Shiba Inu Puppy Cam
Encyclopedia
The Shiba Inu Puppy Cam is a website that featured a live-streamed webcam
trained on the puppy-pen for six newborn Shiba Inu
dogs born on October 7, 2008. It became an Internet phenomenon.
in October 2008, by a San Francisco, California
couple to monitor their Shiba Inu puppies while they were at work. The live streaming website showed the puppies interacting with each other in a variety of ways: sleeping, playing with toys, tearing up wee pads, and occasionally snuggling with their mother, Kika. Links to the site spread virally
. By October 13, 2008, three million viewers had spent 1.2 million hours watching the puppies via the Internet.
The six puppies (three females: Autumn, Ayumi & Amaya and three males: Aki, Akoni & Ando) were identified mainly by their different colored collars. This litter became known as "The Shiba Six" as well as "The A-Team"; referring to the fact that they were Kika's first litter. The list of countries from which people watched the live webcast of the puppy cam from all around the globe grew to 74 countries in total.
By December 7th of 2008, Autumn, Akoni and Ando had been adopted by new owners. Two other pups, Aki and Amaya, went to their new homes later that month around Christmas time. The couple kept one pup from this litter, Ayumi, and the camera continued functioning so that viewers were able to watch her interact with the other three adult Shibas in the house. The dogs' owners remain anonymous.
By March 21, 2010, all five puppies of the second litter went to their forever homes/families.
The names of the C Team all begin with the letter "c". In order of birth they are: Chozen, aka "Zen" (boy); Chame (boy); Chisaki, aka "Saki" (girl); Charlotte (girl); Chiyoko, aka "Yo-Yo" (girl); and Chikara (boy). The last boy pup, Chikara, has the highest birth weight of any of the pups coming in at 11 ounces.
From April to November 2009, regular viewers of the Puppy Cam (who call themselves Shibaholics) collectively donated $11,172 to Shiba Inu Rescue Resources of America in honor of the SFShiba family.
The Summer 2009 issue of the Shiba E-News had an article on the Puppy Cam and the fundraising efforts of its followers on behalf of the Shiba rescue organizations supported by SIRRA. In November 2009, the American Kennel Club
Gazette featured an article on the continued efforts of the puppy cam fans as significant contributors to SIRRA. Shortly afterward, the Winter 2009 edition of Shiba World magazine featured an article on the Shibaholics, their donations to Shiba Rescue and their being ringside at the 2009 Nationals dog show in Clemmons, North Carolina.
NBC
affiliate's website. Cute Overload
, where many people first learned of the original pups in October 2008, again featured the pups on their website. The sites Gawker.com
and Mashable.com also featured the pups. Before their one-week birthday, the puppies' national attention grew as they appeared on PeoplePets.com as well as The Bay Area Blog of The New York Times
. A few days later the puppies were in the national spotlight again in the L.A. Unleashed section of the Los Angeles Times
.
On November 14, 2008, NBC Nightly News
broadcast a live feed of the camera to its national TV audience. On November 15, 2008, The Today Show interviewed the founders of Ustream
about the puppies. On November 18, 2008, CNN
coverage played several clips from the feed. Bill O'Reilly
used footage from the camera as representative of the overall trend of popular animal videos on the Internet. On December 11, 2008, Jeff Horwich of Minnesota Public Radio posted a song written about the puppy cam. Other major broadcast networks, including MSNBC
and ABC
, have also broadcast the feed. The puppies have been featured in magazines including Time, People, Entertainment Weekly, TV Guide, and online sites like boingboing and Gawker.
In April 2009, the Shiba Inu Puppy Cam was nominated for a Webby Award
in the Viral category, and was the People’s Voice Award winner. According to UStream, the Puppy Cam triumphed over nearly 10,000 entries from more than 60 countries.
In the animated cartoon The Mighty B!
episode "Awww-esome!", the puppy cam's webcast was parodied as a "Puppy Net", and all of the show's characters were hooked on watching it.
Webcam
A webcam is a video camera that feeds its images in real time to a computer or computer network, often via USB, ethernet, or Wi-Fi.Their most popular use is the establishment of video links, permitting computers to act as videophones or videoconference stations. This common use as a video camera...
trained on the puppy-pen for six newborn Shiba Inu
Shiba Inu
The is the smallest of the six original and distinct breeds of dog from Japan.A small, agile dog that copes very well with mountainous terrain, the Shiba Inu was originally bred for hunting. It is similar in appearance to the Akita, though much smaller in stature...
dogs born on October 7, 2008. It became an Internet phenomenon.
Background
The live webcam was set up on UstreamUstream
Ustream is a website which consists of a network of diverse channels providing a platform for lifecasting and live video streaming of events online. Established in March 2007, the site has over 2,000,000 registered users who generate 1,500,000+ hours of live streamed content per month with over ten...
in October 2008, by a San Francisco, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
couple to monitor their Shiba Inu puppies while they were at work. The live streaming website showed the puppies interacting with each other in a variety of ways: sleeping, playing with toys, tearing up wee pads, and occasionally snuggling with their mother, Kika. Links to the site spread virally
Viral phenomenon
Viral phenomena are objects or patterns able to replicate themselves or convert other objects into copies of themselves when these objects are exposed to them....
. By October 13, 2008, three million viewers had spent 1.2 million hours watching the puppies via the Internet.
The six puppies (three females: Autumn, Ayumi & Amaya and three males: Aki, Akoni & Ando) were identified mainly by their different colored collars. This litter became known as "The Shiba Six" as well as "The A-Team"; referring to the fact that they were Kika's first litter. The list of countries from which people watched the live webcast of the puppy cam from all around the globe grew to 74 countries in total.
By December 7th of 2008, Autumn, Akoni and Ando had been adopted by new owners. Two other pups, Aki and Amaya, went to their new homes later that month around Christmas time. The couple kept one pup from this litter, Ayumi, and the camera continued functioning so that viewers were able to watch her interact with the other three adult Shibas in the house. The dogs' owners remain anonymous.
Second litter
Kika's second litter of puppies was born on January 16, 2010. They are referred to as the "B-team" of puppies to mark the 2nd litter. There were a total of two female and three male Shibas. Two of the three males are cream colored, the rest of the pups are red. The puppies in birth order are the girls: Bella and Beni-Bara, and the boys: Bonsai, Bento (cream), and Byakko (cream).By March 21, 2010, all five puppies of the second litter went to their forever homes/families.
Third litter
On April 14, 2011, over fifteen hundred viewers tuned in to see Kika's third and final litter. As in the original litter there are six puppies, three of each sex. However, unlike the previous two litters, the "C Team" sire was a Black & Tan colored Shiba instead of a Red. Despite the sire's color, all the puppies are red in color.The names of the C Team all begin with the letter "c". In order of birth they are: Chozen, aka "Zen" (boy); Chame (boy); Chisaki, aka "Saki" (girl); Charlotte (girl); Chiyoko, aka "Yo-Yo" (girl); and Chikara (boy). The last boy pup, Chikara, has the highest birth weight of any of the pups coming in at 11 ounces.
Fundraising efforts
The owners created a calendar in 2009 showing the various pups from the first litter on each month. Shortly afterward they created a mousepad and a number of greeting cards which also featured images of the pups. Donations from the calendar are being sent to various Shiba Inu Rescue organizations around the United States, and the amount has so far (as of 2009) totaled over $6,000. For their 2010 calendar, the couple have included their other Shibas Yuuki (the eldest, a red female) and Haru (black and tan male) as well as pictures of the now adult Shiba Six, courtesy of their owners. Like the previous year's calendar, proceeds from the sale are being donated to Shiba Inu rescue organizations around the US.From April to November 2009, regular viewers of the Puppy Cam (who call themselves Shibaholics) collectively donated $11,172 to Shiba Inu Rescue Resources of America in honor of the SFShiba family.
The Summer 2009 issue of the Shiba E-News had an article on the Puppy Cam and the fundraising efforts of its followers on behalf of the Shiba rescue organizations supported by SIRRA. In November 2009, the American Kennel Club
American Kennel Club
The American Kennel Club is a registry of purebred dog pedigrees in the United States. Beyond maintaining its pedigree registry, this kennel club also promotes and sanctions events for purebred dogs, including the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, an annual event which predates the official...
Gazette featured an article on the continued efforts of the puppy cam fans as significant contributors to SIRRA. Shortly afterward, the Winter 2009 edition of Shiba World magazine featured an article on the Shibaholics, their donations to Shiba Rescue and their being ringside at the 2009 Nationals dog show in Clemmons, North Carolina.
Media attention
Not two days after the pups were born, the first news articles about the "B" team started appearing. One of the first was on a Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate's website. Cute Overload
Cute Overload
Cute Overload is a weblog featuring commentary, photos and videos related to various aspects of cuteness in animals. The site was created by Megan Frost...
, where many people first learned of the original pups in October 2008, again featured the pups on their website. The sites Gawker.com
Gawker.com
Gawker is a newsmagazine/blog based in New York City that bills itself as "the source for daily Manhattan media news and gossip" and focuses on celebrities and the media industry....
and Mashable.com also featured the pups. Before their one-week birthday, the puppies' national attention grew as they appeared on PeoplePets.com as well as The Bay Area Blog of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. A few days later the puppies were in the national spotlight again in the L.A. Unleashed section of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
.
On November 14, 2008, NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News is the flagship daily evening television news program for NBC News and broadcasts. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is located in the center...
broadcast a live feed of the camera to its national TV audience. On November 15, 2008, The Today Show interviewed the founders of Ustream
Ustream
Ustream is a website which consists of a network of diverse channels providing a platform for lifecasting and live video streaming of events online. Established in March 2007, the site has over 2,000,000 registered users who generate 1,500,000+ hours of live streamed content per month with over ten...
about the puppies. On November 18, 2008, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
coverage played several clips from the feed. Bill O'Reilly
Bill O'Reilly (political commentator)
William James "Bill" O'Reilly, Jr. is an American television host, author, syndicated columnist and political commentator. He is the host of the political commentary program The O'Reilly Factor on the Fox News Channel, which is the most watched cable news television program on American television...
used footage from the camera as representative of the overall trend of popular animal videos on the Internet. On December 11, 2008, Jeff Horwich of Minnesota Public Radio posted a song written about the puppy cam. Other major broadcast networks, including MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
and ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, have also broadcast the feed. The puppies have been featured in magazines including Time, People, Entertainment Weekly, TV Guide, and online sites like boingboing and Gawker.
In April 2009, the Shiba Inu Puppy Cam was nominated for a Webby Award
Webby Awards
A Webby Award is an international award presented annually by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences for excellence on the Internet with categories in websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile....
in the Viral category, and was the People’s Voice Award winner. According to UStream, the Puppy Cam triumphed over nearly 10,000 entries from more than 60 countries.
In the animated cartoon The Mighty B!
The Mighty B!
The Mighty B! is an American animated television series co-created by Amy Poehler, Cynthia True and Erik Wiese for Nickelodeon. The series centers on Bessie Higgenbottom, an ambitious Honeybee girlscout that believes she will become a superhero called the Mighty B if she collects every Honeybee badge...
episode "Awww-esome!", the puppy cam's webcast was parodied as a "Puppy Net", and all of the show's characters were hooked on watching it.