Online Dog Adoption Application

Online Cat Adoption Application

Lila is the sweetest baby in the world!  She has lost over 5 lbs. She is a cuddler and is a quiet lap dog who enjoys car rides.  Right now she is quite scared of being in a new environment, but with some patience and love, we are sure to see her open up.  

• Appearance:  Lila is a small Chihuahua.  She is a light tan color and is presently at eight pounds.

• Energy Level:  This little cutie likes to sleep most of the day next to you or in your lap if not sharing a doggy bed with one of my other dogs.

• Food:  I like to feed my dogs and my fosters the food that I think is one of the best Natures Domain available at Costco. They have both canned and dry food in this premium brand, at discount prices. It is a very highly rated food for all ages of dogs and is grain free and meat by-product free.  Lila is not a fussy eater and loves both the dry or canned food. She has been on a diet and is getting a couple of table spoons full of canned food along with 1 tablespoon of dried food at dinner.  This has been the amount given to help her return to a healthier weight.  Once her optimal weight is reached, new owners will need adjust Lila’s food to her activity level and new weight.

• Adaptability: Lila is a very timid dog at first and takes a while to earn your trust. When she came into my home, she immediately took to my other dogs and learned to use the doggy door. She has been a joy to have here, but it took a week or two before she was comfortable with me handling her. She always wanted to get away from me and stay with my dogs. I found the best way for her to get used to me was to put her leash on and sit on it, so she was close to me. I would gently pet her for a moment or two now and again and soon she started to realize I was not going to hurt her. After a week or so of that, she would come to me, to pick her up and place her next to me, where she used to stay because of the leash holding her there. She is most comfortable being with me but will lay down with one of my dogs if I am up and walking around.

• Behaviors: I have not see any bad habits with Lila as she is crate trained and house broken. She loves to chew on a rawhide bone or other doggie bones and is a good eater. She can become overweight if you don’t watch how much you feed her. She occasionally tries to play with my other dogs but usually just wants to sleep by them. Even though she likes to sleep in her crate at night, she is free roaming in the house all day even if I am gone for a short time and has not gotten into any mischief. She is afraid of bad thunderstorms. Lila will let you know if there are things you should be alerted to and seems to have exceptional hearing and eyesight.

• Human Social Skills:  Lila is very cautious of strangers.  I can place her in a strangers hands and she just tries to push away and stiffens her body for some time until she realizes she is not going to be hurt, but she never nips or bites to get loose. I have never had her snap at anyone. Any adopter will have to realize that Lila will initially seem frightened and will take a bit of time before becoming the loving bundle of joy that she has become with me. She just needs time to adjust to new people before becoming the loveable dog that she is.

• Animal Social Skills:  Lila loves other dogs and was snuggling up with my two dogs the same day that I brought her here. The same could not be said for people, she takes a long time to earn your trust and will try to stay clear of you until she knows you, but after she knows you she will stand on her hind legs and paw at your legs, to have you pick her up. She allows me to hold her on her back like a baby, and loves belly rubs and I can handle her feet or ears or even apply some doggy toothpaste to her teeth. It took a week or two for her to be comfortable with this, as she was afraid of all humans when I started to foster her. She has now learned that at least some people are nice and kind to her and she has learned to adore me. I suspect she would learn the same with her adopter, perhaps even quicker, now that she learned it with me, because she now knows not everyone wants to hurt her. During her walks she has shown no interest in squirrels or cats that we have come across and suspect she would not be aggressive to them, but I have not had her with cats to know for sure how she would be.

• Obedience: Lila came here overweight and afraid of humans. I walked her for 90 minutes almost every morning to help with weight loss. She has learned to walk right beside me without lagging or pulling. She is one of the best dogs you will ever see for a morning walk with you and only pulls away to the side when she needs a moment for a potty break.

• Training:  Because I had the goals of weight reduction and trust of humans for this lovely girl, I was not able to use food as a motivator in training. She has learned her name and will come when called, (after you earn her trust), and walks well on the leash. She is starting to learn sit and shake but I have not been working on this very much because she had to lose weight, and a healthy dog at the proper weight was more my goal, than an overweight dog that knows how to roll over. I am sure she could learn these things as she learned the doggy door the first day and seems to be very smart. She liked her crate and will go there with my other dog that likes to sleep there, and sleeps there at night. She is quiet all night but cries a bit to be let out in the morning when she can hear that I am up and wants to be with me.

• Personality Quirks: Lila is a good lap dog and quiet all day. I have only heard her bark a few times in all the weeks she has been with me and that was usually for the doorbell or loud noise that has also set my other dogs off.

• Ideal Home: The ideal home would be a family/owner who is home most of the day as Lila likes her companionship.  Also, someone that would like a calm, quiet dog to lay beside them most of the day. Being timid and small and delicate, I would think Lila would do best in a home without small children that could hurt or frighten her. Although I have a large fenced in back yard accessible to her thru the doggy door, she rarely takes advantage of all the space to run and play as my other dogs do. She will go out to the grass to do what dogs need to do, and sometimes lay in the sun before coming back into the house, so a large back yard is not necessary for her. She does seem to enjoy her walks, so an owner who likes daily walks would be great~! Lila would be very happy in a home with another dog as she seems to really enjoy the company of my dogs.

Lila came from a very difficult situation and with the help of her foster, has overcome many of them. Her is how she over came her fears and hardships:

According to www.dogbreedinfo.com, the Chihuahua is the oldest breed on the American continent and the smallest breed in the world. Native to Mexico, nonetheless it seems to have been introduced by the Chinese. It was only brought to Europe at the end of the nineteenth century. The Chihuahua is named after the Mexican state of Chihuahua where he was brought to the rest of the world by travelers. This breed is believed to have been sacred to the Pre-Columbian Indian nations. The Chihuahua is a popular, economical companion dog. Courageous, extremely lively, proud and enterprising, it gives and demands affection. Bold and saucy, it moves swiftly to avoid being stepped on. Chihuahua's are strong-willed, intensely loyal and become very attached to their owners, even to the point of jealousy. They like to lick their owner's faces. It is undeniably suspicious of people except for its owner. When strangers are present, it follows its owner's every move, keeping as close as possible. This breed may snap at teasing children, after all it is too tiny to get away. The Chihuahua must resort to his sharp teeth in self defense. It is not recommended for children. He can be noisy and may require patience to housebreak. Many owners simply paper train this breed. The Chihuahua hates the cold and may shiver, although this may be due to high metabolism as much as temperature or anxiety. It will tolerate and even appreciate a warm sweater on cooler days. They are good little dogs for apartment life. Although it is tempting to carry these dainty creatures about, they will keep fitter if taken for walks. A body harness is safer than a collar. Don't think that just because he is small he should be confined to a small space. Chihuahuas have a life expectancy of 15 or more years.

Good with Dogs, Good with Cats, Good with Kids