Welcome CraigsListers

A little puppy told me that I've gotten dragged into the current war between Chihuahua Rescue and disgruntled Ex Volunteers who can't be bothered to help dogs in real need.

Welcome to this site which is a combination text/photo journal of my volunteer experiences last year. It includes more than Chi Rescue though CR did receive the bulk of my volunteer hours.

Be aware that the ex-volunteers are currently breaking the law (DMCA) because they stole photos off this website and have not only reposted them on their own website but have redistributed them without permission (let alone proper credit). What's really criminal in my opinion is that they've taken my photos and tried to recast them in a sinister light by showing them alongside horrible and malicious unfounded claims.

If you take a good look at the photos as you see them here along with the rest of the photos in the series, you'll see that they're not sinister at all. Most of the stolen shots are taken in the hospital wards where the dogs are kept in cages to keep them safe from other dogs and allow them time to recuperate. Other dogs are usually new arrivals that are being isolated until their temperament and health is determined. They are later moved to join the rest of the dogs elsewhere.

I think the photo that raises my ire the most is the one of Yoda. They took my "Before" pictures and tried to insinuate that this is condition that Kimi keeps her dogs in. But if you look further on in my photo journal, you'll find pictures of Yoda looking much better at the Nov Best Friends Adoption Fair. And early this year, Yoda found his new home and can now be found on Dogster looking like the star he is!

You *will* find pictures of dogs in sorry states but that is how they CAME to Chihuahua Rescue. The pictures were taken as benchmark for "Before" or are "healing in progress" shots.

The entire place is cleaned daily and if you browse through the photos on my site, you'll rarely see any poop anywhere. Poop is a natural function and is to be expected but if the accusations were true... you'd see poop *everywhere* plus it'd be moldy and stacked several layers deep.

For the record, of the remaining pictures on the website belonging to the ex volunteers who clearly have axes to grind. What do they show?

* More shots of the hospital ward (note stacks of clean newspaper, bags of food, cleaning equipment -> all contradicts their claims, I know it's hard to see them in cages but it's no different than you'd find at a vet's office, animals are kept in cages to facilitate the healing process.)

* a messy front office (oh noes!! doesn't Kimi know that it's MUCH more important to keep her front office neat and orderly than to take care of the living creatures in her care?)

* incoming dogs in their arrival crates (one who has clearly soaked the newspaper in its crate by knocking over the water bowl... why didn't the ex "volunteer" who took the picture take care of it instead of standing around taking pictures of nothing?)

* dogs still in the recovery process (the thin white dog looked SO much worse the first time I ever saw it, hardly any fur at all, I was pleased to see in that picture that it's coming along nicely in its recovery)

There's ONE photo that actually shows poop in the cage. However consider that these people were once trusted volunteers and were allowed into the dog areas to do things like CLEAN the cages. It'd be extremely easy for them to just go in in the early morning and take the photos before the staff & volunteers have come around to clean it. Consider how much a single dog can poop. Again if their claims were true... there'd be a great deal more poop in the cage. So what you see in this photo is simply a cage that hasn't been cleaned yet.

Anyways... I know some of these ex volunteers personally and the majority of them did some pretty whacked out things. They do all have one thing in common. They wanted the rescue run THEIR way and left or were asked to leave because they didn't get their way and in some cases started sabotaging the rescue.

I never understood their attitudes. Yes we can all see some ways to improve things. However, every suggestion that I've made to Kimi that she declined to utilize, I usually later saw for myself that she was correct to do so. They turned out to be impractical or the wrong thing to do. It's taught me that Kimi's 20 years of rescue experience is nothing to sneeze at or overlook but clearly these people think they can do better than her.

If they're so hell bent on saving & rescuing dogs... let them start their own rescue group and save the chihuahuas in real danger that are being killed daily in shelters of the greater Los Angeles area.

I've volunteered at other places in the past and based on my overall experiences, I find the dogs at Chihuahua Rescue to be quite lucky. Kimi takes good care of them and she'll always have my support.

Several residents enjoying the afternoon sun

FYI, I noticed the other day on their website that they tout Marty & Wally as an example of her hoarding dogs. I was increduluous that they had the gall to do that because it's not for a lack of trying that M & W didn't have homes yet. They needed to go together because they were attached to each other. Every prospective adopter I ever showed them to, was turned off by their puppy rambunctiousness especially since they'd outgrown the cute puppy stage. Given the huge choice that adopters had, it's not that hard to see why time and time again M & W were ignored in favor of other dogs. But at least they were safe, cared for, not in danger of euthanasia. They live with other dogs in one of many dog areas and played together all day long.

Yea it'd be nice if they got a home but I've faith and confidence that Kimi will pull another miracle out of her hat and find the PERFECT home for them... she's done it many times before. I've written about some (browse the archives) and someday I hope to find the time to write about the rest of the ones I saw.

Story of Wela & Phoenix

When Wela was dumped on us last July, she was only 2 days from giving birth. She did so in the morning before anyone was awake. Sadly one of the pups was killed... probably by one of the other pregnant moms. Kimi rushed Wela and the other 4 pups to the emergency vet. I got there not long after Kimi got back and was told that the puppies were probably going to die because Wela was refusing to accept them.

I'd gotten lunch from Wendy's but hadn't eaten it yet. I took it into the bathroom where the two crates were. Wela was in one and the puppies bundled into the other. I took the top off Wela's crate so she couldn't hide from me. I sat on the floor between the crates and ate my lunch without looking at Wela. Just projected an air of nonchalance and "everything's fine". I knew the food smells would interest Wela so every so often I'd offer her a fry. Then when I got to the chicken fingers, that was what she was interested in so I gave her a bite here and there.

Part of the problem was that Wela and all her fellow dumpees were extremely frightened and not very well socialized to new people. Many of them were ready to bite you if you got too close, Wela included. For a long time afterwards, Wela was known as "Vicious Mama" which shows why I was so cautious that day.

By the time I finished my lunch, I'd worked my way up to petting her a little around her head and she was accepting of that. So then I took a puppy and held it out to her. She sniffed it and looked like she wanted it. So I placed it next to her where it could find a nipple. It started going for the gold right away and Wela was fine with it.

One at a time, after each puppy was settled in, I gave her a new one to sniff. After the first couple, I started needing to shift Wela around so there'd be a space for the new puppy to nurse. She was very accomodating and assisted me by helping to shift herself so the new puppy could nurse.

Later in the day, everyone's happy

Writing about it now... it seems so simple now but that day, it was just amazing to get Wela to take her puppies. She proved to be a very good mother. Kimi and I were the only ones that could enter the bathroom without her shifting into "Vicious Mama" mode.

Sad to say... 2 of the puppies just didn't make it. I was surprised to learn that it's actually not uncommon for a couple of puppies to die. Especially given the interbreeding of Wela's clan.

The big white girl was named Aphrodite and was the last to die. For some reason, she just never grew and then started to wither away. Nothing we did for her worked. Vet couldn't figure it out either. The tan puppy also didn't make it but she died in the 2nd-3rd day. There was some oddness around her belly so possibly doomed because of bad breeding?

Frankenbaby had died almost 3 months before. Given my feelings that the forces of the universe had decided to take Frankenbaby back and let her be reborn into a better chance at life, I couldn't help but feel that the dark colored baby that didn't match her siblings or Wela's clan was Frankenbaby reborn... so with Kimi's blessing, I named her Phoenix.

Phoenix and her brother are 9 months old now. Kimi's adopted the brother but Phoenix is still there. I've always wanted to adopted Phoenix and her mother Wela but still yet lack the home situation to do so. Perhaps someday soon... of course there's always a chance that someone else may adopt her in the meantime and that's definitely double edged for me. Would be happy for her to have a home where she can be doted on sooner but sad because it's not my home. Phoenix, from day 1 and on.

Phoenix & her brother at 3 months and 10 days

Wela's still not real socialable but remembers me and always comes to me to be picked up and cuddled. There were a couple times where I was gone for a good while so she needed a few minutes to remember me but she always did. It's doubtful that anyone else would want her since she still only likes me and K as far as I know. K loves her too but would be happy to see Wela come home with me.

Wela curled with me when I stayed over in early November

Major Peeve (rant)

Gah... there's been a recent thread of conversation on the "Friends of Chihuahua Rescue" yahoo group that's really been pissing me off.

Someone who adopted a dog from CR 5 years ago wrote in to complain that her roommate who "wanted a chihuahua to rescue" was upset because Kimi was taking too long to finish the adoption for the dog she'd picked out, Autumn.

Esqueeze me? When you *adopt* a dog from CR, you're not *rescuing* it, you're simply adopting it. It's already been rescued... saved... what have you... by Chihuahua Rescue who accepted the commitment and obligation to take care of the dog for the rest of its life. The only thing the prospective adopter is doing is offering it a home where it'll get more personal attention than at the rescue cum sanctuary.

Anyways... right after I responded... another volunteer chimed in to report that the impatient prospective adopter had already gone with another rescue.

Well that right there... in my opinion... tells me that that's not the person I'd want to adopt a dog out to anyways if it were my choice. If they're too impatient to wait for a dog that they chose to adopt (which would indicate that they feel a BOND with that dog) then these people are more likely to be turning around and dumping the dog back into the shelter system within a year or two.

I'm also rather irate with the person who did the emailing because why is she wasting our time bitching about this when it's already a done deal? I got even madder when she responded to the thread and proceeded to belittle CR's achievements and efforts through thinly veiled "compliments".

I know I have a real thin skin when it comes to these kind of people but that probably because my ire is already on alert because of the other people who take it much further and waste tax payer dollars and Kimi's time and their own... trying to get CR shut down.

My god people get a clue... if Lt Spears could find any merit to these complaints... He would have shut Kimi down long ago. All that happens is that he is forced to go out there as much as once a week to "investigate the complaints". I just want to stick a nail studded clue bat up all these people's arses, it makes me so mad...

Polar Opposites and a Happy Ending

Polar Opposites and a Happy Ending

While I can never seem to find the time to write out the stories here. I find myself repeating them over and over in various forms via commenting in dog related LJ communities. Recently I wrote about a pair of owner turn in experiences and decided to flesh it out and then repost it here.

In my experience at Chihuahua Rescue, owner turn-ins which make up most of the incoming dogs I've seen usually involve the owner bringing the dog to the premises. However, last year early on in my time at CR, K asked me to do a couple of pickups within a couple days of each other and what was particularly striking for me was how opposite the situations turned out to be.

Fifi's Tale

This is a followup to my recent crossposting in various communities about the sad fate of Madonna's chihuahuas.

One of the dogs, Rosita, died from complications of having her face beat in. I'm told what happened to her face is very similar to what happened to Fifi's.

Fifi is one of Chihuahua Rescue's permenant residents. CR's also a sanctuary for those who would otherwise be put to sleep.

Everyone wants to adopt Fifi because she just looks so darling in the picture with her bent muzzle but she's definitely one of the harder cases at Chihuahua Rescue. It took her a long time to get used to me and that was just with me walking around and through the area. One day I took a chance and walked up to her cause I saw her head poking out of her self made cave. I called her name in a friendly voice and just about fell over when she crawled out of her blanket den and came eagerly to the edge of the bed to be petted. Tail wagging and all. I was able to pet her on the head and upper back and bit and even hold her though I was very very cautious.

Normally, Fifi growls and menances anyone who dares to come too close. It's easy to avoid her because all she wants to do day in and day out is to sleep nestled in a self made den of the blankets left out in the playground for that dogs to cuddle in. It's rare to see her walking around or even to see her at all. Most people don't even know she's there.

So even with this "breakthrough" between me and Fifi, it's still very touch and go... sometimes she violently crabs at you for disturbing her, sometimes she comes up for some petting & treats, but then it's another game of chance as to whether she'll stay calm for it or erupt into a frenzy of tail chasing. It's like she feels a phantom tormenter at her back and when she gets petted, she gets confused and thinks that it's the tormenter back to hurt her. I'll draw back and stop and soon she'll stop and go back to wagging her tail and being all "pet me pet me". I must note that when Fifi erupts into a biting frenzy... it's not me that she's trying to bite but her own tail? That's what makes me think that she feels this "phantom" behind her because it looks like she's trying to bite something that's touching her from behind.

Now I've heard of dogs similiar to her that were prone to similiar outbursts and they've gone to understanding homes and have done quite well there. I do wonder how Fifi would do in a home environment. But generally the applicants who want Fifi are looking for a family pet type dog of which Fifi is not suited for. Fifi needs to go to someone who's willing to adapt to her special needs and forgive her her craziness. Certainly they must be prepared that they may just be getting a dog who'll spend her days hidden away somewhere, coming out only for food and bathroom trips.

Fifi peering out... is it safe?

What's going on?? (It's a Saturday and she's looking in the direction of the fence which is a few feet away. On the other side is the area where the public is admitted to during "Visiting" hours. Normally it's quiet but there's a commotion going on of people voices and dogs barking.

A rare moment where Fifi's out and about... she's interested in what's going on but isn't about to brave the crowd for a piece of my brother's burger. If you can't spot her, she's standing on the right partially under the plastic lawn chair.

Fifi on another day, out and about. Just remembered her corkscrew tail. There's another shot that shows it even better.

Anyways... dogs like Fifi are what make me really glad that a place like Chihuahua Rescue exists. They own and run their own kennel so that they can provide a sanctuary for the "unadoptables". I've heard all the negative rants about rescues which often seem to stem from either A) They only take in the adoptables and/or B) They loot the shelters for the best picks. I can certainly understand why rescues do either because it takes a lot of time, money and effort just to do rehoming for dogs. So when a rescue takes in the abused and torn apart dogs and only goes to the shelter to get dogs in their 11.5th hour... they rank very high in my book. Especially when I know that they've got astounding success at PLACING these unadoptables. These poor dogs do get a second chance at love and at least a peaceful safe life til their new home comes along.