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Groups Fight Over Fate of 174 Feral Chihuahuas
Reuters via Yahoo ^
| July 17, 2003
| Gina Keating
Posted on 07/17/2003 6:31:15 AM PDT by schaketo
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The case of 174 feral Chihuahuas on death row in a Los Angeles animal shelter has pitted animal rescue groups against each other in a debate over whether the purse-sized dogs are too vicious to adopt.
The plight of the tiny dogs has prompted a war of words between rival Chihuahua rescue groups, a candlelight vigil, and an outpouring of offers of new homes and money.
Some experts have also warned that the adorable lap dogs, made wild by years of inbreeding and roaming in packs in the home of their elderly owner, were closer to miniature wolves than the cute breed made famous as the Taco Bell mascot.
The dogs were seized from the home of 72-year-old Emma Harter in November. Harter was charged in April with felony animal cruelty.
Animal experts employed by Los Angeles initially determined that the dogs were too dangerous to be sent to new homes, Animal Care & Control spokeswoman Kaye Michelson said.
"They are very unsocialized," Michelson said. "They do have severe behavior problems."
Their fate will be sealed on Thursday, when a judge is expected to decide whether the dogs should be euthanized or rehabilitated, a question also being debated by Chihuahua rescue groups.
Lynnie Bunten, president of Chihuahua Rescue & Transport, a Texas-based organization, said the dogs were too threatening to be adopted by "regular Joe families."
"They are pack animals and as pack animals are dangerous," Bunten said.
But Kimi Peck, former daughter-in-law of the late actor Gregory Peck, said all the dogs could be rescued and planned to hold a candlelight vigil on Wednesday at her Burbank kennel, Chihuahua Rescue.
Peck also criticized Bunten's group for its stance: "They are despicable. They are Hitlers. They won't take dogs unless they are perfect."
No one questions that these are troubled dogs. The pack's dominant members have attacked and killed more than a dozen kennel mates after arriving at the shelter, Michelson said.
Pet expert Warren Eckstein, who evaluated the dogs for Peck, said he believed all of the dogs can be saved.
"Of course they are going to have that kind of behavior -- look at how incarcerated humans act," Eckstein, who hosts a national pet radio show and consults with NBC's Today Show, said. "I'm not saying they are all Rin Tin Tin, but they're not Cujo either."
TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: chihuahuas
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To: Centurion2000
"Dog is actually a fine meal. Koreans / Chinese and American Indians would eat them." Wild dog meat was a late staple of the likes of expeditionaries Lewis and Clark, who - despite their initial revulsion - declared it "tasty." No word on what breed-type they dined upon.
That said, you bobby-Q my Golden Retriever and it's the last thing in life you do.
Michael
To: schaketo
"They are very unsocialized," Michelson said. "They do have severe behavior problems."
So they're exactly like all the other Chihuahuas I've ever met.
22
posted on
07/17/2003 7:00:15 AM PDT
by
Xenalyte
(I may not agree with your bumper sticker, but I'll defend to the death your right to stick it)
To: Zavien Doombringer
Well, McDonald's, KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell are owned by one company - Pepsi. I think you can take McDonald's off that list. The tip-off is that they sell Coke products, not Pepsi.
23
posted on
07/17/2003 7:02:14 AM PDT
by
Catspaw
To: GrandMoM
It was a JOKE. Settle down.
24
posted on
07/17/2003 7:02:33 AM PDT
by
Xenalyte
(I may not agree with your bumper sticker, but I'll defend to the death your right to stick it)
To: Xenalyte
Chihuahuas are nasty little ankle biters.
25
posted on
07/17/2003 7:03:15 AM PDT
by
Catspaw
To: schaketo
174 Feral ChihuahuasI thought that was a 90s Rock Group...
To: Catspaw
hmmm, you are right...I stand corrected...
27
posted on
07/17/2003 7:03:30 AM PDT
by
Zavien Doombringer
(Ain't nothing worse than feeling obsolete....)
To: Wright is right!
I was in the Philippines when I was tricked into eating dog. My first reaction when tasting dog, I thought it was pork, but tenderer, the meat was sweeter, but a bit stringy. There were loads of sauses to put on it too...man was it good!
28
posted on
07/17/2003 7:05:56 AM PDT
by
Zavien Doombringer
(Ain't nothing worse than feeling obsolete....)
To: Catspaw
I should qualify my statement. I've only known one Chihuahua, who (since she weighed more than 20 pounds) was likely not purebred.
Josie was a very sweet dog - still is, for all I know, although I've lost touch with her and her owner - but she could produce the meanest methane this side of . . . oh, I don't know, the Dread Boston Salty.
29
posted on
07/17/2003 7:06:13 AM PDT
by
Xenalyte
(I may not agree with your bumper sticker, but I'll defend to the death your right to stick it)
To: Centurion2000
"Dog is actually a fine meal. Koreans / Chinese and American Indians would eat them."
In this case there is only enuough for appetizers.
30
posted on
07/17/2003 7:08:10 AM PDT
by
Rebelbase
(........The bartender yells, "hey get out of here, we don't serve breakfast!")
To: Xenalyte
I was flipping around channels on a Sunday a few weeks ago & stopped momentarily on QVC. I they were hawking the George Foreman rotisserie. Someone called in, and, during the conversation, he said that dog was really good done in the GF. The host said, "duck?" The guy said, "no, DOG. All my neigbors love it done in the GF." The host froze in his tracks, then started babbling....and that was the end of THAT call. I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes.
31
posted on
07/17/2003 7:08:22 AM PDT
by
Catspaw
To: Catspaw
OMG - I would have fallen off the sofa laughing!
32
posted on
07/17/2003 7:09:19 AM PDT
by
Xenalyte
(I may not agree with your bumper sticker, but I'll defend to the death your right to stick it)
To: Xenalyte
Just out of curiousity - how long ago were those Xena impersonation pictures taken?
33
posted on
07/17/2003 7:10:17 AM PDT
by
LanPB01
To: Xenalyte
Josie was a very sweet dog - still is, for all I know, although I've lost touch with her and her owner - but she could produce the meanest methane this side of . . . oh, I don't know, the Dread Boston Salty.LOL!!! My closest friends' parents had a purebred Chihuahua. It wasn't just the methane....he was one nasty-tempered dog. Even after the initial charge & getting yelled at, he'd just sit in *his* chair and glower, making low growls at us.
A neighbor of ours had a Chihuahua (until it got stolen during the "Taco Bell" craze) and he was sweet as all get out & loved to play with our Lhasa. It's really a matter of dog personality.
34
posted on
07/17/2003 7:14:01 AM PDT
by
Catspaw
To: Catspaw
"Chihuahuas are nasty little ankle biters."
My dad took care of a former neighor's chihuahuas while they vacationed. As he opened the basement door, the lead ankle biter charged up to the top step and tried to latch on to dad's foot, whereby dad promptly punted the dog to the bottom of the stairs.
35
posted on
07/17/2003 7:14:19 AM PDT
by
Rebelbase
(........The bartender yells, "hey get out of here, we don't serve breakfast!")
To: Catspaw
Chihuahuas are nasty little ankle biters. Boy, you got that right. My chihuahua, Fidel, jumps on the back of my heels as I'm walking downstairs.
To: Rebelbase
I would NEVER stoop so low as to put a chihuahua in a pillowcase and drown it. Putting it in a pillowcase and beating it with a sock full of quarters, maybe, but I'd never drown it.
37
posted on
07/17/2003 7:18:27 AM PDT
by
ICX
To: Rebelbase
My dad took care of a former neighor's chihuahuas while they vacationed. As he opened the basement door, the lead ankle biter charged up to the top step and tried to latch on to dad's foot, whereby dad promptly punted the dog to the bottom of the stairs.The temptation was great, but it was the equivalent of getting a burr on my sock....this dog was very protective of his place & his owners and we were Invaders. After having grown up around hunting dogs, this little furball was no great shakes.
38
posted on
07/17/2003 7:19:43 AM PDT
by
Catspaw
To: Catspaw; ICX
FYI, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut were divested from Pepsi October 6, 1997. The new conglomerate, Yum! Brands, Inc. (I'm not kidding, the "!" is part of the company name), now also owns KFC, A&W (the drive-ins but not the root beer in the supermarkets) and Long John Silver's Fish and Chips.
To: Xenalyte
I've only known one Chihuahua, who (since she weighed more than 20 pounds) was likely not purebred. You're right. My chihuahua, Fidel, was only 15 ounces when I brought him home at 2 1/2 months old. He's now pressing 5 pounds. But the American Kennel Club has made 6 pounds the top weight for a chihuahua.
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