Kaiju is a Japanese word that means strange beast, but is often translated to English as monster. Specifically, it is used to refer to a genre of monster movies. The most famouse kaiju is Godzilla. Other well-known kaiju include Mothra, Rodan, Gamera, and King Ghidora.

In 2010 we brought home our very first import and named her Gojira (Godzilla). The name was chosen to fit the theme embodied by our other pets at the time - Gremlin (cat), Ghost (cat), Graveling (cat), and Gryphon (dog). We were looking for the name of a monster starting with the letter G and, if that wasn't tricky enough, Japanese yet still recognizable. Gojira was the perfect fit.

Shortly thereafter we realized our newly founded kennel would need a name too. We decided on a name in honor of our foundation bitch and the monster theme we had in mind for future dogs. Kaiju fit the bill perfectly, but it was a while before my husband and I were sure of it. After all, we didn't want people to think our dogs were "strange beasts" or anything less than excellent examples of the breed! So I came up with the "akitazilla" logo to add some humor and mischief to the name.

Not many people recognize the name, but our little mascot has garnered a lot of attention. Someday we may give him/her a name as well.