How We Got Started

Through the power of Facebook and Twitter and in other online forums, the Shiba Prom Committee coalesced around the desire to raise funds to help find a lost shiba, Nami, in Brooklyn, N.Y. (@littleshibanami). Social media was a powerful tool to spread the word about our lost friend and the idea of a virtual fundraising event was born.

As various Shiba Inu rescue groups and concerned individuals in the New York metro and New Jersey areas assisted in the search, and many more continued to spread the word online, the Shiba Prom Committee realized they could organize the virtual Shiba community in a fun way to help the many dedicated individuals involved in shiba rescue.  Many of these individuals and organizations pay for Shiba Inu rescue out of their own pocket or depended on the generosity of families who pay a small fee to adopt one of their rescued shibas. It was decided our virtual fundraising events should benefit a variety of shiba rescue groups.

Thankfully, one evening when Nami’s parents were searching a neighborhood where there had been several sightings, Nami heard her parents’ voices and came running up to greet them. After 20 days loose in the streets of Brooklyn, Nami was safely home and there was literally a world-wide viral sigh of relief.

Around the same time, we saw a funny photo on Facebook: Amy C. Chen made a mock magazine cover of 2 shibas kissing with the title Your Prom, and thus, the idea of actually having a virtual prom that raised money for rescue was born!