OUR HISTORY IN FEW WORDS
It all started with our daughter Caitlyn, she brought home Luna our very first Japanese Akita Inu in 2015. We had no experience with the breed and had no idea about the history behind it, so we were in for a journey. As we watched Luna grow up, we quickly realized that she was not the typical dog, so we started to do some research and were intrigued by what we read about the history of the breed and the story of the infamous Hachiko. As the year went by and the breeder that my daughter got Luna from was having another litter, just in time for my husband’s birthday. Along comes Ozzy in 2016. I purchased Ozzy for my Husband, but Ozzy clearly chose me as his “human” and it has been Love ever since.
This breed is just amazingly special to us, we started to learn more about the breed in our research and became deeply saddened by the blending of the breed and we wanted to help our beloved new family. We decided that we wanted to be a part of preserving this historic breed, and to start growing our kennel by showing our dogs in UKC shows and becoming a member of JACA in 2019.
Our first UKC show we took Ozzy and Hachi and met a fellow JACA member who would become a very dear friend and mentor. We entered all 4 shows that weekend and our beloved Ozzy took all 4 shows for Best in Group, Best in Breed and Best in Show that weekend, I became hooked forever!
We have since become avid members of JACA and have added 4 more Japanese Akitas to our kennel. We show our dogs in UKC, IABCA and this year begins our AKC journey now that AKC has recognized the Japanese Akita Inu as its own breed.
Our kennel name ICHIGO Japanese Akita Inu Kennel, ICHIGO is Japanese for Strawberry, We chose this name to represent the area we live in which is known as the “Winter Strawberry Capital of the World”, Plant City, FL.
Our Akita Inu family now consists of Ozzy, Luna, Hachiko, Nikita, Hakuryu, Kuro no Kishi and Mieshu. We will continue to strengthen our kennel and be a part of strengthening the breed here in the United States. We will continue to learn, educate, show and Champion our dogs forever being a part of preserving and protecting our beloved historic breed – „The Japanese Akita Inu”.
Christine and Robbie Womack