Poor Helen was dumped at her rescuer's rural area workplace.  Sadly, she was obviously neglected.  Her rescuer took her home and took her to a vet.  She is considered special needs, as she is slightly blind and deaf (however, we are unsure if she is 100% deaf).  She likes other dogs and cats, she still walks well on a leash and loves her walks.  All she needs is someone to allow her to live the rest of her life in peace.  Please, won't you give be that special someone to offer her a loving, safe place to rest her head every night?

FOSTER UPDATE 2-10-16 :  It's a new year and Helen is still waiting for that special person to adopt her.    As long as she has a nice bed or blanket to lie on, two meals a day, a treat or two and water, she will be content!    She is "talking" more, to herself really, but when she is getting her bed just right she makes some cute little noises.   They aren't loud, just like she is talking to herself almost.   

FOSTER UPDATE 12-17-16:   Helen is still hoping to have a home for the holidays.    She is also hoping for some cooler weather since she has a nice fur coat!   They call her Helen Keller at the vet due to her hearing & vision loss so I went ahead and added the Keller to her name on the website so as to better describe her.   She does less pacing these days and has a favorite blanket to lie on during the day.   Once nighttime comes around she has a certain dog bed she likes to lie in and tries to move in on the other dogs if they are in it.   This is a new things for her as we have caught her sharing with one of them a few times now!  

FOSTER UPDATE 9-10-15:   Just a couple of things to add!   One is that for the first time, we heard Helen "speak"!   We had a repairman here and she was not in the same room but she must have smelled that somebody different was here and she let out a couple of barks(?).     She's never done that when we've had people over so it really shocked us!   We thought it was one of the other dogs at first!    The other is something we've noticed all along but she is like a water seeker!   She cannot hear but if we give one of the other dogs water or are filling a glass with water, she just appears!  She does not do this with any other goings-on in the house so we always get a laugh out of it.   She just has some kind of sensor for water!

FOSTER UPDATE 8-11-15:

• Energy Level      Helen sleeps quite a bit but she also spends a portion of her time pacing.  
• Food   She eats twice daily & LOVES meal time.   She knows when it is getting close to time to eat and alternates sitting in her little crate (and looking SO cute) and going into the kitchen to check for bowls with something in them!   She eats Natural Balance Fish & Sweet Potato dry food but loves everything - sometimes we add  some green beans or other veggie.        We always give her a treat after she has gone out middle of the day and she knows it!  She waits in the kitchen and wags her tail while the dogs are all getting their treats.
• Behaviors    We have never heard Helen bark.   I don't know if she can't or just doesn't.   She does not get into anything.
• Human Social Skills    We touch her on her back, just behind her shoulders, to let her know we are going to touch her.   She will let you pet her but does not like to be touched on her head.  She can startle when first touched and probably would not do well in a home with little children as she does not like to be cuddled.
• Animal Social Skills   At times she lays with a couple of the other smaller dogs in our home on a blanket.   She does not try to play and seems to sense other dogs around and is respectful of their territory.
• Training   We have multiple crates in the house and she likes the small ones.   She goes in randomly to lie down and we do feed her in one.   We do not crate her when gone.
• Personality Quirks   She gets excited (tail wagging) about water, food, treats and if she senses you near her in the kitchen!     She can wag so hard her tail thumps against a cabinet or wall.
• Ideal Home  Somebody who is home most of the time so she can go out frequently.   No stairs and no pool that she could fall into.

Housetrained?     She is housetrained in the sense that if you get her outside once she wakes up, she will make her way to the grass to do her business.    If you don't, she does go in the house.   Also, she usually does not make it all night and we will have a "clean up" in the morning.  Fortunately she is small and we don't have any carpet!

FOSTER UPDATE 4-6-15:  Helen is such a little doll.   We believe that she is 100% deaf - we can be feeding all of the other dogs, with them making a commotion, and she can be sleeping in the kitchen and not even move her head!   Well, that was the first few days she was here.   Now she has turned her tummy clock on and knows when meal time is!   We talk to her all the time, out of habit, but she definitely does not hear us!    She has some eyesight and does best distinguishing with shadows, etc.   At night she can get lost even in the yard and can't see things like chain link fencing, so it is important to stay near her.   By letting her smell your hand or leg, you can get her to follow after you and boy, she can be pretty quick when she wants to be!   She has figured out how to get around the house easily, where the doors are, where the crates are (we have not crated her, even when gone, but she likes to go into them and lie down.)   She is getting more comfortable with us petting her but she is not a lapdog type of dog.  She also is not a big fan of riding in the car - she does not want to sit still.  She does quite a bit of pacing and does not really interact with the other dogs.   She was quite skinny when we started fostering two weeks ago and her ribs really showed, but she is a good eater and it looks like she is starting to put on a bit of weight.  For the most part she is housetrained but does need to be put outside immediately in the morning or she will have an accident.   She is hard to photograph as she is either sleeping or on the move but we will keep trying to get some more photos.

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.