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Click on any image above for more info. *FH* by a pet's name means they are in a foster home.

 

 Josefina was surrendered to us by a man that found her wandering the streets. She is a sweet girl looking for her forever home. She is a very sweeet chi but would rather be with a mature couple since she is very small and delicate.  The staff reports it only took her a day to warm up to them after being brought into the Center! 

Foster Update 5/1/14:

• Appearance Josefina is a bright and cute little girl weighing only 8 pounds. I started fostering her last week, after she was acting too afraid to be meeting strangers at an event. I offered to take her home and show some love and affection and teach her that its OK for people to pet her and touch her. She is young at only four years old and appears almost puppy like in her appearance, even though she is full grown. I would describe her as a faun or light tan color with some lighter markings on her face. Her ears are erect and moves with the slightest sounds, this is a very alert dog.

• Energy Level  Josefina will sometimes roam around outside or lay in the sun but most of the time prefers to lay in her bed inside her crate unless she wants some loving and comes to me, or my wife for attention and want to lay in our lap to be petted. I would consider her a lower energy dog.

• Food I have been feeding her twice a day, the food she has been getting is the caned food from Costco. It is known as Kirkland super premium, and there is no better food available, and a case of 24 cans at about $20.00 makes it a real bargain. I always feed this to all my dogs. She only needs a heaping table spoon for a full meal, she tends to eat a small amount and return to eat a bit more later and sometimes takes a little while to finish eating her meal. She is defiantly not a fast or aggressive eater, or a big eater.

• Adaptability  Bringing her home for the first time was uneventful. She got along with my dogs right away but was a bit snippy if you tried to handle her, this was especially the case if you dared to tried to remove her from her crate, that she seemed to love so much. It took a few day before she was comfortable with me petting her and started to learn nobody wanted to her her. She was still sensitive about going near her mouth or feet but at least I could pet her. As the days went by she became completely comfortable with me holding her and touching her feet and by her mouth. She is now a sweet and loveable dog, now that I have spent time with her, teaching her that people are friendly and there is no need to fear them, she now welcomes the human hand.

• Behaviors  I have not seen bad habits. She shows no interest in noises or birds or squirrels in the yard as my other dogs do. She is not the least bit afraid of the vacuum cleaner, and will let you vacuum right up to her and show no concern that you will hurt her. She did want to snuggle close and look for protection during a lightning storm, but was calm if allowed to snuggle close to feel safe.

• Human Social Skills This would be a great dog to have for any one that can realize this is a small delicate dog. Josefina loves people, and other dogs but I would be a bit concerned for her, if she was with very young children that could treat her like a stuffed toy and hurt her. She is no longer so fearful and loves to be with people, but I would still avoid fast moves that could startle her until she feels safe around you. Because younger children tend to move fast and make noises I would supervise them until the dog is comfortable with them, and the children learn to be gentle, and respectful with the dog. To think a week ago she did not want to be touched and now she comes to you with tail wagging, and ears down asking to be petted.

• Animal Social Skills  Josefina shows no concern for my dogs to come up and sniff and check her out and for the most part just ignores my other dogs. She has occasionally sniffed my dogs to check on them but as I have only had her a week, I have not seen her attempt to initiate play with the other dogs yet.

• Obedience Josefina is so small that you don’t really need to tell her to get down, and stay seems to be what she knows best, when she is in a comfortable spot she will remain there for long naps. She does come when called and goes outside and on command. She will go to the door and has learned to use the doggy door the first day here. She has let herself in and out as needed, and will do her business and usually return to her crate or to someone for some attention. She walks OK on the leash, she is not afraid of the leash, but likes to go slow and sniff a great deal, so walking a block seems to take a little more time than I am used to.

• Training Chihuahuas are one of the smallest breeds and and their best trick seems to be able to ask for affection. She is crate trained and housetrained. This dog learned to use the doggy door faster than any of the many dogs that I have had in my house. If her crate is left open she is usually found in her bed there, if not in your lap, or laying next to you.

• Personality Quirks This dog, more than most others I have fostered, loves to be with you. She will stay in her crate alone and sleep well at night but during the daytime likes to be with you. She loves car rides and is quiet and calm in the car, but occasionally likes to stand up on her hind legs to peek out of the side window. If having a tiny dog crawl in your lap while driving, would distract you from driving safely, it may be better to crate her for drives, as she sometimes wants some attention while going for a ride.

• Ideal Home The ideal home could be any home where there are no very small children or other large playful or aggressive dogs. The only concern would be for her not getting hurt, Josefina gets along with other dogs, but a big playful dog or young children could hurt this delicate dog. A doggy door to a fenced back yard would be a dream come true, but not totally necessary. She will do what she needs to do, if you carry her out to the grass and set her down, and then she returns to the door to be let in if the doggy door is not available. if the doggy door is available she will let herself in.