Posted on 04/11/2005 7:46:37 AM PDT by Wolfstar
FReeper dog lovers, this little male Chihuahua mix (about 15 lbs.) desperately needs either a good, loving home or a foster home until I can find him a permanent situation.
On Good Friday evening, I spotted this little guy in a blind panic at a very busy intersection in the city of Gardena, CA, a Los Angeles suburb. He paused a moment, then took off running down Gardena Blvd. I made a U-turn and did everything possible to try to catch up to and get ahead of him in an effort to save him. But he kept going.
He turned north on an ever bigger, busier street and kept running. In all, he easily ran at least two miles from where I first saw him. Finally, he ran into a major intersection that feeds to and from the Harbor Freeway. The traffic made him pause a moment, then he tried running with the traffic and got clipped by a car. (Fortunately, he was not hurt severely; just a skinned patch on his forehead.)
As luck (or God) would have it, there was a police car crossing in the direction the dog went. Either the cop car or the one in front of the cops hit the dog. Because the cops stopped, all traffic stopped. Otherwise traffic would have just kept going, and the little guy would have been hit multiple times.
I had parked about a block away and went running over to find this little dog flopping around in the street with a male and a female cop standing over him seeming to not know what to do. I immediately scooped the little fellow up and told the cops where I first saw him. They asked, "Can you take care of it?"
So they brought me back to my car. Although it was about 7:30pm, I just took a blind shot and brought him to the nearest animal shelter where I happen to know one of the officers. Again, as luck (or God) would have it, this officer had not yet gone home. He arranged for vet care over the weekend and then picked the little dog up Monday. The dog has been in the pound ever since.
Continuing the story down below...
As I sit here unable to do anything, you bring a big smile to my face. I hope this can work out well for all concerned.
My dog AJ came from http://www.labs4rescue.com/ .
I just got back from driving through the South. It seemed as if one of my preconceived notions are true. Just about every local pickup had a big dog in the back. One guy had his dogbed seatbelted to his gunrack which I thought was cute *lol*
Thank you so much for your generous offer. Not planning to take donations. But will keep it in mind.
Too bad.
Once I get him to my vet, one of the things I have on my list to do is to get an age estimate. He sure ran those two miles like a young dog. He was incredibly fast, because I was following in my car as quickly as traffic would allow, and I couldn't catch up to him.
If y'all need any financial help with transport, drop me a FReepmail.
AJ came from Tennesee. He likely would not have ever gotten to ride in the bed of a pickup, at least not on his paws. He's a mutt and not too smart, except when I say "treat" or "ride", then he knows exactly what is going on.
Since I got AJ back in September, I have helped at least a half dozen people get dogs through this outfit. I have also helped the outfit hold off on placing dogs with families, because I felt they weren't ready for a dog.
Do you still have your dog? What breed(s)?
I hope this little dog gets a good home!
I still have Sophie after ten years. She had kidney failure and the vet at an fleaspeck cut rate clinic said to put her down (as if she was an old tee shirt that I should toss in the trash). No way, and three thousand dollars later, she's as vicious and mean as ever *LOL*
Thanks so much for your kind and very generous offer. I will be able to handle shipping costs. It's everything else that worries me. :-)
I'm on my way to work, now. I'll try to answer all posts to this thread, and thank you ALL so very, very much.
Wow, you have a kind heart! (and a big wallet!) I can understand why you would do it, certainly.
When it seems as though everything is against me, AJ will come over and lick my face as if to tell me everything will be OK as long as he gets walked.
I'm in OC and can offer foster care IF the little guy's
heart won't stop when he meets my "tolerant of little guy
labs".
Rescue is the best answer though as it can give him a permanent home.
Make sure you have him completely scanned for a microchip. My Min Pin's chip slid to below her rib cage on her side and it hard to pick-up by the scanner.
I would seriously consider taking him if...
Someone pays to have him flown in to me to St. Louis. Pick-up time would have to be before 12 noon on a weekday. I live about 100 miles from St. Louis.
If you can get a good estimate on his age.
If he is heartworm negative.
If he is tested around cats to see if he can get along with them. (I have 3 cats, see my profile page)
If he can get along with other small dogs. (I have 9# Min Min Mix, see my Profile page)
Also consider listing him on http://www.petfinder.org before you would put him asleep.
But I could likely take him to Operation Kindness in Dallas. They owe me.
ping
Can't take the dog, as we have 3, but Buddy, you are the best. An ace, pal, an ace.
What a beautiful little sweetie. Thank you so much for playing such a huge part in this miracle. I can't take him b/c of my small house, two big dogs and three cats, but I'm bumping the thread and praying.
I live on the central coast. My daughter and son-in-law are dog lovers. They have two...a little one that's old and starting to fail healthwise and will probably have to be put down soon. The other one is a German Shephard mix. Do you think this little fellow would have trouble adjusting to a big dog? Anyway, I'm going to send them the link and ask them if they'd be interested in taking him. Know for sure if they do he will have a good home and lots of TLC.
Thanks for your heart felt rescue. I'm in Mobile and already have four dogs. I can contribute a few $$$ if push-comes-to shove. Good luck.
I have owned several Chihuahuas...I would say this little guy is between 2 and 4 years old.
Chihuahuas will generally live about 18 years. I've seen them live to 23 years, and I've seen them pass of old age at 15.
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