● First Birthday●
On September 13, 2009, Umehama and Nagahama celebrated their first birthday. On that day, a birthday party was held at Fureai-no-sato, and many guests celebrated with them. At the birthday party, they were surprised to hear customers say, "Happy birthday! The birthday party was so exciting that one of the guests jumped from the platform in surprise. Both dogs ate deliciously the special cake presented by the staff.

Debut at the outdoor playground●
After turning one year old, Umehama and Nagahama were scheduled to have a public weigh-in at the outdoor playground on November 1, the anniversary of their weigh-in. However, since they had hardly ever been out on the outdoor playground, they practiced for this day.
At first, Umehama seemed bewildered by the unfamiliar environment. He was seen frantically marking* and excitedly running around the playground and hitting the glass surface. Nagahama, on the other hand, seemed relatively calm and was relaxing in the sun on the slide.
As the day progressed, Umehama seemed to become more accustomed to the outdoors and could be seen playing with Nagahama. After getting used to being outdoors, they practiced weighing themselves. When we put the tire on the scale and gave them apples, their favorite food, Umehama and Nagahama sat quietly and were able to weigh themselves.
November 1, the day of the weigh-in anniversary, finally arrived. Thanks to all the practice, they were able to make their debut in the outdoor playground without incident. At the weigh-in, both dogs sat on the tires with good manners, showing their cute appearance. Umehama, who weighed only 194 grams at birth, weighed 33 kg, and Nagahama, who weighed 116 grams, weighed 31 kg.
Please continue to warmly watch over them as they grow bigger and bigger. (Yuka Shinagawa)

*Marking: A behavior in which a dog asserts its territory and lets others know of its presence by smelling them.