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!

Max... what a GOOBER!

I'm not quite sure what I like the most about Max... the fact he is an absolutely GORGEOUS Chihuahua?



The goofy things that occur either with him or around him because he's still a puppy?



Or the absolute GOOBER stuff he gets involved in~!!!



Yes, that is Max's rear end in a covered cat litter box! :)

It's never been used for its manufactured purpose... Instead, it makes a fantastic toy box, and can hold a huge amount of dog toys without them falling all over the place... It also teaches dog it is OK to stick their head through a doorway (helpful in teaching the skill of doggie doors)...

But ONLY Max would empty out the entire toy box, one by one and then climb inside to get ONE specific toy he wanted (a large ring that he had difficult time getting back out of that opening, but proudly carried it outside!)...

WHAT A GOOBER HE IS!

Update on Ebony....

Ebony's new daddy just received a great job offer but it means he will need to be in Vancouver for quite some time... Accordingly, Ebony would need to be in quarantine and isolation crossing the U.S./ Canadian border, which he feels isn't fair to her at such a young age... Accordingly, Ebony is now available for adoption and turned 9 weeks today.

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!

Bella - I'm a puppy again!

Bella's spay is completely healed up now and her stitches removed... As she's gone through this process, we've noticed that she's reverting back to being a puppy again now that she no longer has the motherly hormones flowing through her veins and duties nonstop with the litter...

Chihuahuas are notorious sunbathers and last year we purchased a futon mattress and using a constructed wooden pallet for a base, created a sunbathing spot off the patio in the backyard... Almost every morning, they all love to go lay out, watch the things going on around them, listen to the sounds of the morning traffic and take in all the smells... This has become part of Bella's routine as well and she thoroughly enjoys the comfy pillows as she plays with the others...



This morning, there were a few 'critters' running up and down the trunk of the tree close by... I call them geekos, my hubby calls them lizards and my neighbor says they are alligator lizards... Whatever they are, they tend to run up the tree or the side of the house... Or across the block wall at the back of the yard... Once finding a warm spot, they do this 'push up' thingy and this fascinates the dogs as the dogs watch them...



Bella in particular believes she can catch them, but Max has already decided they are too fast for him!...



I'm not so sure she'd know what to do with one once she'd caught it, but it sure does fascinate her and she'll watch them INTENTLY for long stretches of time!

Bella is also our resident 'toy carrier'... Seldom failing to go by the toy box and pick up one before she heads out onto the patio or backyard, I must bring back 15 a day that I find out there!... Although she has now learned 'Drop it' for I don't want to chase her to collect them, she still enjoys going back into the house for another one while I'm collecting her morning's 'finds'...

Yep, once again she's the puppy she was before she accidentally got pregnant... It's nice to see her enjoying life again as only they can when not faced with the responsibilities of raising a litter...

Sunbathing by the pool in the back yard...

The Chi breed are notorious sunbathers by nature, so last year we bought a futon mattress and using a nicely constructed wooden pallet as a base, we created a 'sunbathing area' in our backyard... Most mornings I can find a Chi or two, laying out there and enjoying the sun - this morning was no exception!

Max was only mildly curious as to why I had the camera out, snapping photos, but he was SOOOOO sleepy after sunbathing this morning, I couldn't get an "I'm here... I'm awake" photo to save my soul!

The little goober! :)



And if someone is willing to give him a little bit of shade, Max isn't opposed to that either!



... (although they do have their own 8' beach umbrella that I put up around noontime)... I guess I shouldn't say it is only theirs 'cause I enjoy sitting out on the patio and enjoying life and nature with them too!

Max has settled in well now after getting all of his shots up to date and spends most of his day playing with Bella or one of the other dogs... His favorite place to sleep is in my husband's lap while they 'watch' TV together at night and my husband INSISTS Max is already a Lakers fan, but I'm not so sure about that one!

Dulce has her very own furever home!

Yesterday's "meet & greet" with the home check went exceptionally well!... I was SO afraid her new furever family would be looking for a 'purse puppy' type Chi and Dulce never fit into that category - size, personality or activity level... She was always the 'rowdy howdy' girl of the bunch, ready to spring onto (and carry off) the newest toy, first to step into the food bowl and wonder why her paw was wet, etc...

Dulce climbed into her new furever parents' arms immediately and handed out kisses, anxious to 'get this show on the road' as only Dulce knows how! (smile)

I received this email from her new mom and thought to include it here:

Dulce was wonderful yesterday. She already knows her pink bed is hers and she loves curling up in it and hiding treats in the corners. She is very smart and she has figured out that Daddy likes to play and Mommy likes to cuddle and she comes running to me when she gets scared because she thinks I'm the one that will protect her.

Dulce loves playing with all her new toys, but she has trouble figuring out which one to play with so she runs back and forth between the balls and the stuffed animals. She has also found a few new toys that she loves playing with --- my hair and paper towels and Kleenex. She is constantly trying to chew on my hair if it gets within her reach and when she sees paper, paper towels, or Kleenex of any kind she locks her teeth on it and you have to wrestle it away from her before she shreads it. LOL

(that's my Dulce!... foster mom grin and giggle here)

She has found a corner in the backyard that she likes to go to the bathroom in already. She was really well behaved last night. We put her bed in between my husband and my pillow. She crawled into it and slept through the night without waking up. She woke me up at 9 this morning when she crawled on top of my head and curled up on my pillow next to me. LOL. As soon as she woke up, she has been almost non stop all day, except for a few naps on the couch.

Thank you for mailing us that stuff. We already took dozens of pictures and we will send them to you as soon as we get a chance to upload them. We will keep you updated on her growth and send you pictures occasionally.

People often ask us why we do what we do --- isn't it hard to let them go once you've gotten them healthy, retrained them, rehabilitated them, whatever... But this is the 'pay back' that can't be measured on any balance sheet... Most of the fosters I have had in the past years keep in touch with me (and I've done several 'refresher' training sessions with some for Chis can be a bit headstrong if given an opportunity!)... At the holidays, I get more emails and photos from 'the kids' who have been fostered and moved on into their furever homes... It's like those Mastercard commercials... the warm fuzzies you get back are simply priceless!