Yeah my 1st Akita was very people friendly outside of his yard but just about wanted to destroy anything on 4 legs, except for my wife's cats and his Akita mate and she was the boss of that relationship. Don't know why he never tried to mess with my wifes's cats except that maybe it was because she fed him and dealt with his attitude using an iron fist. He was a big boy weighing in at 115 pds and no fat at all, another one my kids could ride on. Good hear your new buddy survived and sad to hear about the the other. In fact the local cops used to let him ride in their cars when they found him loose he'd head straight for the station every time he'd get loose. I rescued him from the pound and have a feeling he had a police history based on his love for those police cars.