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!

Buddy... I am SO tired...

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He was just SO tired, but we couldn't resist taking this snapshot as he fell asleep and leaned onto the plastic pole...

Sleep sweet!

Sandy

Sandy has proven to be so even tempered at adoptions, going up to anyone and everyone including children... She's turned into a 'stabilizer dog' that we count on at adoptions - a dog that is friendly, doesn't shake when faced with strangers, showing new fosters 'the ropes' and that adoptions is a good thing (lots of cookies, pats and goodies!)... 

She's not barky either surprisingly... She'd do well as a solo dog for working people or with a family who has children and an active lifestyle... 

Sweet, SWEET dog and a great example of what a Chihuahua can be to get rid of the bad impression people have of this breed... Her furever home must be right around the corner - are you the one?

Update on Pepi

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We wanted to post an update on Pepi as we noticed we'd been a bit neglectful in getting some of these blogs updated...

As you can see from this photo we took last week of Pepi modeling one of our new Chi-Weaters (a fundraising project for TLC), he is evenly putting down weight now on all four legs... You would never know he's gone through that surgery in January for other than sitting down a bit lopsided, you can't tell it ever occurred!

He readily goes up and down doggie steps, makes jumps 2' and more onto the futon in the backyard, etc.  Pepi has fully recovered now and is waiting for his own furever home!

Better photo of RubyDee's litter

This is a better, more realistic photo of RubyDee's puppies... JerryLee is on the top, JuneCarter on the bottom to the left and JohnnyCash on the right...

Update on Missy's coat

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Most of Missy's coat has now come in around the ragged edges of her ears from the flystrike... Oddly enough, it has all come in white and really is cute, adding greatly to her look...  In fact, if you look at her original photos, you can see just how much of her ears had been eaten away when we saved her~!!!

People keep passing Missy by at adoptions, probably because when they ask, we always say we think she's probably a JackChi (Jack Russell - Chihuahua mix)... While we believe in honesty with folks, the rep of the Jack is a high energy and sometimes aggressive dog that might be scaring some people away from adopting Missy...

She would make a great companion for a senior citizen who is not highly active, doing 5 mile jogs every day... Or a working couple without children because a daily walk and lots of loving is about all she needs... She could be a solo dog or companion to another dog...

When we took this picture, she had fallen asleep on the doggie step, so we couldn't resist snapping a photo of that new hair that has grown in along the top of the ears... Why she fell asleep on the doggie step is beyond us, but it was too cute to pass up!