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We picked up two chihuahua girls today that we're fostering for a couple weeks until they go to their rescue in Chicago.
Two months ago the wife that owned them died. The husband was so upset over her death that he couldn't look at the dogs anymore; they reminded him too much of his wife. Instead of re-homing them, he put them in a crate in an abandoned trailer on the property and left them. He went and gave them food and water and let them potty, but that was it. Not long after he sold the house he lived in and moved away. A friend or neighbor knew about the dogs and took over care of them. They talked to a friend that works for the Humane Society and asked if they could take them. I talked to Tammy two days ago and she told me about them so I told her we'd keep them.
I'm not sure what happened before the wife died, but they've both been horribly neglected. The bigger of them - maybe mixed with some terrier - is scared of life and will eat you up if you try to hold her. I'm working on that. She's also got a tumor on her tummy that's almost tennis ball size.
The other is super tiny. Maybe three pounds. Her nails look like they've never been clipped in her life. She's got a hernia. We were told she was spayed so it's possible that she herniated after the surgery. She's also blind in one eye. It looks to me like she had an ulcer at one time that was never treated and it ruptured. The eyeball itself is flat and has pulled back into her head some. It's barely noticeable unless you look at her from above.
They both came in smelling horrible, so I just got done giving them baths. They're both still wrapped in warm towels and blankets, but when they're dry and I can put them down I'll get some pictures posted. They're both afraid of the dogs here but that will ease up as they start feeling safe. Tomorrow they start socialization 101, though honestly only the bigger one needs it. The tiny one loves every person she sees.
Just amazes me that people can have pets that they love and adore one day and then just move off and abandon and not think of them again. I just don't get it.
poor little ones.
wowies in general are very emotioanlly delicate but they bond incredibly quickly to the people who earn their trust.
their nails as a breed tend to gor fast, it might be worth trying a dremmel on them, ive found our chihuahuas are much better with the grinder than the nail clippers, partially because even the small clippers compared to their tiny feet are huge (even the cat nail clippers are big compered to their tiny toes...)
im sure they will warm up quickly...
they are prone to teeth issues, so im sure the rescue will want them vetted (and the bigger girls tumor and the smaller girls eye sorted) so id suggest when those get done they get a good dental and nails cut as short as possible while there under. also anal glands checked as chis are prone to anal gland issues.
in terms of socilization, while they are of course dogs, i have found chihuahuas to have 1: napoleon complex and 2: are rather sensitive, so you may find you need to go a little slower than would be normal for most dogs.
also as a breed they tend to be clannish (prefer their own breed) so dont be suprised if they never fully warm up to the other dogs lol.
they should settle in and be frinedly, but its common for them to kind of ignore or be a little short tempered with other breeds lol...
we have 3 chihuahuas and you can tell, there like a little gang lol.
be carefull...chihuahuas are very easy to fall inlove with! :P
Poor little pups. Thanks for taking care of them, maybe they can re-cover and live a normal life.
My Grandmother had a rescued Chi, poor thing had been a breeder for years. It was never really a normal dog, but my grandma loved it, held that dog like a baby in her lap for six years. It only liked my grandmother. So, with the right person those dogs have a chance. Thanks.
Chis are in my top 3 favorite breeds. We currently have six at the house, five ours and one is our daughters. So we learned long ago they're truly like potato chips - you can't have just one! LOL
We got our first two as breeder surrenders. Then the breeder called about a female that was sold to an older lady but she had to go to a nursing facility. The dog had never been socialized so the kids were going to have her euthanized because she was 'aggressive'. *rolls eyes* So I picked her up and she wanted to eat me, just like Petree did. But in five minutes she was a different dog and has been very sweet ever since.
We got John's chi next. He had 'AKC papers', proof that they're worthless, as he's an obvious terrier mix. He was 5 pounds and should be about 14. He'd been left in a fenced yard with labs, also unaltered male breeders, and had to compete for food. Needless to say he lost. He had no shelter and there was a few inches of snow on the ground. The neighbor 'bought' him for $50 because she was afraid he was going to die. She was selling him for $50 with papers so I called her about him. I told her we run a rescue and would take him and get him healthy and find him a home but we won't pay money for dogs. She said she just wanted her money back because she had six dogs of her own she needs to feed, so I traded her four cases of canned food and over 100 pounds of dry food. I figured she got more than her money back that way and I could spare the food as we'd just had a pallet donated to us. He and John bonded instantly so he never left.
Then my daughter's dog was dumped in a farmers market in Florida. I found him while I was visiting my grandmother. They said the lady had been trying to sell him the day before but when no one bought him they took his leash off and left him. So I brought him home thinking I could adopt him out but he and my daughter fell in love at first sight so he's stayed.
The I found Munchi in the shelter on euth row. Again, I pulled her thinking I could adopt her easily but before we even got home I knew she was mine.
We have had six chis come in that we did adopt out so we don't keep them all, but I think we're running 50/50 right now with that breed! LOL
The babies are now on the bed with the other small dogs and Diva, our pittie girl. She's the mother hen of the house and is very calm and soothing to other dogs. The two crazy pittie puppy boys they are not going to be friends with. I don't blame them. Their entire bodies are smaller than the pittie puppies heads!
Here's a few pictures. I'm trying to load on Photobucket and Facebook at the same time and my lap top has been a RPITA lately, so I'm not sure how many I can get on here, but I'll try!!
Ok, I got one uploaded but my pixel size is way too big so I've got to fix the others and then update. Ugh!
Aww what sweetie pies. Thank you for taking them in. I hope once they get through all the medical issues, that they find loving wonderful permanent homes. Give them smooches for me.
I think I may have found them a rescue in IN!! A friend of mine sent me an e-mail for a rescue that does a lot of chi rescue up there and I sent her an e-mail. She sounds interested in taking them in!!!
Petree is finally relaxing too. I took her out to potty and as long as it was just the little dogs in the great room she ran around with her tail in the air wagging. When it was time to go to bed I reached down to pick her up - one thing that's sure to get you bitten if she doesn't trust you - and she jumped into my arms! She's coming along!!
We've got a superbowl party at a friend's house tomorrow so we're taking both of them and a couple of our small dogs. Get her on the Socialization 101 fast track!
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