Reiko's Journey

Maybe you remember me. Probably, you don’t. My name is Tom.

With the able assistance of a certain Maltese dog named Max, I used to write a blog called Within The K Streets which chronicled Max’s many and diverse adventures in Hawaii, Utah and California. Max died in 2022. He was almost 15 years old. He had a great life and was a great dog and when he passed, I discontinued the blog although his 300 or so stories are still available on WordPress and you can access them by clicking on Max’s Stories in the sidebar to your left.

Anyway, I’m back with this new blog called Reiko’s Journey – Jinsei No Tabi. Let me tell you how it came about.

Reiko is an 11-month-old Maltese-Terrier mix that I recently adopted from a shelter. She is small, white, totally mental, somewhat feral and according to the shelter people, was considered “probably unadoptable” because of behavior problems that stemmed from horrific experiences in a dog-hoarding environment. Reiko’s outlook was grim and the countdown clock was ticking if you know what I mean and I think you do.

It was understandable. With all the cute and fluffy nuzzle-pups snuggling up to get the shelter visitors’ attention, who could possibly want to adopt an animal that demonstrated extreme fear, panic biting if handled, avoidance of humans…and those were her good traits. Nobody, huh?

Ha! Well, I showed them. I went ahead and adopted the insane little fur nugget, likely because my head is still totally screwed up from the loss of my beloved AJF (Alpha Japanese Female) earlier this year.

Seriously, seven months after Machiko’s passing in March 2025 from pancreatic cancer, I was spiraling into a really dark place and not handling well the loss of my companion of decades. It was kind of tough.

I got the notion that a dog companion might be good so I started looking at rescue pups and I admit I had a certain proclivity towards dogs that were at least Maltese-adjacent, since pure bred rescue Malts are few and far between, at least around here.

Anyway, one evening I was sitting in the famous Recliner of Sloth, cruising dog shelter websites and quaffing a Sam Adams Octoberfest and I happened upon Reiko whose remaining life runway appeared even shorter than mine. I figured it’s better to be crazy together with Reiko than solo. There is also (maybe) some weird psychological stuff about serendipitously finding a doggie with a Japanese name, but I’m too lazy to think much about that.

The next morning in a truly WTF moment, I drove to the shelter and asked to see Reiko the Crazy Pup. I then stupidly reached into her cage whereupon she savaged my hand and arm unmercifully and left me bleeding in the aisle.

My kind of girl!

“Probably not gonna wanna get that dog, huh?” was the shelter attendant’s observation. Au contraire, mon ami, that’s a Mary Tyler Moore level of spunk and unlike Mr. Grant, I like spunk.

So I took Reiko-chan home that day. The shelter staff were doing high fives as we walked out the door.

Being an evil parent, I then sent my daughter the following text:

So, anyway, I decided that the house has been too empty and too quiet. You may be surprised that I went online and found a roommate! Her name is Reiko and she is moving in today. Purely Platonic! She is relatively young and has faced some challenges in life and I think she will benefit from living here and I think she will help me, too. Anyway, just wanted to let you know and hopefully you two can meet next time you come by

I may have forgotten to add the part about Reiko being of the canine persuasion.

Sheesh, adult kids get miffed when they think you are dragging in younger women to replace their mom. Who knew they could be so sensitive?

You know how all those stories about dog adoptions are filled with heartwarming anecdotes of bonding and photos of smiling family members with joy bustin’ out all over? Yeah, well, Reiko’s first days have not been quite that Hallmarkian.

We’re working on the twin goals of desensitizing which involves ignoring each other and avoiding eye contact and not crapping all over the house which is an objective I find personally desirable to achieve toot sweet as they say in Costa Rica.

In Japanese, the name “Reiko” can have several meanings depending largely on the characters that are used in writing the name. The most common readings are “beautiful” and “grateful” and I’ve decided to be ambiguous about which of those I’ll choose for her. Besides, I doubt anyone will ask me to write her name in kanji.

For the curious few, the name of this blog – Jinsei No Tabi – is a Japanese poetic expression for a life’s winding path and all the experiences along the way. For you purists, here are the characters: 人生の旅.

From this point forward, Reiko’s journey through life will be much improved. In fact, although Reiko doesn’t know it, she has won the equivalent of the Dog Powerball.

I’ve committed to cherish her, care for her and help her become as much a lady as possible. I don’t know how much we can do or how far we can go, but the journey, the tabi, will maybe heal both of us a little. If nothing else, it will give me fodder for bothering you nice folks with another silly dog blog.

And yes, I realize this an absolutely absurd thing to be doing at my age.

OK, so that’s the backstory, so go ahead and dig into the posts. Or run away screaming. It’s your choice.

Love ya all,

Tom and Reiko-chan

20 responses to “Home”

(The formatting of the comments on this page was lost when I transferred the blog from Blogger to WordPress. Mea culpa.)

lois
November 11, 2025

Tom, I am so sorry about Machiko. Of course you needed a dog to show love my mauling you. Mr Grant high fives you! Now how do I sign up to read more about this lucky little mongrel who now has the taste of blood?
And of course I remember you and of course, I still have the 3-P cats, plus the other two once outdoor/now indoor cats. I have assured husband there will be no more. He is so gullible!
So happy to see you here!!

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Reiko’s Journey
November 11, 2025

…once outdoor/now indoor…
I think we had this discussion. Poor, poor Mr. Lois, I knew he was going to lose that struggle. I need to add a subscribe or follow button and I’ll try to get done today. Or not, I’m retired.

Murphy’s Law
November 11, 2025

Tom! Lois just emailed me and said you had commented on a couple of her posts. Happiest news I’ve heard in a long time. I don’t know how I missed your comments….maybe you commented after me. Whatever

Reiko sounds like quite a handful, but not a lost cause. You need each other. Share your beer with her and she’ll follow you anywhere. But be careful she doesn’t bite you in the ass!!!

We discussed Machiko being gravely ill. I am so sorry for your loss Tom. When I didn’t hear back from you, I wanted to contact you but I couldn’t bring myself to ask the question. “how is Machiko doing?.

I would LOVE to follow your new blog and get acquainted with Reiko, the man eater.

Ginger🦋

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Reiko’s Journey
November 11, 2025

Hi Ginger! I was hoping you’d somehow get my blog address and drop a message. I figured one of Lois’ 827 indoor/outdoor cats would drop a line. I couldn’t click on your “Murphy’s Law” title in order to send you a note. You can sign up for email alerts about posts here using the form that’s on the bottom of every post except this “Home” page. Great minds think alike…when I got Reiko my thought was “I hope this won’t bite me in the ass.” Turns out that could be an actual, physical concern with this pup. Fortunately, she’s little with a small mouth and my ass is massive so I’d probably survive. Thanks for your condolence it was helpful to chat with you during that long, hard time. Is Murphy’s Law still active and how do I get to follow/subscribe?

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Murphy’s Law
November 11, 2025

Tom, I don’t have a blog. I just follow certain bloggers that I enjoy, and you are one of them. I’m also surprised that one of Lois’ felines hasn’t gotten in touch with you, but they keep pretty busy with the catnip, so they’re not exactly up to par, if you know what I mean.

I am so looking forward to reading your posts again and getting my “fix” of snark as only you can do.

ginger🦋

marthadilo3
November 11, 2025

Found it! 😀

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November 11, 2025
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Yay!

suziecreamcheese
November 12, 2025

Found you! I can’t wait to read more about this journey, and I’ve actually missed your comments on my blog. I know, hard to believe. I’m so sorry to hear about the AJF, she was one of my heroes – I mean, the woman stayed married to you! Also, Max holds a special place in my heart, since I had a Max, too. Bigger, fluffier Max, but still. 🙂

Reiko’s Journey
mber 13, 2025
Edit
I knew you’d miss my snark.

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suziecreamcheese
November 13, 2025Edit
I was being nice so I didn’t mention that. 😂

Reiko’s Journey
November 13, 2025

😁

Tynecastle

Now look, I’ve already replied to this, and that intellectual piece has disappeared!
This page is blank white, bad for my eyes, and not as good as Blogger.
I demand a refund!

Reiko’s Journey
November 13, 2025

Refund? I’m sorry, you must be speaking a foreign language. What is this “refund” of which you speak? Ok, Ok, just to make you happy, I re-created our comments from the other Blog.

Adullamite: So sad about AJF, so sorry about that. Glad to see your brain is still functioning in a demented pattern, as always. The dog biting you cheered me up, I of course have no such weapons near me, and the joy of the change in behaviour will please the dog as you improve. My sisters man died, so one of the girls bought a recue cat. This had been badly treated. It has taken a year for the daughter to get near the cat as it spits as soon as she moves. You would like it. Sorry about the bad bits, very glad about the good bits, and your return, you were missed.

Tom: Oh lawsy, lawsy,lawsy…I thought I was safe from the Scots but no, one never outruns life’s afflictions, I suppose. After all these years you’d think I know whether Adullamite uses that screen name referencing the Bible stories of David and King Saul or the political schism of British Members of Parliament who seceded from the Liberal party in 1866. No, I don’t care either way and it’s better than a silly name like Tynecastle or something. It hurts to have to say it, but it’s really good to hear from you again and I’ll try to be civil for at least a few days. You’re right…I’d like that cat.

Note, you spelled “behavior” wrong. perhaps getting hit by all those soccer balls took a toll.

Lynn
November 14, 2025

Hey, Tom. Great to see you back. Bad news, though. Reiko may soon figure out that you are the source of all goodness in her life, but that crapping all over the house part might be forever. Puppy mills….. I look forward to any and all progress reports.

Reiko’s Journey
November 15, 2025

It’s wonderful to hear from you, Lynn. I’ve thought of you often. I enjoyed your blog and the tales about Jacques and his adventures especially in the garden and I mourn his passing. The huge undertaking of restoring and elevating the design of your gorgeous house was always intriguing to me, an inveterate DIY guy – half the time I wanted to jump on a plane and visit just to play with Jacques and learn from the craftsmen working on your abode. (I also would have sprung for dinner and nice red, though.) Thanks for the email and let’s catch up offline and I hope you’ll visit here often and get to know Reiko-chan.

Julia
November 17, 2025

Tom, I am so sorry for your loss. I could tell the AJF was very loved from your post.

I am happy that you are back. I look forward to reading your post to catch up on what you are up to these days. Keep the snark coming!

Reiko’s Journey
November 18, 2025

Hi Julia. From Golden Colorado to Alabama, what a change of scenery and lifestyle! I’ve been catching up on your and Bruce’s travels in the RV, Nox’s adventures and the challenges of relocations with which I am familiar. Looks like great progress though and that’s a beautiful piece of property! It’s good to be back in touch.

Anonymous
November 20, 2025

GOD BLESS both of you 😇🙏🫶

Reiko’s Journey
November 21, 2025

Thank you, my anonymous friend, whomever you may be.

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Anonymous
November 23, 2025
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❤️ 🐾