Chloe is just a few ounces over four pounds and for her size, should weigh five pounds or more. She's very young (the vet is guessing about 8 months) and is still losing some of her baby teeth. Chloe is spayed and up to date on her shots (including rabies) as well as micro-chipped. For those familiar with the Belgian Malinois Shepherd, Chloe reminds you of that - just shrunk down in petite size like your favorite woolen sweater when your mother accidentially ran it through the washing machine!
Chloe was picked up as a stray on Ventura Boulevard and during her stay at the shelter for five days lost almost a pound in weight. We are not sure whether the trauma of being a stray or her stay in the shelter was the cause, but right now (1st week of May), she's not ready for adoption unless someone is very familiar with the Chihuahua breed and/or rehabilitation of shelter dogs - she's just too scared. But when she arrived, her tail was tucked between her legs 100% of the time... Now it is starting to come up and although her decreased weight is an issue, teaching her it is OK to trust again is minor in the overall aspect of this dog's rehabilitation. She eats with everyone else and once she starts feeling trusting toward everyone, basic dog obedience will start. Right now, the best thing for Chloe is to let her progress on her own pace.
Chloe gets along well with the foster mom's other dogs and fosters. She's interested in what is going on around her; just not sure if she wants to participate yet or not. Initially she hid in a corner, but she's not a fear biter. Little by little, she didn't like being left alone and/or ignored (the best thing to do for this type of trauma) and she now comes into the foster's family room to be with everyone else. Her foster mom reported that she's already done a bit of tail wagging, so with a little bit of TLC and some home-cooking, Chloe will come around... she's made quite a bit of progress already in the few days her foster mom has had her!
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