Tag: chihuahua

Hero Pit Bull/Chihuahua Mix Loses Life Protecting Kids from Mountain Lion

Lady, a small Pit Bull/Chihuahua (wow!) mix, liked to keep a protective eye on the kids in the Havens family of Idaho Springs, Colo. 

When the Havens family adopted Lady three years ago, they knew right away she was something special, Virginia Havens, Lady’s owner, told CBS4.

“Any time the kids were outside, she was five steps behind them,” Havens told CBS4. “They would play in the sandbox, she was keeping watch everywhere, all the time.”

Lady was doing what she always does on June 14 when a 6-foot mountain lion began stalking the children as they played in their front yard. When Lady saw the big cat, Havens said the hero dog first took off in the other direction to gain momentum before springing on it.

As Havens’ husband grabbed the kids and brought them inside the house, the mountain lion clamped its jaws around Lady’s head. Lady “was doing her best to get out of the hold,” Havens told CBS4. “I heard her crying out, which made me more frantic because she was my fur baby,”

Havens called the police. When they arrived, they shot the mountain lion with non-lethal rounds, The mountain lion dropped Lady and took off.

Havens said she screamed when she saw Lady’s injuries. “She was just a bloody mess,” Havens told CBS4. “Her eye was bulging, she had labored breathing and a hole in her skull.”

Although Lady was rushed to an animal hospital, she sadly had to be euthanized due to her severe injuries. But thanks to Lady’s bravery, the Havens children were unharmed.

“If she had not been there, we would have had a completely different type of tragedy,” Havens told CBS4. “She was absolutely our hero.”

Photo: Olivia Danielle Ruiz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Hero Pomeranian Stays by Blind Chihuahua’s Side During House Fire

When Lily Ifield of Hertfordshire, England, looked out her bedroom window in the middle of the night earlier this month, she thought the thick smoke she saw was fog.

But when she went downstairs, she realized the smoke was coming from inside her house.

“I thought my home was going to explode. There was just this big billowing cloud of black smoke,” she Daily Express, describing a house fire earlier this month. “All I thought was, ‘Oh my God,’ and ran out. I couldn’t really see as there was smoke everywhere.”

Ifield, 73, and Sandy, her 10-year-old Pomeranian, managed to escape outside, but Sandy noticed somebody was missing.

It was Tina, a blind, 13-year-old Chihuahua who is Sandy’s best friend.

To Ifield’s horror, Sandy ran back into the burning house. “The fireman couldn’t believe Sandy went in to the smoke-filled house to look for the little one,” Ifield told the Daily Express. “He said when he came in, they were both sitting side by side in the kitchen, and Sandy was looking after her.”

Firefighters from the Stortford Fire and Rescue Service were able to save the two dogs.

“We got them out before there was a chance for them to be affected by smoke inhalation,” one of their rescuers, Pat Steadman, told the Daily Express. “The 13-year-old one was the smallest chihuahua you’ve ever seen. They were only going to come out together.”

Ifield’s parrot, Rio, also survived the blaze by flying out of the house. The fire was believed to be caused by an electrical issue in the kitchen. Ifield and her pets are temporarily staying in a hotel while repairs are made to their home.

“The firefighters did a brilliant job to make sure everyone was okay,” Ifield told the Hertfordshire Mercury. “They are so kind — I just want to thank them so much.”

Tina and her hero Sandy were already BFFs before the fire. But now? “They are even closer, and they just cuddle up to each other,” Ifield told the Daily Express.

Photo (of a random Pomeranian who isn’t Sandy): OpenRoadPR

Watch This CHP ‘High-Speed’ Pursuit…of a Chihuahua

APRIL 8, 2016 UPDATE: No one claimed Ponch, so he is now in a foster home and will be available for adoption soon. Stay tuned for details!

California Highway Patrol officers in San Francisco became involved in a chase this morning on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

But it wasn’t someone in a vehicle the CHPs were after. It was a little Chihuahua running at full speed across the bridge. The dash cam on a patrol car captured the exciting pursuit.

“High speed pursuit of [dog] this morning on the #BayBridge!” CHP San Francisco tweeted. “Suspect taken into custody. All are safe! #onlyinSF.”

Someone on Twitter asked if the Chihuahua got a ticket. “No, we just gave him a verbal warning,” CHP San Francisco responded. “It went something like this, ‘Woof, woof, WOOF!'”

The black Chihuahua was “jailed” at San Francisco Animal Care & Control, where he’s been named Ponch after the Erik Estrada character on the TV classic, “CHPs.”

His owners are asked to come bail him out.

“The little Bay Bridge dog is resting comfortably after his exciting morning and high-speed chase,” tweeted SF Animal Care this afternoon. “Thank you, CHP.”

Photos via Twitter

RIP Puppy-Mill Survivor Harley, 2015 American Hero Dog

Harley, a 15-year-old Chihuahua who spent the first 10 years of his life in a puppy-mill cage before become a “spokesdog” against these cruel facilities, died yesterday.

“He went on his own terms … he chose his moment, he did not suffer, and he was not in pain,” wrote a friend of his family on Harley’s Facebook page. “He passed peacefully, surrounded by the love of his mom and dad.”

In September, Harley was named the American Humane Association 2015 American Hero Dog.

“It was just four years ago that he was pulled from the cage in the puppy mill and left to die,” said his dog mom, Rudi Taylor, when she accepted the award. “We never would have ever thought he would live this long and make such a difference for so many puppies.”

Rudi’s husband, Dan, added that Harley had an indomitable spirit. “That spirit is allowing him now to be the voice for dogs who cannot speak for themselves…and give everybody hope that tomorrow’s going to be a better day,” he said at the awards ceremony.

While living in the puppy mill, Harley suffered heart disease, a fused spine, broken tail, gnarled toes, deformed legs and rotted teeth. He lost an eye when his cage was power-washed while he was still in it (believe it or not, this is a common practice in puppy mills).

Harley was rescued in 2011 by the Taylors, who were told the Chihuahua would probably only live for a couple of months. But Harley thrived and was able to spend almost five years with his loving forever family in Berthoud, Colo.

He became the inspiration for the “Harley to the Rescue” campaign, which raises funds to rescue and provide medical care for more other puppy-mill dogs. Harley went along on the rescue missions to comfort the sad, scared dogs.

“As you all know, Harley’s life was very public,” Rudi wrote on Harley’s Facebook page today. “He didn’t only belong to Dan and I, he belonged to you — his friends, his people.”

Harley spent his last night as he usually did, happily cuddled between his pet parents.

“We were in bed and he was so happy getting a belly rub from Dan,” Rudi wrote on Facebook. “Right after that belly rub, he gave us both kisses and then he went to sleep. Harley was a funny sleeper, always changing positions — on his back, tucked under my chin or into Dan’s armpit — he wasn’t easy to sleep with, but we never complained.”

Rest in peace, Harley. My condolences and gratitude to Rudi and Dan for turning his tragic life around and spreading awareness about the horrors of puppy mills.

To honor Harley and help save other puppy mill dogs, you can make a donation to the Harley to the Rescue campaign. And be sure to tell anyone who’s looking for a new dog to adopt, not shop!

Photo via Twitter

Chihuahua Helps Save Newfoundland from Dog Thief

Silas, a 140-pound Newfoundland, is safe and sound at his home in Canada thanks to his best buddy — a 5-pound Chihuahua named Carly.

It was Carly’s frantic barking Saturday night that got the attention of their dog mom, Sharon Dooling. About a minute before, she had let the dogs out in the backyard of their St. John’s home in, appropriately enough, Newfoundland and Labrador.

When Dooling opened the back door to check on the commotion, she saw that a strange man had put a leash on Silas and was dragging him down the driveway.

“I said, ‘Excuse me, what are you doing?'” Dooling told CBC News. “He told me he’s taking his dog and I said, ‘No, you’re absolutely not.'”

Furious, Dooling ran after the dog thief…and punched him in the face.

“That’s the only thing I could think of,” she told CBC News. “I’m little, I’m a little tiny person and this guy was around 5’8, 5’9, and there was no way that I was going to be able to wrestle the dog out of his hands.”

She grabbed Silas and the man took off, running down the street.

The next day, Carly barked at anyone who passed by the house.

“Never underestimate the power of a yappy Chihuahua,” Dooling told CBC News. “It’s an inconvenience or a nuisance, you could say, when she does bark, but she’s my guard dog.

“Some people have big Dobermans — I have a Chihuahua.”

There have been several recent attempts to steal dogs from their yards in that area, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary reports on its Facebook page. Anyone with information is asked to call the constabulary.

Incidentally, friendships between huge and teeny dogs like Silas and Carly aren’t all that uncommon. For example, meet two Chihuahuas and their BGDFs (best giant dog friends).

Photo via Twitter

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