Saturday Night Kintaro of Akiyama – Kinta helps me haul firewood.

Meet Saturday Night Kintaro of Akiyama. We call him Kinta. He will be a guest at our home for several months before he is able to join his family in Japan.

Japan is a rabies free country. Kinta was born in Montana, USA. The US is not a rabies free country. He comes from Saturday Night Golden Retrievers.

The procedure goes something like this, Kinta will receive a rabies vaccination as soon as he is old enough. Then he will receive a booster a month later. A month after that, his blood will be tested for rabies titers. If his titer level is high enough, he then must wait for six months before going home. Once in Japan, he will be observed for several hours prior to being released to his family. He will also undergo many other health certifications prior to getting a green light to breed. It is a lengthy process.

Kinta checks out the pond. He’ll be swimming in no time.

Our friends Noriko and Yoshi are very dear to us, so we are happy to assist them with a foster home for Kintaro. We have fostered two other pups for them, Sakurako and Jutaro. Noriko and Yoshi are dedicated breeders of competitive golden retrievers in Japan. They take care to select genetically sound parent stock.

Kinta enjoys some Northern California sunshine.

For the next 10 months or so, I will get to enjoy, train, and share the love of a good pup. His family will visit from time to time, we take care to be sure he knows them and knows their scent.

Handsome boy watches down the driveway… are those quail he sees?

Kinta on the move – this is his standard pose.

Here are a few shots and a quick watercolor sketch of Kintaro.

Saturday Night Kintaro of Akiyama – watercolor by MaryALivingston