I wanted to be sure that she adjusted well to her new home.  This struck up a friendship between Ben and I.  Later Ben and I decided that I would visit the two of them in Dallas.  It was 6 months after Sake's arrival there and she was nicely settled into her routine.  When I entered her new home, she looked at me for a couple of seconds, twisted her head and then ran at me shrieking, full speed ahead, all coordination out the window, wagging 90 miles an hour.  Ben and I instantly started laughing and he told me he hadn't seen her like that the whole time he had Sake - it was obvious she knew exactly who I was.  She sat in my lap and I looked up to Ben from the floor, lap full of Sake, still laughing.  I stopped petting for a moment and she punched me in the eye.  Sake missed her mom!  The pictures taken above are from my first visit to meet Ben in Dallas, who is now my husband.  I went back on a  second vacation to Dallas before Ben decided to relocate here in Phoenix.  Sake came back to me about 7 months after she left, followed by her new dad a month later.  Sake went with us to Canyon Lake where her dad asked me to marry him and we did the following month and are in the process of our happily ever after :-)  Ben still considers Sake "his dog" but she only listens to mom (which drives him nuts, lol!)

click here for more Sake pictures

Behavior:  As a pup, Sake believed that her job is to manicure door trim.  She had a flair for creating new designs in the wood.  Please excuse her outer "dirt coating" in puppy pictures, as she was in a phase  which included rolling in mud, then standing in her water bowl, and then rolling in the mud again.  Unfortunately, she doesn't want to dig where I ask her to when I ask her, she only enjoys it when there is a reward like a new plant being dug up.  She reminds me of Katana in pretty much every way.  Her eyes and size are exactly the same and her attitude is as well.  She is always in the middle of the dogs wrestling or running, whatever the case may be.  She has overflowing constant energy but when she crashes she crashes hard, usually passing out at my bedroom door where the most ac hits her.

As an adult, Sake still acts like Katana and is built like a tank as well.  She is not any taller but I rather like her height.  She is extremely well built as she is very thick and very sturdy, just the way an Akita should be.  She has a very large head and nice earset.  Her tail is nice a full which balances her nicely.  She has a better conformation than some other dogs here as well.  Sake is into everything and if another dog is misbehaving she is quick to try to correct them, almost in a bossy way.  At over two years of age, she can still be kept in a group of Akitas 24/7 and maintain a good attitude.

Approximately 1 year after her retirement spay, Sake is a big mush.  She gets excited about car rides and food and when you talk to her and that is about it.  She still helicopter wags her tail and loses all coordination when she gets excited which is one of her most endearing qualities.  Otherwise, Sake is as mellow as a dog can be.  She avoids altercations with other dogs now and is a happy go lucky girl that "umphs" as she falls to the ground and spreads herself across as much surface area as possible, holding the ground still.

Why that name?  Kuma means bear which Akitas are known for resembling.  Sake is Japanese wine.  (Pronounced Sock eh)  (Not to mean "bear wine", I just like the two words together)

Kuma Sake hails from Luther, Oklahoma

General:  Sake is not our tallest girl but very thick, almost round.  Her legs are "tree trunks" and her middle is healthily round.  At 3 1/2 months old, she was over 40 lbs (as pictured above).  She is one of the first Akitas to check on things around the house like odd sounds.  She is very playful. 

Appearance:  Pinto: white with brown/black large spots.  He eyes are small as an Akita's should be and very dark brown.  She is very thick and will always be a stout Akita.  She has a nice sized head overall.

Coloring:  White with black pinto marks, touch of brindle in the black, black and white mask

Tail:  great curl, full, longer

Coat:  Extremely thick, slightly longer, great length, great coarseness

Weight:  at 7.5 months -73 pounds at 5 years, 6 months after spay 101.2 pounds

Sake had three litters, first by Duke (5 females, 4 males), then again by Duke (3 females, 5 males) and lastly by Dan (1 female, 4 males)!

CERF# AK-4233: eyes examined by Dr. Lisa Felchie, Arizona Veterinary Specialists, ALL CLEAR 3/21/2006