Golden retriever Suehiro was featured here in March 2013. Abandoned when his owner left Japan, Suehiro's photo came to the attention of Mark and Joan Norbom (seen here with Suehiro), who decided to adopt him.
"When he came to live with us, he weighed 19 kilos and I could put my hands around his waist. The poor little guy had never been inside the house and had no idea about house training," says Joan. "We were warned that Suehiro was protective of anything in his mouth and disliked being handled by the collar," which Joan believes was an instinctive reaction to earlier abuse.
And to be honest, it was touch and go in the early days, after Joan was bitten numerous times. The Norboms, however, stuck with him, working with a trainer in Tokyo.