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Chihuahua Rescue

A Chihuahua is very small, usually five or six pounds when full-grown, and love attention and affection. They are usually very active and playful.
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A Chihuahua is very small, usually five or six pounds when full-grown, and loves attention and affection. They are usually very active and playful.

     A homeowner in Jacksonville, Florida rented out a house to a couple with Chihuahua dogs.  The dogs looked healthy and well cared for.  The couple paid their rent on time every month for two years, and seemed to look after the home. 

Then, the rent payments stopped.  The owner made calls, but no response.  Finally, she went to the house, and found an unimaginable situation.  The renters were gone, but left their dogs behind – all one hundred thirty of them – in the house, by themselves, doing their best to survive. 

The house was overcrowded and a mess, with so many animals and no humans to care for them or clean up after them.  The homeowner called Jacksonville Animal Care and Protective Services for help.

     Rescuers knew immediately it was a dire situation for the dogs, and not much better for the humans helping them.  The dogs had to fend for themselves for some period of time.  The smell was so bad that the rescue team had to wear masks indoors due to the highly polluted air inside the home.  They managed to get all one hundred thirty Chihuahuas out of the house, and got them vaccinated and microchipped - but then what?  The shelter was already full, and not equipped to suddenly take on the care of so many more.

     So the shelter posted information about the rescue and the situation on social media, hoping they might get some help.  The next morning, a couple hundred people were lined up outside the shelter, waiting to take home a Chihuahua.  Every single dog rescued from that home found either a foster home or a new permanent one. 

     Although the renters were not located, it is suspected the Chihuahuas were part of a puppy mill operation.  The good news is that, thanks to prompt action by the homeowner, those dogs all found homes and humans who will give them the care they should receive. 

Saving a hundred lives, or even just one life, helps to make the world a better place, when you’re speaking of pets.

Mindy Norton has been “Speaking of Pets” on Alabama Public Radio since 1995.