Great news for Chloe!

Chloe has found her furever home with three other Chihuahuas... Her foster mom has done a great job giving her that final "I can trust humans again" touch, and Chloe had become so much friendlier at adoptions - even begging for hugs and kisses from me!... She was always excited to see me at adoptions, but she loved her foster mom as well... Chloe was always a work in progress, but she has SO much potential and just needed the time and patience to undo the damage that had been done to her by another human being... sigh...

I ALWAYS loved that coat of Chloe's for it was like silk... Her markings struck me from the moment I laid eyes on her and seldom do you find Sable Chihuahuas with such even markings in rescue...

Chloe was never an aggressive fear biter - she'd rather run when the fear of humans struck her... The first few weeks were touch-and-go as we tried to figure out how to walk that fine line between ignoring them and giving little nudges to prove to them we were trustworthy... Thank goodness her sense of safety was quickly established with a kennel, for without that extra tool of rehabilitation, fear runners can never be caught when you are trying to demonstrate you are not going to hurt them... If you are successful, they will love (eventually) the doggie pats, massages and affection... But chasing them just adds to their internal fears about humans...

The family who adopted Chloe already have experience with just this type of situation, so I couldn't be any happier for Chloe! Congratulations, little one... You deserve a great furever home and I know the only way now for you is up!

Update from Chloe's foster mom...

This is Chloe’s second week with me and she look like she’s is getting comfortable. Last weekend at adoptions she wasn’t so barky and seemed a little calmer when strangers approached the pen to take a look at all the adoptable dogs.

She will come up to me when I get home from work and wag her tail follow me, which is a good sign and it shows that at least she likes me! Ha! She does absolutely great with my little dog, Lucy, and has since started playing with her. They always play chase in the morning while I am getting ready to go to work and I can always hear their little bells jingling from running around the house.

Chloe is very patient and not aggressive with Lucy, even when Lucy tries dominate her and “push” her around . Chloe has never charged or bitten Lucy, and that’s what I love about her. She recently started sleeping with Lucy the past couple of nights which is hilarious since she sleeps in a little pink bed. But they manage to squeeze in there together! I have got to get a picture of it and I will be sure to post it! I posted a picture of them on the couch and they love to sit on it during the day and night. They are usually always together or at least keeping an eye out for each other.

Chloe is always becoming more playful with me also. A couple of times I have played chase with her and talked to her and she has her tail up and wagging and she does the doggie stance (her front paws on the floor but her butt in the air!). She is getting better about people coming into the house and doesn’t bark at much. I have made it a habit to at least pick her up everyday and hold and pet her for at least 5-10 minutes a day to get her used to the human touch and to feel the “love”. I can usually get her to go into her kennel and the once she is in there, I will pull her out and hold her. She has never bitten me when I stick my hands in there to get her.

Next step…get her to love taking baths!!!

New foster home for Chloe...

One of our TLC foster volunteers has taken on Chloe... Chloe is 'right there' now, coming up and giving me kisses, sitting in my lap and allowing me to pet her, allowing me to reach over and massage her neck and back as long as I do it slowly as I approach, etc.

She's still not friendly at adoptions with strangers, and her new foster mom has 'the touch' with these little ones, so this might just be the ticket to nudge her over the edge from 'unadoptable' to 'adoptable'... Her foster mom is another avid Chi lover and you have to almost feel passionately about this breed to help the fearful ones... Chloe has NEVER been a fear-biter, just fearful because she was unsocialized like most backyard breeder stock is...

We're hoping for good things from this change and look forward to updated progress as well! Chloe's new foster mom is going to blog about her progress HERE

Chloe is moving forward, slowly but surely...

Chloe now comes up on my lap at night and allows me to pet her without that 'fear or flight' automatic reaction... I've had her two months now as a foster and it is hard to remember how she was when she first arrived here other than that tail cemented between her legs all the time, the slung-down walk she had and that constant fear look in her eyes... I don't think I'll ever forget that visual image of her as long as I live!

She's one of the first dogs there when I am handing out cookies (and usually up on her hind legs too!)... Chloe isn't afraid any longer to be within a few feet of my legs as I pass by her vicinity... Chloe was barky at first - to the point she was extremely annoying - until the day I watched and saw that the barking was coming from anxiety and not a need to alert or 'dog-talk' to anyone... It was almost as if she was saying to herself, "I'm SCARED and I just don't know what to do here, so I'm going to bark, bark, bark to relieve myself of these pent-up feelings of fear and anxiety"... You could have hit me over the head with a feather the day I realized that...

She's begun to be possessive of me now, and that's not a good behavior, but it signifies to me that she has learned to trust again... I still wonder what was done to her before she came into our lives that could so psychologically damage such a little sweet girl like this... sigh...

It is said it takes two weeks to learn a new behavior but two month to undo an old one... Dogs are extremely situational by nature, but when her buds were adopted and she once again was left behind, she moped around for about a week - almost in grief... She hasn't been able to find another kindred soul for I truly believe dogs know who is psychologically balanced and who is not...

When Bingo arrived, Chloe found a new buddy who she is developing a friendship with... Unfortunately for Chloe, Bingo is exceptionally human-friendly, so it causes her to stop and observe with almost a bit of confusion when Bingo is called, for he comes willingly and desires a deep interaction and loving bond with humans...

It is almost like I can see the brain ticking inside Chloe's head... "Hmmmm... He is actually running towards those alien people and craving those head scratches and pets???... No food involved, so is he off his rocker???... Or is it me???"...

What abuses happened to her in her past lives to destroy the almost natural desire to interact with us humans?... Putting aside the fact she was used as a breeder, Chloe has this gorgeous coat that is not only very unique in coloring, it is like silk and I'm a tactile person, so part of me is struggling to not consistently reach out and pet her so that I myself can enjoy the softness of her coat... How could even a backyard breeder not want to stroke that coat and enjoy it as much as I do?... I just don't get it... I truly do not...



Chloe really needs to find a furever home with someone who understands the deep scaring caused by physical abuse... She's not a biter but a fearful dog who would rather run and hide than confront someone who might potentially hurt her again... Chloe is 'right there' now... She's ready to trust again and enjoy the things she sees the other dogs indulging in... Now we just have to find that truly unique and special person who sees the enormous potential in Chloe that I see...

Progress, not perfection... Chloe

Chloe is making steady progress and she goes to adoptions every week... This past Saturday someone she doesn't know at all was able to give her treats by hand... This is progress and while she's not getting adopted, going to adoptions is causing her to trust people more and more (and not just here at the house)...

Chloe comes in EVERY time I call her... She always comes to me and definitely knows her name... While this doesn't seem like much to some people, coming when called requires trust that many dogs do not have once they've been backyard breeders and/or gone through the shelter system...

Progress, not perfection, ya know?

Coco did well at adoptions, as did Chloe & Sunshine

Our three somewhat fearful dogs did real well at adoptions yesterday - Coco, Chloe and Sunshine. I'm VERY proud of all three of them - Coco and Chloe especially. They handled the whole experience very well - not just being in the crates, but all the people coming by, new volunteers picking them up and holding them, etc.

Despite none of the three were adopted, it was a very good opportunity to be socialized and learning to handle new experiences and strangers that won't hurt, harm or scare them. Every new experience handled with TLC and patience is one more step forward to getting back to what a dog should be - able to trust and love unconditionally.

Bravo, you three! I'm very proud of all of you!

MAJOR step forward for Chloe...

We've had a busy weekend so far, cleaning out the garage and getting ready for next week's yard sale to benefit TLC... We are taking advantage of this three day weekend to get everything done... We've been going in and out of the house carrying things, moving stuff around, etc... It has been a BUSY past three days...

Last night I sat down to watch a movie (and collapse~!!!)... Without warning or encouragement, Chloe jumped up onto the couch with us! My husband and I just sat there watching, not attempting to touch her and she sat down, then started playing with Nacho... And continued to do so... When the movie ended, I cautioned my husband to get up slowly from the couch and again, she didn't do that 'fear flight to anywhere'... This is some MAJOR progress for Chloe...

Normally, Chloe has been coming into the family room when I sit down to watch TV... There's a kennel on the floor to my left that has a plushy blankee in it just for her... She's content to be with us, but in that secure 'den-like' kennel by our feet... Chloe doesn't want to be left out of the action, but just hasn't trusted any of us to be within touching distance...

Rehabilitation is such a time-consuming passion... You SO much want to hold and cuddle, show them it is OK to trust again, but if you move too fast (or in the wrong way), you just keep making steps backwards and not enough forwards... If you're doing it right, they seem to make these major 'leaps of faith' without warning - but on their time line and not yours... So it is VERY hard to not respond in kind to their leap, but just enjoy and 'engulf yourself' in their leap...

Chloe's been taking goodies from my hand for quite some time now... She's got that Merkat stance that gets her 'head and tails' above the others when cookies are being handed out... In time, I'm sure I can teach her the 'walk, walk, walk' command because she's so good standing up on her hind legs...

She's completely potty-trained now, going out the doggie door when she needs to go potty... She comes inside now on command, even if I'm standing there by the door and no longer afraid... She also knows her name, "let's take a nap" (my command to let them know we're going to bed), and the other usual commands ('no', 'ssssstTT', quiet, etc.) although I seldom have to ever use the 'quiet' command with Chloe... She's just not a barker at all...

So far, the only bad habit I've seen in Chloe is her propensity to dig up new flowers I've planted!... LOL... She has now 'gifted' me three times with this one plant on the end of the flower bed she particularly likes... Otherwise, she spends her day running and playing with Max, Mouser and now Nacho...

I can pet her and cuddle her if I'm laying down, but yesterday I was sitting upright and was able to pet her on the couch... So with yesterday evening's new behavior?... She is 'right there'... It won't be long now that she'll lose that perpetual fear of being touched without freezing in place like a statue...

I'm SO proud of her!

The city dawgs! LOL... Max, Mouser & Chloe

The three fosters are like the "Three Chi-usketeers" - Max, Mouser and Chloe... Wherever one is, the other two are and all three will be in trouble together!... ...

They must all be 'city dawgs' for sure!... For Mother's Day, I asked for four NICE tomato plants - must be a throwback to my farm childhood for I love fresh tomatoes during the summer... I know Mouser had never seen a lawn mower before for sure, and Max doesn't like to get too close to that watering wand although everyone lays on the chaise lounge and watches me do it all the time... So everyone watches me while I putter around the backyard (my sanctuary)...

I have a certain spot where I plant the tomatoes each year and it requires horse manure... I do only organic gardening around here because of the dogs, so it stinks to high heaven but it is GREAT for tomatoes... I already had the tomato bed prepared earlier this month, but once the four tomato plants arrived in their bucket, I knew I had to get them in the ground this weekend or they'd die on me from the heat...

The dogs are all used to me watering early every morning and again in the evenings, so no one took much notice when I headed around the house on Sunday morning with the black watering hose... But when I came back to the shed and got the shovel, the Three Chi-usketeers immediately got intrigued about what I was doing..

I'm SURE that was a strong smell as I was digging out holes and turning over that earth that had a base of horse manure... All of them were up in the tomato bed, sniffing like crazy... I'd turn over dirt and they were 'helping' me to dig as well!... LOL...

But once the holes were dug and I had filled them all up with water prior to planting the plants?... The strong must have been really strong because none could refrain from leaning just a bit too close to the edge... The plot of garden has a lot of sand in it as well, so Mouser leaned a bit too close but was leaning aside of Max and BOTH of them ended up in the hole!... The splash and sputtering startled Chloe and she ended up sliding into another one of the four holes!...

Within seconds all three of them were scrambling out, shaking themselves off and as startled as could be!... I thought I'd die laughing at them! What goobers these guys are!

Chloe's moving right along....

Chloe has 'buddied up' with Mouser and Max, but she's also taken a liking to the puppies' toys... She's still 'all puppy' in this regard despite being 6 months old or so... Possibly she didn't get to experience what most puppies do in normal environments... Dunno... But she certainly enjoys gnawing on Nyla bones and hard dog toys... (and my flippers on occasion!)...

More than once I've stepped out of bed to find only ONE flipper there, despite leaving TWO when I crawled into bed~!!! ;) She doesn't chew on my flippers --- just takes them and leaves, stashing them in obscure places throughout the house and backyard!... I limp through the house and backyard looking for her latest 'steal' and always find it in a new place!

We've started working on Chloe with the lead and harness... She's not loving the idea but she'll learn the fine art of the walk as all new puppers must... She's now had her stitches taken out from the spay, is fully recovered from that and runs like the wind as she plays with the others, is up to date on shots and will be licensed by this weekend...

Chloe now comes to me on command when I call and wiggles her butt to no end... My fingers even get kisses when she comes, but I am still unable to just reach down and pick her up... She's not overcome that fear yet, but she will...

Chloe sleeps with us at night and if I'm laying down, she'll allow me to go from nose to tail with pets and massages... But the moment I sit up, the fear kicks in again... The only thing I can think of is that she must have been chased a lot by her previous owners... She wants to be HERE, with us, at all times (and has climbed a baby gate to get into the bedroom one night when she dallied behind as I went to bed)... So she's 'there' but not quite yet, if you know what I mean...

Fear takes time to overcome and the dynamics of the pack help fosters with immeasurable results... Even our vet was so impressed with her markings and softness of coat (that's all my home cookin'!!!)... So while Chloe is physically ready to be adopted, she's not yet ready mentally unless someone has the experience in handling fearful dogs... Chloe is not a fear-biter, she's just got fear issues that will take time, compassion and understanding to overcome... She 'freezes' like a statue once she knows she can no longer take flight... Again, this just takes time to overcome, but she is one gorgeous Chihuahua without a doubt!

Chloe comes a-visiting!

I'm amazed at the progress Chloe is making... truly I am! A week ago she arrived here, tail cemented between her legs and head down... Now she sees me and I should have named her "WigglyButt" instead of Chloe~!!!...

This morning she decided to come a-visiting and jumped up onto my desk from the Chihuahua penthouse... It might have been the smell of my Starbucks Frappuccino that intrigued her, but once here, she stopped long enough for me to snap a photo of her... She's already starting to fill out (must be my home cooking~!! smile)...

Next week she gets her stitches removed and by that time, the memories of being a stray and going through the shelter will have faded even more... Dogs are such situational beings... If you provide a serene and safe environment for them, they come back so much quicker than we humans do~!!!

Chloe - One tired pup!

Chloe has been 'running and a gunning' as they say... She's learned her place in the pack and is showing to be a submissive temperament... As such, she's been spending her day playing with the younger ones around here (especially Frito and Max), but it just wears her out!... LOL... Only five days away from being spayed, she's still recuperating from the procedure, but you'd never know it!... She's already starting to gain a few ounces and her coat is starting to shine, leaving behind that dull look... What a pretty Chi she is!... But one TIRED pup after a long day!

Chloe - Already making progress!

Chloe is such a beautifully marked Chihuahua, I don't know how she ever ended up as a stray... The top of her tail is black - the same coloring of her snout and when you see her in total, the coloring and markings are just breath taking...



This morning she was VERY glad to see me... Tail was up and wagging... And throughout the day, she was more and more friendly... I've been ignoring her, not trying to catch her and just letting her settle in... She was curious enough to fully explore the house today and she consistently 'follows the crowd' around here... What everyone is doing, she's there as well... The "magic of the pack" works such unbelievable miracles with these fosters...

This afternoon I took the puppies out onto the patio and allowed them to run around in a double Xpen, enjoying the breeze and change of scene... Simply celebrating the day, I then passed out cookies (dehyrdrated chicken strips) and Chloe took not just one, but came back later for another one... And this evening I got my first kiss on the hand (and I wasn't handing out cookies at the time either!)...

She's already started picking back up some weight... Today we discovered she likes to play with toys, and seems to favor the soft plushy kind... Tonight she even got into playing with some of the other boys here and is overly friendly towards them already - kissing, playing catch me if you can, etc.

Once Chloe gets back to the proper weight, I suspect she'll become a loving dog in that same time frame... You can already see that she wants to, but learning to trust again is not something you can calendar - or make a prediction when it will occur... But we are right around the corner with this little one and it won't be long now!

Chloe has arrived!

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!