Despite having a full house, and one that includes a chihuahua--a breed that tends to be yappy and neurotic and often misunderstood--Cheryl checks the list released daily by the New York Center for Animal Care and Control every single day and cross-posts profiles hoping to connect dogs in need with fosters and adopters.
When Cheryl saw Chico on the list, she jumped into action. A four-year-old white chihuahua, pictured above at the shelter, Chico was listed with two other chihuahuas, both of them seniors. A rescue group pulled the two older chihuahuas, but Chico remained despite people showing interest not only in fostering him but also adopting him--a lucky break that doesn't happen often.
Why? Chico earned a behavior rating of SEVERE for being aggressive from the Brooklyn branch of the New York Center for Animal Care and Control. People calling in expressing a desire to foster or adopt him were being turned away. The same dog that, according to the shelter, showed affection to both men and women was reportedly tense, highly nervous, and attempting to bite staffers who attempted to handle him. He had to be sedated to receive his rabies vaccine. Yup. Sounds like a frightened chihuahua to us.
When Cheryl called to say she wanted to adopt Chico, she was taking a leap of faith, if you will. She was making a huge assumption that his aggressiveness was simply the typical chihuahua response to being in a chaotic environment completely foreign to it. She was told by a NY CACC employee that she could not handle a dog like Chico. Cheryl did not give up. She argued her case, pointing to her experience in handling chihuahuas as well as to the conflicting information in the dog's write-up. When the second shelter employee turned her away, she turned to the rescue organizations.
Two rescues organizations were ready to take on Chico's case, and ultimately it was AmsterDog that managed to get through to the high-kill shelter and put a hold on Chico, saving his life. Arrangements were made to transport Chico to a foster in Connecticut that night. Cheryl drove from Maine to get him and bring him to his new home.
Training Humans asked Cheryl whether her hunch about Chico acting out because of his surroundings was correct. She says:
He is the sweetest mush ever. NOT aggressive and probably just afraid of the noise and scary men [shelter employees, including those who assess the dogs]. He gets along great with my two cats and two dogs.... They [the shelter employees] were wrong and [it is] so sad how many poor animals get PTS [put to sleep] for no reason!Training Humans received photographs of Chico settling in to his new environment.
The city boy seems to have taken to life in the country splendidly.
Chihuahuas are nervous dogs, and often bark and attempt to bite when they feel threatened. They also tend to take to one owner and become very possessive and territorial. While not all chihuahuas should be painted with the same brush, Training Humans cautions people with small children against getting chihuahuas without doing their research first.
Even children with the best of intentions can be a little too rough on this small breed dog and make it feel threatened. Training Humans will be dedicating a blog post to this breed, especially in the wake of California's chihuahua epidemic. Please look for it soon.
For now, please enjoy these last two shots of Chico with his new pals.
Training Humans thanks Cheryl, AmsterDog, and the foster in Connecticut for not giving up on this beautiful pooch and wishes Cheryl and Chico the very best of luck!
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