I got my first Kai Ken in early 2014. They’re a special and exceedingly rare breed of ancient Japanese hunting dog that bond very closely to their owners and otherwise don’t want much to do with people. For this reason, they’re very hard to re-home and breeders are very selective about who gets a puppy. Our first Kai came to us by way of a web blog called The Misanthropic Shiba, which had posted a request for help. The author’s friend Kim was retiring from breeding Kai Kens but had found herself in a bind. Her final litter, her husband’s passing, and a rush to sell their home had coincided in an unexpected way, leaving her with something like six Kai Kens in a one bedroom apartment.

By the time I reached out, only two dogs were left. I wanted the remaining girl because we had a 4 month old male Shiba at home, but Kim was worried about her most out of all her dogs. She was very reserved and at 2 years old it was unlikely she would bond with us. This would make her a flight risk, but also could lead to her not eating or drinking until she reunited with Kim. We promised to return her if she didn’t bond.

Widget the Kai Ken (left) and Google the Shiba Inu (right)

10 years later, that Shiba has passed away, but Widget, our matronly Kai Ken, is going strong heading into her teens. She bonded after over a month of hard, emotional work on the part of myself and my wife. She still only tolerates my presence but she lives to please my better half. She sleeps under my wife’s bed, silently follows her everywhere, and looks to her for all things. She’s also helping us raise the next generation of dogs that have come along to fill the void left by the passing of our Shiba: Yukijitaku, a 5 month old Japanese Akita, and Kodai, a 4 month old Kai Ken and the star of the rest of this story.

Yukijitaku (Yuki G) the Japanese Akita

Mijikai Kodai Fruitful Guy Multiplies (Kodai) the Kai Ken

One more thing before I get to the point; after a couple years of owning Widget, my wife and I vowed that if we ever got another dog, it would be a Kai Ken. These dogs are incredible beyond words. Unfortunately, there are so few of them even in their home country that it’s tough enough to import them, let alone get one from American soil. I spent years trying with no luck, until after my Shiba passed away and I mentioned to a breeder that we had taken a Kai from Kim. That breeder responded that I must have been a great fit because she knew all those dogs and knew how hard Widget especially was going to be to re-home. With that impression made, she helped us skip a years-long waiting list with one of the only other breeders in the country, who had a male puppy looking for exactly the right home – he is a gorgeous and uniquely outgoing Kai that the secret society of American Kai Ken breeders wanted to keep intact so he could pass on his incredible genes. Several vetting steps and a road trip to Toledo later, we added Kodai to the family.

Fast forward a few months. Kodai and Yuki G are busy being adorable little monsters under Widget and my watch while my wife is at work each day. They’re only one month apart, but Yuki being an Akita already outweighs Kodai by 30lbs. They roughhouse constantly but I’ve put a lot of effort into ensuring they can de-escalate and respond when told to dial it back. Often times Kodai is the one who takes it a step too far, which isn’t too unusual for the smaller of two puppy playmates. So when I heard sustained frantic yelping coming from the other side of the hill in my backyard, I was certain Kodai had instigated, been put in his place by his sister, and gotten hurt. Imagine my surprise when both Yuki and Widget went racing past me from behind to go see what had happened with Kodai.

My boy had been running up the hill and stumbled as his front right paw got caught in a small hole in the ground. His momentum must have carried him too far and led to an injury, I thought as I ran up to him. I scooped him up, stuck the girls in their rooms, and drove to my vet, who is mercifully only about 3 minutes from my house.

X-rays came back pretty clean but my vet wanted an orthopedic consult to be sure. It was free so I saw no harm in it, but since it was Thursday afternoon we probably wouldn’t hear back until next Monday. No matter, it’s just a formality. The x-rays were so unremarkable that we didn’t even bother to splint him. After an evening of rest, he was up and chasing his sisters again the next morning.

I got the call from the orthopedic surgeon the following Tuesday morning. He explained that what we had assumed was a normal gap in his growth plate was actually abnormally large, and there was a tough to spot fracture down his elbow and rotated around. He wanted new x-rays because if it was what he feared, the natural torsion of the elbow could cause that gap to continue growing and exacerbate the fracture. He offered to get us in first thing on Thursday, with the caveat that if we needed to do surgery, we would have to do it on the spot because he would be booked for 8 days after that opening.

So it came to pass that the second round of x-rays came back like a poster for a bad horror movie and I found myself digging in between the cushions of the surgeon’s lobby’s couch for the money to pay for an emergency elbow surgery for my 4 month old, future prized stud, exceedingly confused and soon to be carved up Kai Ken puppy.

Accidental Renaissance painting titled: “Depiction of the Kai Ken in Recovery” 2023, Honda Accord passengers seat, by Alex_Demote

The cost of the surgery aside, the most daunting aspect of this situation is that Kodai will have to spend his next 6 to 8 weeks confined to his crate, only free for walks and bathroom breaks. It’s always tough to watch a child go to prison, but it’s especially heartbreaking that by the time he’s released, he will have spent a quarter of his life behind bars. His sisters were very curious about his new fashion choices, and he was very curious why he wasn’t allowed to follow them around the house anymore.

Visiting hours at the Pup County jail

I wasn’t scared about the surgical outcome. This vet community has been excellent and trust is something I’m good at. What I am afraid of is how this could affect my young guy’s temperament. It’s so wonderful to have a Kai Ken that wants to be the center of attention, and I don’t want him to devolve into a more reserved and standoffish boy. Its a little silly to worry that his whole personality will change after a stretch in the clink, but I can’t get that irrational fear out of my mind today. It’d be a shame if he looked AND acted like a runway model.

For now I’ll remind myself that it’s a blessing we were seen quickly and were never faced with the possibility of amputation. It’s a lot easier for dogs to weather that kind of change, but it’s a bridge I’m glad I didn’t have to cross. I suppose I should also find out if he’s going to have to declare the pins and screws in his arm before going through airport security.