NATIONAL MOCHI THE DOG DAY – OCTOBER 21, 2025

The Story of Mochi

In the autumn of 2019, a small Shiba Inu puppy was found abandoned in a cardboard box outside a Tokyo train station. Cold, hungry, and alone, the tiny cream-colored pup was barely eight weeks old. A young woman named Yuki discovered him on her way home from work, his soft whimpers barely audible over the bustling city sounds. She named him Mochi, after the sweet rice cake, because of his soft, round face and gentle spirit.

Yuki took Mochi home, nursed him back to health, and the two became inseparable. But Mochi was special in ways beyond his adorable appearance. He had an uncanny ability to sense when people were sad or struggling. At the local park, he would approach elderly visitors sitting alone, resting his head on their laps. At the veterinary clinic, he would sit quietly beside anxious children, offering comfort with his calm presence.

Word of Mochi's gift spread throughout the neighborhood. Yuki began bringing him to hospitals, nursing homes, and schools. Children with autism found solace in his patient demeanor. Veterans struggling with PTSD felt peace in his company. Cancer patients smiled for the first time in weeks when Mochi curled up beside them. He didn't judge, didn't demand—he simply loved.

In March 2023, tragedy struck. Yuki was diagnosed with a terminal illness. As she grew weaker, Mochi never left her side. He would rest his head on her chest, as if trying to absorb her pain. In her final days, Yuki made arrangements for Mochi to continue his therapy work through a local nonprofit. "He saved me when I found him in that box," she whispered to the organization's director. "Now he needs to save others."

Yuki passed away on October 21, 2023, with Mochi by her side. In her honor, and in recognition of the thousands of lives Mochi had touched, the community petitioned to establish National Mochi the Dog Day. The date—October 21—marks not just the day Yuki left this world, but the day her legacy of compassion, embodied in a small Shiba Inu, was forever enshrined.

Today, Mochi continues his work, now ten years old but still full of love. National Mochi the Dog Day reminds us that sometimes the smallest creatures carry the biggest hearts, and that love—whether from a person or a dog—has the power to heal wounds we cannot see. It's a day to celebrate therapy animals, to honor those who rescue and care for abandoned pets, and to remember that every act of kindness, no matter how small, ripples outward in ways we may never fully understand.