California Shelters Crowded With Chihuahuas

[Kadie]

Dec 9, 2009 8:27 am US/Pacific
California Shelters Crowded With Chihuahuas

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― California animal shelters have been deluged with Chihuahuas, those trembling, pop-eyed canines.

Besides their noisy nature, chronic medical problems leading to high vet bills seem to be why Chihuahuas are being surrendered in such large numbers.

And the San Francisco Chronicle says it appears to be a strictly California phenomenon.

San Francisco Animal Care and Control spokeswoman Deb Campbell says "everyone's juggling Chihuahuas" in the state.

Oakland's shelter has so many Chihuahuas arrangements are being made to charter a plane to airlift them to other states where small dogs are in demand. Volunteers have already driven more than 100 Chihuahuas to shelters in Oregon, Washington and Arizona.

In San Jose and Los Angeles, about 40 percent of the shelter dogs are Chihuahuas or other small dogs.

Shelter workers attribute the dogs' sudden popularity to celebrities like Paris Hilton toting Chihuahuas as fashion accessories and a general shift toward urban living.

more...
http://cbs13.com/pets/chihuahua.animal.shelters.2.1359296.html


:(

[Frances]

1. Have any of the shelters approached Paris Hilton for a

donaation?

[arcadian]

4. I was going to say, "I blame Paris Hilton"

jokingly, but it's actually the truth, stupid celebrities created this problem.

[SoCalDem]

2. Pets, as "accessories" is a vile notion..

Chihuahuas are not the dog for "everyone".. they are timid, tiny, and vulnerable, and not everyone has a family that's suited to them.. poor little babies:cry:

[tonysam]

6. My chihuahua isn't timid, but I think a lot of people can't cope

with the housebreaking issues of these dogs. They're hard to train in that regard.

[RebelOne]

23. I can attest to that. Fortunately, my Chihuahua

is trained to use a pee pad. She is very good about it. Sometimes, she will make a mistake, but very rarely.

[tonysam]

24. I used to have that for Sam. He was very destructive, and I am sure

the landlord will have to replace the carpet at some point, but now he is pretty well housebroken. The peeing is less the problem than the pooping. I have him in the crate at night and let him outside first thing in the morning. He poops in the apartment only very rarely now.

He makes it a point to look at me to let me know he needs to go outside. After all, if it is good enough for Tony to go outside and do his thing, it is good enough for Sam.

[HopeHoops]

3. Taco Bell might take them for commercials.

Or for tacos. What the hell IS that stuff they call "meat", anyway?

[Thickasabrick]

5. I would adopt one but I just can't stand those dogs. Hope they find

homes for them.

[Solly Mack]

7. Sad

Animals are not vanity plates.

[FSogol]

8. "Chihuahua Airlift" would be a good name for a band. n/t

[FarCenter]

9. Chihuahuas -- they should be relatively easy to dispose of

[damntexdem]

12. Naw, not enough meat on their bones.

I think Taco Bell uses bigger breeds -- and doesn't even advertise with a Chihuahua any more. ;-)

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[NNN0LHI]

10. Everyone wanted their very own Beverly Hills Chihuahua. For a while

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

16. Like during Easter and the bunnies...

[damntexdem]

11. Aha, are those undocumented Chihuahuas?

I guess they can dig under The Fence, or fit through it. ;-)

Aiy ... uh, Chuleta!

[revolution breeze]

13. Therapy dogs

When I moved back to Louisiana a year after Katrina, a lot of people were requesting Chihuahuas as "therapy dogs" to help them recover emotionally. Of course there were also those requests for "Papered unaltered Yorkshire terrier to be used as a therapy dog for a young child. Under three pounds preferred." My cousin with Down's Syndrome had a chihuahua as a companion for years until she passed and I swear the two were able to communicate. They can be hard to deal with, but with patience, they make excellent companions.

[tonysam]

20. They are SO intelligent, it is scary

Mine was a stray when he adopted me some four and a half years ago. He wasn't more than a year or two old. I never found where he belonged, so I don't know if he escaped from his owners or if he was dumped. He was nothing but a bag of bones, but he had been playing with Tony for about three days. I put a bowl of water and some dry dog food out for him when he hid behind my landlord's freezer (the landlord kept his freezer outside in a big crate). The next day I discovered the water was gone as was the food. My neighbor at the time asked me about "the chihuahua," and I said if I could tame him I'd keep him.

Well, not a few minutes passed when I went outside to the front door, and the chihuahua was right there! He crawled right into the apartment, and for a couple of hours he wouldn't let me near him until I asked Tony if he wanted to "go for a walk." The chihuahua raced in there and started jumping up and down and licking me like he knew me all his life. From that point on, the chihuahua, now called "Sam," became a part of the family.

[BoneDaddy]

14. Spawn of the chupacabra and rats

nasty lil critters.

[BreweryYardRat]

17. Ah, it's an Aztec-style buffet! Pass the peanuts and habanero peppers!

Just kidding. Chihuahuas annoy the PISS out of me, but I'm capable of feeling sorry for them. Poor mutts.

But really, it's not surprising they're "trembling, pop-eyed, and...prone to chronic medical problems." They were never meant to be pets in the first place. Chihuahuas, along with Mexican Hairless Dogs, have been bred as meat animals for thousands of years, and only recently have attitudes turned away from them as a food source.

[Kalyke]

18. My husband and I found a Chihuahua outside our home in TN Sunday night.

It was freezing and late, so we brought it in and made plans to look for its owner the next day. I put an ad in the paper and asked some neighbors, but no one knows the little guy. And no one's called about the ad.

He's old (cataracts, missing teeth, arthritis) and chubby, but a real sweetie (and neutered, too).

Looks like we just got our fourth rescued doggie.

[tridim]

19. A few years ago one of my neighbors bought a dog and named it Paris.

I instantly knew that the dog's days were numbered..

Sure enough, she was sent to the shelter about 10 days later. :eyes:

[amborin]

21. so sad: one of many fad breeds

[PatGund]

22. You mean the shelters haven't set out traps yet??

How else do you get a rat infestation under control??

[Lisa0825]

25. Since it is a California phenomenon, I wonder if it is bad breeding...

which may lead to medical issues and behavioral problems?

Here in Texas, small dogs go so fast I usually don't even get time to post them on the shelter website.