Akita Angels

07/10/2025

Update on Tofu - Whoop Whoop Whoop!
Tofu, the lovely, smushy 4-year old male at the shelter, has been adopted by a lovely woman named Kristin. She's a retired ACO and has had Akitas before. She wanted to adopt for some time but had a long list of "wants and needs" for an adult dog. We told her about Tofu - and she went down to the shelter, spent a lot of time with him, and .... ADOPTED HIM! We love happy endings like this!

30/09/2025

Update on Zubao, Zori, ZZ & The Pups - Tuesday, 9/30/25

It's been a week since the 3 adults and 5 pups left the shelter and as they decompress (with the help of full bellies, low stress environment, fresh air/exercise, and good sleep) we've gotten to learn a little about each and every one.

Zubao - The only adult male in the trio - this guy is an old soul. His eyes have seen lots of things in his life, and it's almost like he is learning how to be a dog! On Saturday, for the first time, he began bouncing around and play-bowing. A few more days and we think we might get a "woo woo" out of him.

Zori - the Black/White Female. She is definitely younger than the shelter's estimate, and to be fair, she was so stressed in the shelter, she was not interested in much more than a visual vet exam. Now, in decompression mode, she is a "smiler", and bouncy on her feet. Her teeth, while adult teeth, are all pearly, shiny white. We think she's is about a year old, maybe a year and a half. She is also showing to be a shy girl, but now that she's opening up, wants to please.

Mama "ZZ" - The all white female Mama Akita.

We know that she is the bio-Mama of the two white pups - one of which is a male and one of which is a female. The two white pups are the most feisty and confident of all 5 pups, and they are playful and of course, have warm puppy breath.

The other 3 pups - all males - are so dang cute and we think that Zori is the bio-Mama of them. Mama Zio taking over and pawdopting Zori's pups is total Akita-Mama-love right there. Zori was the most stressed in the shelter and shows/showed no sign of milk, and of course, refused to care for the pups in the shelter.

On Saturday, "Fox" showed signs of a cold with some snuffles and a bit of congestion. Not totally unexpected since every shelter is full of cooties and even fully vaccinated Akitas often get sick. Little Fox went to the vet on Saturday afternoon and is getting some Clavamox drops to keep anything from progressing.

Last night - Monday night - the all-white female went to the ER vet as she also started showing signs of some snuffles and as she was shaking her head for the first time, we wanted to rule out an ear infection. She got some fluids and was prescribed Clavamox drops as well. She's back at our regular vet today for another more extensive exam.

We are fielding so many questions and doing our best to respond to everyone and post updates. As a small rescue, there are oftentimes not enough humans to go around and do everything needed. We appreciate everyone's love and support, and patience with updates, etc.

With many veterinary expenses coming our way, sick puppies and later, spay/neuter for all 8, we thank you for your support. We also wish to remind everyone that the connection between our FB and IG account continues to be wonky, so posts are not auto-posting to IG profile. We and the tech-peeps at FB and IG are working on resolving this.

https://gofund.me/2b394a1d5

28/09/2025

Good Morning ☀️
~Loki and Enzo

25/09/2025

MEET TOFU!
This gorgeous boy, "Tofu", has been on our radar for a while now and we continue to watch him. He is a nice boy and is Adoptable to the Public. He is at the LA City East Valley Shelter in Van Nuys, CA. Networkers, who play a vital role in rescue, have been networking him *to* rescues. We need help networking him *to members of the public* with the hope that someone looking to adopt an Akita will adopt him. Rescues need to focus their resources and available space on dogs that are Rescue Only for medical reasons, etc. If this guy's status changes, and he becomes in danger, be assured he is on our watch list.

25/09/2025

ZZ and the Moonchkins ❤️

24/09/2025

MAMA ZZ and her Puppies (aka "ZZ PUPS") got a clean bill of health from the vet this morning. The puppies are all chubby and appear to be healthy. The two white pups - which is one male and the one female in the litter) received a more extensive evaluation for any apparent vision, hearing or neurological issues and the vet sees nothing that warrants testing or treatment.

24/09/2025

Little went as planned today. It started with Verizon getting wonky just after noon, then later, as we were getting ready to load Mama ZZ and her pups in the car, the vet office called - they had a Coyote vs Cat emergency and asked if we could bring them all in tomorrow late afternoon. We opted to try to get them into one of our other regular vets and he is able to see us tomorrow at 11:15.

We spent some time with each of them today. Here are some initial observations.

Zori, the black and white female, is young - way younger than estimated. We think she is about a year old. She shows no signs of having been pregnant, so, only a vet will be able to determine if she was during spay. She is shy, aloof, and afraid, so we offered her some treats and gave her some space to observe us and figure us out as well.

Mama ZZ - this girl is small - very small. She is underweight but has plenty of milk and she is very tolerant of the little vampires with needle sharp teeth. She is a good Mama and is taking good care of the pups.

The puppies are also on the smaller side and acting pretty normal for this breed and their estimated age of 5-6 weeks. They all, including the little white one, are acting normally and alternate between eat, play, sleep mode. We can see which ones are more feisty and those that are not. They are all so different and beautiful.

Zubao - poor Zubao. This gorgeous boy breaks our heart. He is sweet - incredibly sweet - and we think he is older than his estimated age of 8. He whimpers, cries and then low howls…when Zori walks into his view and he sees her, he stops.

We are putting up a few pics and short video in comments. We will have more info and photos to share tomorrow.

22/09/2025

OFFICIAL STATEMENT

There was a lot of unnecessary chaos involving these dogs - chaos that was created by very well intentioned people who chose not to trust honest and accurate information, specifically, that we had a commitment to rescue ALL of these dogs. Anyone that knows of us, know that we show up and take ALL, not leaving anyone behind.

Our transporters arrived at 10:40 a.m., and 11:00 a.m. Mama ZZ, Mama Zori (& their 5 puppies), and, Puppy-Papa "Zubao", all received their exit exam by the shelter's vet and were all out of the shelter and in our care and custody by 1pm. They are all SAFE.

As posted earlier, we had sent two transporters with 4 XXL crates to ensure safe exit and transport.

Mama ZZ and the pups were first to get their exit exam by the vet, and first to leave. They were staged outside of Rescue Vehicle #1 as the other two adults were receiving their exit exam, and being processed out.

Despite the fact that we have repeatedly stated that we were taking all of these dogs, rumors immediately began circulating - at around 11:50 a.m. that "...some other rescue got there (to the shelter) before us and took only the (all white) Mama dog and the 5 puppies, leaving the other two adult dogs to die.

This is 100% inaccurate information. Exiting a dog from a shelter is not like scanning a trolley full of items at the grocery store. It takes time. Our exit plan included that all dogs would be exited, be in their crates and in the vans, before the two transporters left the parking lot, together.

We are incredibly thankful to all of the staff at the Devore Animal Shelter, including the Rescue Team, Command Staff, and even those at a higher level in San Bernardino County Department of Public Health. It saddens us greatly that many people have negative things to say about "Devore" but we - in more than 12 years as a rescue partner - have not ever had a bad experience with them. We attribute this successful relationship to clear communication and an understanding of abilities, resources, and expectations.

We also wish to address the rumor that someone out there is soliciting and/or collecting pledges and/or donations for these dogs. Let us be clear. Akita Angels exited these dogs and has taken them into our rescue program. Any person or group that is soliciting or collecting funds for these dogs is committing fraud.

As all of these dogs need to be vetted - especially Mama ZZ and the puppies, we ask that if you wish to help, to please make a donation only through the official fundraiser set up by Akita Angels on GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/803da17b8

For now, please enjoy just a few of the quick photos taken while the dogs were being exited, staged and loaded, and rest easy tonight knowing they are safe with us.

Lastly - There's a heavy interest in the puppies. Please be patient. They are estimated to be between 5-6 weeks old and our focus right now is to let them all begin to decompress.

If you have any questions, please do not rely on information created or spread by others. Instead, contact us, email is best: [email protected]

22/09/2025

A lot is happening this morning. Two transporters - in vehicles large enough to hold multiple XXL Crates - are AT THE DEVORE ANIMAL SHELTER NOW. Staff and Veterinary Staff are performing exit exams and preparing the dogs to leave.

We are exiting the eight 8 Akitas, (3 Adults + 5 Puppies) that were confiscated from their former owner on 8/29/2025 following an investigation. The dogs were taken in for their safety. The Shelter Staff has done an incredible job of caring for this extended family despite this shelter being one of the highest intake shelters in California.

We Need Your Help. Please Donate and Share on your Social Media. More information and photos to follow.

These eight (8) Akitas were confiscated by Animal Control fol… Akita Angels, Inc. needs your support for The Lives of 8 Purebred Akitas-Rescued, Not Once, but Twice

19/09/2025

Five (5) purebred Akita pups coming into rescue, they are estimated to be in the 6 week range but we will not know until we have them in our hands. THIS is the time to go to our website and download/complete an application to adopt.

There are also purebred Akita pups in rescue - a bit older - so if the itty bitty puppy is not for you right now, please consider one that is old enough to see his/her personality and temperament.

We are always willing to consider an out of area/state adopter however just know that we do not "ship" dogs, regardless of age/size/breed or your experience. We will post photos as soon as they are here.

Akita Angels rescues Akitas and other large, dominant and/or high-risk dog breeds.