Wow, Heidi, that is an amazing story about Cubbie.
Gromit, my Shiba, was four years old when he was killed. We had him since he was a puppy, and it was just horrible. He died quickly - no pain - and he's buried in our yard now. He was really one of the best dogs I've ever had. He used to sit on his butt and put his "hands" up on my lap and stare at me with those big brown eyes. He looked just like the picture of your Shiba. We do miss him a lot.
We do have another puppy now. We'd gotten a pug (the one in my picture) about a year and a half ago as a companion to Gromit, and she wasn't doing too well without a playmate. We called her breeder and lo and behold, she had a litter ready to go on the 8th that were from the same parents as Edith had. So we now have another pug - pictures are at
www.nemthanatos.com/Frodo.
We thought about getting another Shiba, but as you say - they are escape artists. I just couldn't go through another dog that had that instinct to run. But we do miss him badly - he was so graceful and athletic, and the pugs are great, but "grace" isn't quite one of their virtues!
Anyway, sorry for hijacking your thread so badly - I just got excited when I saw your Shiba! They're uncommon dogs, and I always like to talk to other Shiba owners.