CA: More California Chihuahuas to be transported out of state for adoption in response to shelter glut

More California Chihuahuas to be transported out of state for adoption in response to shelter glut

December 30, 2009 |  1:42 pm

A local organization plans to transport 35 Chihuahuas  to new adoptive homes in Colorado this week. It's an increasingly popular solution to the overabundance of Chihuahuas in California animal shelters.

SpcaLA, a private rescue organization that operates adoption centers in Long Beach and Hawthorne, is the latest group to move adoptable Chihuahuas to other parts of the country where there are fewer small dogs to be found in animal shelters. 

Actress Katharine Heigl's foundation recently arranged the transport of nearly 70 Chihuahuas to a New Hampshire humane society, which found new homes for each of them almost immediately.  SpcaLA was able to afford to move the dogs thanks to a private donor, Leslie Capin, who recently won $1 million in Paw Nation's Cutest Dog Competition and decided to use the money to help pets in need.  Pet Airways, the animals-only airline that launched earlier this year, offered a discounted fare.  Their flight is scheduled to depart Thursday morning from Hawthorne Municipal Airport. A Denver-based rescue organization will arrange for them to be adopted in Colorado, where shelters are crammed with larger dogs but few small ones are available for adoption. 

Proponents of the plan to transport Chihuahuas to other states argue that doing so is a way of killing two birds with one stone.  "By moving the supply to the demand, we are negating the need for purchasing from an unscrupulous backyard breeder or puppy mill and reducing the current population of Chihuahuas" in California shelters, spcaLA President Madeline Bernstein explained. 

But some fear that dogs adopted in far-off states will not have a similar safety net to those adopted from local rescue organizations -- which typically provide ongoing support to new pet owners and will take back a previously adopted animal if things don't work out.  But Chihuahua-transport supporters believe that, by working with reputable rescue groups in the states to which the dogs are sent, they can ensure that adopters have knowledgeable local advisers to turn to if they need help with their new pets.

According to Kathy Davis, interim general manager of Los Angeles Animal Services, the city's municipal animal shelters take in more than 300 Chihuahuas each month.  Shelters in the San Francisco Bay Area report similar numbers, with many in the rescue community placing at least part of the blame for the number of owner-surrendered Chihuahuas on pop culture.  "We call it the Paris Hilton syndrome," Deb Campbell, a spokeswoman for the San Francisco animal care and control department, said in an interview with The Times' Maria L. La Ganga. 

RELATED:
Keep this pet living at home, thanks to your sponsorship. Yes, we can!
Shelter dogs turned stars in '101 Dalmatians' musical
-- Lindsay Barnett

Source:  http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/12/more-california-chihuahuas-to-be-transported-out-of-state-for-adoption-in-response-to-shelter-glut.html
Photo: Kenya, a male Chihuahua available for adoption through spcaLA.  Credit: spcaLA

PA: Chihuahua Thieves Strike Delco Pet Store

Chihuahua Thieves Strike Delco Pet Store
by KYW's Dave Madden

The search is on for whoever stole a rather valuable dog from a Delaware County pet store.  It’s the third dog in about a year to be plucked from We Love Pets on Baltimore Pike in Springfield.

Springfield township police say the weekend theft of a $1,400 Chihuahua is not related to last Jaunary’s theft of a black pug and a maltipom.

Lt. William Clark says two white men walked into the store and left quickly:  "The clerk looked and found that a Chihuahua was missing from the cage in the store. They believe that the two actors left in a silver Ford with an unknown Pennsylvania registration."

The owner of the store has not returned calls seeking comment about the thefts.

Source

======================================

Duo Steals Dog From Pet Store

By CINDY SCHARR, cscharr@delcotimes.com

SPRINGFIELD — A dognapper made off with $1,400 Chihuahua from the We Love Pets Store in the Stoney Creek Shopping Center Saturday.  The dognapping is the second this year at the pet store, located in the 400 block of Baltimore Pike.

According to police a white man, in his early 20s walked into the pet store around 11:37 a.m. and stood next to a display cage. He scooped up the light-gray Chihuahua, ran out of the store and jumped into a silver pickup truck operated by another man. The dog napping duo fled from the parking lot in an unknown direction.

Both suspects are in their early 20’s and were wearing dark hoodies. In January, a pair walked out of the same pet shop with two puppies, a pug and a Maltipom, valued at $1,000 each.

Anyone who has information about the incident is urged to contact Detective James Devaney at 610-544-1100.

Source

===================================

Update: Tuesday, 29 December 2009

Delco Pet Store Gets Back Pricey Stolen Pup

by KYW's David Madden

A primo priced pup purloined from a Delaware County pet shop last week is back in its cage - none the worse for the experience - but the thief is still being sought.

The $1400 Chihuahua was plucked from a cage at We Love Pets on Baltimore Pike in Springfield on the 19th.  Then, Springfield police lt. William Clark says, the store got a gift on the day after Christmas:

“The pet store received a phone call from a female who said that the dog is by their back door in a box. The employees went out and found the dog. The dog appeared to be in good shape and not abused.”

Cops have a surveillance photo of a suspect and are trying to track him down. The store owner isn’t talking.  Then again, he’s had 3 high-priced pooches stolen this year and two of them were not recovered, nor has anyone been charged.

Source: http://www.kyw1060.com/Delco-Pet-Store-Gets-Back-Pricey-Stolen-Pup/5994523

 

CA: Chihuahuas crowding California shelters

CA: Chihuahuas crowding California shelters
State’s centers overrun by the little yappers; experts blame pop culture
Dec. 11: Animal shelters in California are reporting a glut of abandoned Chihuahuas, leaving officials scrambling to find homes for all the tiny dogs. NBC’s George Lewis reports.
updated 4:58 p.m. PT, Thurs., Dec . 10, 2009

LOS ANGELES - California has more Chihuahuas than it can handle, and it has Hollywood to blame.

There are so many Chihuahuas at shelters in Oakland, they have started shipping the dogs out of state, said Megan Webb, director of Oakland Animal Services. They have sent about 100 to Washington, Oregon and Arizona, she said, “and as soon as they get them, they are ready for new ones.”

Chihuahuas make up 30 percent or more of the dog populations at many California shelters. And experts say pop culture is to blame, with fans imitating Chihuahua-toting celebrities like Paris Hilton and Miley Cyrus, then abandoning the dogs.

The problem appears to be specific to California — shelters elsewhere would love to share the wealth, said Gail Buchwald, senior vice president overseeing the ASPCA adoption center in New York City.  “We never have enough supply for the huge consumer demand for small dogs,” she said.

One of Webb’s biggest problems is a lack of money to fly the dogs to other states. Buchwald said she would be happy to help.  “Nothing is outside the realm of possibility here. We have a supply-demand issue,” she said.

Chihuahuas are the most popular breed of dog in Los Angeles, so it makes sense it is the most abandoned breed, said Madeline Bernstein, president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles. In Oakland, some days, they get 10 of the 5-pound dogs a day, Webb said.

The problem is so bad that shelters all over California that were built for big dogs had to remodel to accommodate the little guys.

Among the reasons for the glut is the breed’s popularity in movies like “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” and as celebrity pets, said Dave Frangipane, senior coordinator for Chihuahua Rescue of Beverly Hills. A cute puppy can grow up to have adult health problems or become protective and aggressive.

We asked some pet experts to give us the lowdown on what’s true and what’s not when it comes to dog and cat behavior and care.

There are less glamorous reasons, too, like the high vet bills Chihuahuas can bring. And the biggest spikes in California Chihuahua populations are probably due to puppy mills and backyard breeders, Buchwald and Frangipane said.

Chihuahuas are cute, but vulnerable, Frangipane said. “People think nothing of kicking a small, yappy dog. And they can be abused by people of all sizes. A toddler can snap a Chihuahua’s leg in a second,” he said.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34352750/ns/health-pet_health/