Sasha's pups are now 2 weeks old

Dumped at a local high kill shelter RIGHT before she delivered her litter, we were making arrangements to get her out of the shelter and she went into labor...

By the time we picked her up the next morning, she had brought 3 males and 1 female into this world - born in a shelter...

Sasha is an EXCELLENT mom and she's proud of her babies (as is her foster mom) - Hammy, Woodie, Buzz and Jessie (the little girl).

Read Sasha's blog HERE.

Off to Canada!

Sixteen TLC dogs snagged rides to Canada yesterday - thanks to a LOT of hard work by many of us and those who donated towards the cause.  See this part of their journey to a furever home HERE.  Way to go, guys!

Introducing Licorice...

Licorice is a 2-3 month old 'kissy-face' Chihuahua pup with a spot of white on her chest and a bit of white underneath her jaw... Black dogs with dark eyes are a nightmare to photograph as you can see below:

They are also hard to get adopted at the shelter for humans connect to dogs via visual aspects... If you can't see a dog's eyes easily, we as humans have a tendency to stare into them harder (which in dog language is dominance)...

However, Licorice is as sweet as can be and all puppy (still), so hopefully she will find her furever home quickly... She's small at 4 pounds and shouldn't get much bigger, but 'playful' is her middle name...

I just had to post these two photos - she's not got a mean or vicious bone in her body but when she grabbed the camera strap and started to tug, it became an excellent opportunity to snap some photos of her face... LOL...

Too cute, huh?

Licorice is now spayed, up-to-date on her shots including rabies, microchipped and licensed for the County of Ventura... She is potty- and doggie-door trained... Licorice gets along well with other dogs, but as a puppy she would bother a very senior dog to an early grave - she is still VERY much a puppy with high energy levels.

Introducing Bambi....

Bambi is the epitome of what you would expect a Chihuahua to be - little, kissy face and loving, a lapdog extraordinaire and devoted companion... She was used for breeding by a backyard breeder and we found her at local shelter with Willie... 

This is one of my favorite photos of Bambi... it shows that side of Bambi we see all the time - curious and interested, alert to what is going on around her and not afraid to figure out how to further investigate what she is interested in!

Bambi is the finest example of what I say about Chihuahuas all the time - 5 pounds of weight and 100 pounds of attitude... But in Bambi's case, she is less than 5 pounds... However, she doesn't have a clue how little she is!... She is an AVID lap dog and if you sit down, she's there... Wherever you are, she wants to be...

She photographs exceptionally well and will pose to give you that majestic look of hers:

Always reminds of the Sphinx every time I see it!

Sophia and her pups

This is Sophia's normal look with the ears erect and attentive to you... She is SUCH a good girl!... Spayed now and up-to-date on her shots, Sophia has already received her rabies and is microchipped as well as being licensed for the County of Ventura...

We took these photos and then put her in the Xpen with 6 puppies - video to follow as soon as it is edited and up on YouTube... It is precious - what an endearing and gentle soul she is!  Stay tuned for the video...


Sophia's pups (Thelma and Louise) were born on 5/29, so they won't be 8 weeks old until 7/24/10... One is long-haired and fuzzy like their mom (Louise):

and the other is short-haired and looks like a typical Chi-Weenie cross puppy (Thelma)...

The puppies won't be spayed until 8/2 and not ready for adoption until that following Saturday (8/7/10)... But they are adorable - no doubt about that!

Khloe & Kourtney

Khloe & Kourtney are sisters... Maybe 'purebreds' (for whatever that term now means with all of the backyard breeders and Internet sellers) or maybe they are 'Chi-Weenies' (the newest fad)... They are 4-5 months old, spayed, up-to-date on their shots including rabies, microchipped and licensed for the County of Ventura... 

Siblings, they can be found throughout the day playing nonstop... We would like to adopt them together if possible (but not necessarily required) because they have bonded to each other... When dumped at the shelter, the owner told the staff that they bought the puppies and then realized their lifestyle did not have enough time to spare for puppies... (sigh)... 

Khloe and Kourtney are very much alike in appearance... Khloe is a tricolored Brindle...

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Khloe is the 'explorer' of the pair...  She's the first one to investigate any new toy or a dog dish's contents!

What's for dinner today, Mom?

And while Khloe is just as sweet as her sister, Kourtney - Kourtney is the one to hang back a bit and watch her sister's antics first!  Kourtney is a bi-color Tan & White (without the brindle aspect that her sister has)... 

I don't think I have ever laughed so much at a pair of dogs... They are an absolute riot to watch throughout the day... Kourtney is the first one to want up in your lap and cuddle, then sits and waits for Khloe to wind down and nap... Makes you wonder who has it all figured out, huh?  ...

Still puppies, both are potty- and doggie-door trained now... They are crate-trained for sleeping at night, but there is no telling where (and how) you will find them napping throughout the day!

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Both are fans of belly rubs and 'catch-me-if-you-can' games... 

In order to keep them together, ask one of the volunteers about a lowering of the adoption donation... Especially if you work during the day and have no other dogs (or your dog needs a companion or friend), these two would make a GREAT addition to any family or lifestyle!

RichieRich... what a sweetie!

This is how we found him at the shelter... confused and scared:

At 5 pounds and 18 months old, he seemed to be the most easily adoptable little pup... Why his time ran out at the shelter is beyond us!

All we can think of is that his previous owner must have fallen on hard times and could no longer keep him... With the economy downturn, it seems like the best ever dogs are showing up at the shelter without rhyme or reason!

RichieRich is potty trained along with doggie door trained... At TLC, we believe in telling you the good, the bad and the ugly about every dog in our foster program - no surprises later then!

The only 'bad' thing about RichieRich is that he has a high pitched bark (when he barks)... He's not a barker per sec, but when he does bark to alert you that someone is at the door, he is so small that it seems to be squeezed up out of him... And is much higher in pitch than you normally experience with a Chihuahua... 

Dunno, but I'd hate to think this is what got him into the shelter to begin with... Can you imagine if your vocal tone got you put in jail without warning?... (I can think of a few celebrities that would be jailed immediately if this was the case!  smile...)

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RichieRich is a well mannered little guy... He listens to obedience commands and because of his young age, the only way is forward!... He does not mark nor chew... 

He gets along well with other little dogs and plays throughout the day!... RichieRich would make a great addition to an active lifestyle or family... And while he has all the energy of a puppy, you don't have to go through that 'puppy potty training stage' either - whew!

Richie Rich is now neutered, up-to-date on all of his shots including rabies, microchipped and licensed for the County of Ventura... 

He is also the traditional Chihuahua sunbather in the mornings... Pretty common for this breed, RichieRich can be found every morning enjoying the warmth of the sun and fresh air outside... 

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He tends to play so hard with one of the other fosters throughout the day, that we have discovered buckle collars just don't withstand the fray!  More than once we have found his collar amongst the toys after an intense play session!

But he is a major love bug and hands out kisses with abandon... Trained to sleep in a crate at night, RichieRich would sleep in someone's bed if given just a second's hesitation - he loves to curl up and cuddle... What a sweet, sweet little soul he is!

We're all better now!

Their coats have completely grown back in now and these two are the sweetest pups ever!... Where you find one, you'll find the other... And they play all day long... Ah, the energy of puppies!... Finally slowing down to take a nap, they curled up on a doggie bed with the TLC mascot (Nacho) and used him as a pillow to boot!

 

Lazy dog days of summer...

The addition of the 'pup tent' proved too much for the fosters on a recent warm afternoon day... One climbed inside, another on the side, but SnickerDoodle picked the entrance to lay down at... 

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Didn't take too much of the warm breezes and gentle sun for Snickers to decide this was the perfect time to take a nap!

We have been remiss with this blog... Sorry!

We have been remiss with this blog since joining P.A.P.A. - we've been VERY busy! 

BTW, here is the P.A.P.A. website: http://www.vcpapa.org and at TLC, we are more a part of the Alliance (one of the 9 'spokes' of a no-kill solution) - the Alliance's website is here: http://www.papa-alliance.org.  Since our joining PAPA and the Alliance, this group has managed to save over 150 dogs (many were Chihuahuas) from death at our county's shelter... They are now living in great furever homes in Manhattan (NY), Boston and the Northwest as far as Oregon and Washington (state).  These areas of the nation are hard pressed to find the small breeds and we in SoCal have a glut of the them - especially Chihuahuas - so it is a 'win-win' all the way around, as long as we can continue to raise the funds to transport them to welcoming arms around the nation!

And now for a bit of humor... In the 'where's Waldo' vein of comedy... Can you find the 2nd Chihuahua in the toy box?  (smile)

Update on ChinChin...

Two wheelchair companies have decided that ChinChin is not a candidate for their product despite the fact he is now swimming with both front feet full on each day... So?... Determination is the mother of invention, I always say!

Needing to be very lightweight but able to hold up the bulk of his body until his front legs can eventually strengthen up, we came up with this improvisation of a quad wheelie for him until we can find a company who can make one... 

ChinChin wasn't that excited about it initially... As you can tell from the expression on his face!  But it didn't take him very long to put weight on both front feet... Baby steps, baby steps, ya know?

There was a time when the only position ChinChin knew was upright... Now he moves around a LOT and readily rolls over for a belly rub... Who said he was going to be a live pillow the rest of his life?  Not us, for we believe he will eventually be walking on those two front legs yet!

 

Meet Sophia...

We found Sophia at a local shelter with her litter of pups... She is some kind of fuzzy wuzzy cross... Wire-haired Terrier/Chi mix?  Chi-Weenie with Terrier thrown in?... She has none of the annoying Terrier traits, so we are dumbfounded as to her exact mix, but that coat of hers is definitely fuzzy wuzzy!... She must have some Terrier in her background because despite as fuzzy as that coat is, she doesn't leave hair all over the place (a common benefit Terriers lovers rave about)...

She is such a calm and gentle spirit... Our guess is that she ended up in the shelter because she was pregnant... For she has no bad habits and such a pleasing personality... 

This is a video of Sophia and her two pups taken when they were but a month old... Sophia is ten times sweeter in person that she appears in digital form... She is a quiet and loving dog who always has a wagging tail to greet you...

I don't believe I've ever seen a more easy going dog before...

Such a well-behaved little guy!

Snickers is such a well-behaved little guy... He learned 'sit' with only three tries and now knows other obedience commands as well (stay, no, off, back, quiet, lay down, etc.)... He learns very quickly and also gets along great with the other fosters... Snickers will make someone a great companion and family member... He loves to walk (and walks well on lead without pulling)... Although he is now crate-trained to sleep in at night, he'd prefer to sleep in your bed at the drop of a hat!

Introducing Snickers...

Snickers, otherwise known as "SnickerDoodle" by his foster family, is a sweet, well-mannered and obedient brindle Chihuahua... About 2 years old and 9-10 pounds, our vet believes Snickers was 'maced' by someone and gets daily drops in his eyes... He does this exceptionally well without complaint - our vet says Snickers sees life like through a shower curtain... He can see movement, colors - and can even catch flies!

SnickerDoodle is love bug and prefers to sit on his foster mom's lap whenever possible... Not a marker nor a barker, we can do just about anything with Snickers as you can see from the photo below - he is the poster child for P.A.P.A.'s Flying Squadron (our local grassroots effort to move Chihuahuas to other parts of the country who are in desperate need and with willing arms and hearts)... This effort has saved an average of 50 dogs a month since May, 2010...

Another step forward - a friend!

I'm assuming because ChinChin has been immobile for years, he's forgotten how to be friendly around other dogs as a survival mechanism... I have been debating with myself for days about this, but today I just took the plunge and put our Abby in with ChinChin... Abby is a tri-pede, having lost her front leg after the surgeon was not able to fix it with surgery - this is her blog HERE... 

Despite a bit of hissing and anxiety, ChinChin finally figured out Abby meant him no harm and allowed her to cuddle in with him in his doggie bed in the play pen... Progress, progress, progess - one step at a time!

The next step - a wheelchair for ChinChin!

Many Chihuahuas have done quite well once they were up and installed in a wheelchair - or "wheelies" as they are called... They are usually custom made for the dog based upon the weight, amount of mobility, size to the floor, etc.

I have several friends who have gone through this with their dog, so I picked everyone's brains to figure out how to do it, who to order it from, etc. as we begin the next step - getting ChinChin up and under his own power... 

Would you like to donate towards ChinChin's wheelchair?... It is a tax deduction and every little bit will help us reach our goal of $300 - here's the link to donate: Helping ChinChin get his Wheelies.

Attitude is half the battle!

Several times a day, ChinChin sits in the playpen and he is always alert and aware of his surroundings as you can see from this video HERE... Once he realized the other dogs could not actually touch him, I found he was more apt to relax and enjoy his time out of doors...

ChinChin tends to move like a seal or walrus does when they are out of water... There's almost a forward momentum roll that gets him where he wants to go... It might take him a bit of time to get there, but eventually he will... Slowly, I keep encouraging him to use those front legs and make them stronger with exercise.. Every other day we do water therapy in a large tub with a life preserver jacket... Initially both front legs were curled inwards... Now his left front leg is almost straight and no longer kinked in... See video HERE...

Another thing we are doing is to increase his mobility with a doggie stroller... Not really the color for his sex, it does get him up off the floor, out and about...Ya do what ya gotta do, ya know?

Too much hair!

The first obstacle we had to overcome was all that hair~!!  ChinChin's coat was absolutely gorgeous and while I expected it to be tangled and a mess, there were only a few spots that were matted... However, in some spots it was 6-8" long and thick... 

I am not a professional dog groomer, but with small clippers and scissors, I started working on not only shortening the length around his face, ears and chest but also shaving the lower half of him to make easy clean-ups not so difficult.

Throughout it all, he was quite patient with me... My heart was breaking having to cut any of it, but I kept telling myself he needed his strength to get those front legs working along with the ability and self-esteem to stay clean and tidy... 

Midway through, we both needed a break to stop and get a drink... And think about all of this... It almost seemed like he was happy to have most of that coat gone though... He certainly was a lot cooler without it dragging around behind him...

Ut oh... Now what have I done?

We tried to network this dog like crazy without success and no takers... A gorgeous Japanese Chin about 5-6 years old, but with no mobility in his back legs... No rescue was interested... Sigh... 

TLC normally does not rescue this breed, but I just couldn't stand by and let him be euthanized... I dragged the president of our rescue to the shelter and let him make that decision as I held ChinChin in my arms... "Wrap him up - do the paperwork - it is not his day to die here today" was his reply... And ChinChin came into our lives... 

His coat was gorgeous... Absolutely gorgeous...  But without the ability to move around on those back legs, giving him a bath took hours for it to dry...

The first morning I carried ChinChin out to the patio and watched him look around... His nose was going like crazy, taking in all the smells and he watched the birdies, listened to the sounds around us and just came alive instead of a living stuffed pillow... 

I had made an appointment with my vet for that evening and asked for an honest appraisal... Did I make a mistake???... My vet's reply?  "No, Linda... this dog has already started bonding to you and he wants to live... You didn't make a mistake... It is going to take a lot of work, but if anyone can do it, you can with your amount of heart... "

Turns out after looking at the X-rays, ChinChin had had a luxating patella surgery many years ago, but it failed and he was unable to sustain his weight... The knee joints in the two back legs are just shot and of little value... The two front legs have slowly started atrophying without much use, and started curling inwards... Even food could not tempt him to move very far at all...

Now what - where do I start, Doc?

New photo of Sunshine...

This is the side Sunshine's foster parents see of her... Sweet, quiet, calm, loving... 

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Going to a weekly adoptions that is filled with lots of strange people, dogs and children who charge the Xpen and stick their fingers between the wires (or people who stare down into and with unintentional dominance in dog language), is simply not Sunshine's 'thing'... She doesn't do that well and can't seem to find her own furever home because of it... sigh... Sweet pup... 

There is ALWAYS a home for every dog, if we just have enough time... Eventually a dog will crawl into someone's heart... And we are keeping our fingers crossed that Sunshine's furever love is just around the corner!

Update on Sandy

Sandy has turned out to be what we refer to as a 'stabilizer dog' at adoptions ~~~ a dog that is friendly towards all (kids, strangers, new dogs, etc.) and we know the dog will greet everyone with a tail wag, waiting for a pet or a cookie...  And in doing so, helps other fosters to realize strangers and adoption events are not such a bad thing!

Sandy is probably one of the most even-tempered and well balanced rescues we have had for a long time... Nothing seems to bother her - she'll walk away from an aggressive dog, tolerate 'too-heavy' petting from kids, not be bothered by unusual or strange noises, etc...

We are still at a loss to figure why she ended up in a shelter unless her owners simply could no longer afford financially to take care of her... Whoever owned her previously must have really loved her and put a lot of emotional energy... She loves to go for rides, walks, play ball or just hang out with you on the couch and nap... Dogs from shelters aren't this well socialized unless they experienced all of that previously in their lifetime...

Sandy is just one great dog and she gives out kisses like there is no tomorrow too!

JerryLee's escapades...

JerryLee has not been adopted yet, so he 'runs with the big boys' now and accordingly, we have begun potty training him... Although he is 'getting it', for the most part he follows one of the other dogs and then realizes what he is really supposed to be doing in the backyard... :)  He is a TON of fun to watch... And his coat is to die for, so he probably gets far too many pets and belly rubs...
No telling where you will find him throughout the day... He goes exploring on his own and sometimes has to learn about life the hard way - like what happens when you decide to explore a rose bush garden... What goes in easily one way does not always come out as easily the same way - even if you try to back out exactly in the same fashion~!!!

Once he is done exploring like any other young puppy, he finds a convenient place to curl up and take a puppy nap... Once he's sleeping, not much disturbs him, so periodically throughout the day we go on a 'JerryLee Hunt' to find him...

And he can be just about anywhere, but he has really decided he likes the bottom of this portable stand to curl up in... So to make it more comfy we have added a blankee to it... Those wires can't be cozy to sleep on, ya know?... But he's chosen this spot to call his own, so you do your best to accommodate their wishes!

Why so many Chihuahuas?

Every adoptions we get the same question at least once: "Why so many Chihuahuas?"...

There are several reasons for this... 

1. First off, this breed is the most popular in our area, especially in L.A... And accordingly, the most popular breeds are the ones that show up the most in the shelters... Most people believe a dog breed this small should have no problems being adopted out of the shelter - after all, how much can they eat?... But there are only so many adoptive homes to go around and always more dogs than there are homes!
2. At TLC, we routinely pull off of the kill lists and make a practice of pulling one 'hard case' for every four dogs... When you adopt a dog or puppy from TLC, you are not only saving that dog's life but another one or two as well... 100% of the adoption donations go right back into the attempts to save these dogs from dying... It is not unusual to pull one dog from the shelter who is sick and needs medical care - and then up with hundreds (thousands) to get them to the point they can be adopted... Once we get a dog adopted and we know it is going to 'stick,' we go right back into the shelters and pull another one off of the kill lists...
3. We are a SMALL group of very dedicated volunteers and we all LOVE this breed... There is something about 5 pounds of weight but a 100 pounds of attitude that is quiet endearing... And if you come across a 'yappy rat dog' Chihuahua, it is not the breed but the owners that have allowed a Chi to be like that... The fact they stay small all their life and are so portable is just icing on the cake... They tend to be 'clannish' among their own breed, which is why you commonly see an owner with not just one Chihuahua, but more than one... 
4. This breed was popularized by celebrities in the past 10 years, similar to what happened to the Dalmatian, etc... Once you add them into popular movies, the puppymills beef up their production in anticipation for the added volume of purchases that will be made at petshops around the nation... "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" did just this and now there an even greater glut of Chihuahua and Chihuahua mixes in the shelters...

Currently, an unwanted Chihuahua is being put down every 4 minutes and 32 seconds... We can't save them all but we do everything we can to save as many as we can...
.... that's why TLC always has so many Chihuahuas!

"Dog days" came early this year!

Chillin' out on a blankee after a rousing game of 'catch the ball'... Queenie peers over Zeus' shoulder, fast onto the afternoon snooze...

Buddy had to do a bit of the 'is everything OK?' before he settled in for his nap!

But Millie beat out everyone as she sprawled out first and caught some z's right away...

Missy then joined in after getting a drink of water...

Sandy preferred to take the 'high road' and jumped up on the doggie lounge to spread out and snooze... 

Even Teeny had to check out the action, then settle in for one of those sweet afternoon naps!