Ladies and gentlemen, I’m proud to present the newest and furriest member to the family…Aki.

Aki is 12 weeks old and comes from a native Japanese breed called Akita Inu. The Akita Inu is a large breed dog originating from the Akita prefecture in Japan; and was originally bred for hunting and guarding, but nowadays he’s more of a family/home pet.

The Akita Inu is actually considered a national treasure in Japan, it is said that a house which has an Akita Inu is a house of good fortune and prosperity. The reason behind this is the legendary loyalty and devotion of this dog to it’s family and master.

In one of Tokyo’s busiest and most popular hang out place, Shinjuku; you can find a statue of an Akita Inu named Hachiko right in front of the underground station’s gate.

Hachiko’s owner Hidesaburō Ueno was a professor in the agriculture department at the University of Tokyo. During his owner’s life Hachikō saw him off from the front door and greeted him at the end of the day at the nearby Shibuya Station. The pair continued their daily routine until May 1925, when Professor Ueno didn’t return on the usual train one evening. The professor had suffered a stroke at the university that day. He died and never returned to the train station where his friend was waiting.

Hachikō was given away after his master’s death, but he routinely escaped, showing up again and again at his old home. After time, Hachikō apparently realized that Professor Ueno no longer lived at the house. So he went to look for his master at the train station where he had accompanied him so many times before. Each day, Hachikō waited for Professor Ueno to return. And each day he didn’t see his friend among the commuters at the station.

The permanent fixture at the train station that was Hachikō attracted the attention of other commuters. Many of the people who frequented the Shibuya train station had seen Hachikō and Professor Ueno together each day. Realizing that Hachikō waited in vigil for his dead master, their hearts were touched. They brought Hachikō treats and food to nourish him during his wait.

This continued for 10 years, with Hachikō appearing only in the evening time, precisely when the train was due at the station.