Friday, May 22, 2009

Mom and son have arrived... Sunshine & Gizmo

I don't know very much about these two little ones yet - they just arrived yesterday... I am sure as time goes along, I'll be adding a lot more information to their blogs, but for now, this is their back story...

Apparently they were part of a backyard breeder's 'stock' and the mom ended up in the shelter system... With no proof of ownership besides bringing in the son, they were unable to establish themselves as owners and both mom and son ended up in the shelter system...

I've named the mom "Sunshine" because she needs some rays of sunlight to permeate her life now... Being a breeder like this is a horrible existence for a little dog, especially the Chihuahuas because they are such a 'one-person' kind of breed... Without that consistent human contact and socialization, they develop into that 'nasty, snarfy, yappy little rat dog' they have the reputation of becoming...

Sunshine was spayed yesterday and today she's not feeling very good, so I'm not even attempting to pick her up to gauge her temperament... She's tiny (5 lbs, 4 oz), and has already been micro-chipped, up to date on her shots, including rabies and will be licensed for Ventura County today... She's very protective of her son (Gizmo) right now, so we will give her the time she needs to settle in, stop feeling the pain from the spay and learn there is no one here that is going to hurt her... She's already starting eating for me (can't resist my home cooking of chicken and rice with veggies~!!!), so that's a good thing!

Her son, Gizmo, is another story... He's already friendly and outgoing, but looking for clues from mom as to what is trustworthy and what is not... Gizmo was neutered yesterday and as he's 8 weeks old, he's a little wobbly this morning on his back legs from the anesthesia yesterday... He too is eating and thoroughly enjoyed his dinner last night and breakfast this morning! Gizmo weighs 2 lbs, 9 oz and has gotten his first series of puppy shots, plus has been micro-chipped already...

Gizmo has an 'out-ty' belly button... The shelter tech thought it might be an umbilical hernia and when he was neutered, I asked that vet to look it and/or repair it if need be... That vet said it didn't need to be repaired... Gizmo also had one undescended testicle, but that issue was remedied during the neuter... Gizmo's front right foot is not properly formed, but he is walking on it fine... I think (?) he is missing one toe but I haven't handled him yet and can only report what I can actually see... I will have my vet look it closer next week to see if it is something that can be fixed as well as double-checking his belly button at the same visit... The foot is splayed outward, but not like a puppy mill puppy's usually is...

And finally, Gizmo has no tail... I'm not sure what happened there, but he has just a stub like a Boxer would after being docked... He wiggles it, but in turn, his entire butt wiggles at the same time... We named him Gizmo because of those ears of his... I'm sure he'll eventually grow into them, but for now, he reminds us of either Gizmo or Yoda, so Gizmo it was!

Gizmo will 'bunk up' shortly with Nacho in order to give Sunshine some much needed rest to recuperate from the traumas she's been through, plus being spayed... I'll post more information and pictures as I get them!

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