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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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1 posted on 07/17/2003 6:31:15 AM PDT by schaketo
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To: schaketo
I think a large pot, sliced carrots, boiling water, salt, and some green veggies would make a nice soup.
2 posted on 07/17/2003 6:35:25 AM PDT by laweeks
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To: All
Lighten Up, Francis!
Fundraising posts only happen quarterly, and are gone as soon as we meet the goal. Help make it happen.

3 posted on 07/17/2003 6:37:04 AM PDT by Support Free Republic (Your support keeps Free Republic going strong!)
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To: schaketo
How much you wanna bet some Hollywood type is going to write a script entitled, "Chihuahua's from Hell".
4 posted on 07/17/2003 6:37:04 AM PDT by Slyfox
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To: schaketo
Yo queiro Taco Bell.
5 posted on 07/17/2003 6:40:06 AM PDT by Vigilantcitizen (game on in 10 seconds....)
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To: schaketo
ALL YOUR CHIHUAHUAS ARE BELONG TO US!
YOU HAVE NO CHANCE TO SURVIVE,MAKE YOUR TIME!
6 posted on 07/17/2003 6:40:08 AM PDT by Zavien Doombringer (Ain't nothing worse than feeling obsolete....)
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To: schaketo
LOL!

Are 'The Onion' writters moonlighting at Reuters?

7 posted on 07/17/2003 6:40:56 AM PDT by StriperSniper (Make South Korea an island)
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To: laweeks
oh yeah! get a long little dawgie!

the cat's already in the kettle...
8 posted on 07/17/2003 6:43:20 AM PDT by camle (nauseating, ain't I?)
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To: schaketo
174?!

I dink we need a beeger box...

9 posted on 07/17/2003 6:43:44 AM PDT by Hatteras (The Thundering Herd Of Turtles ROCK!)
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To: StriperSniper
WTF?

This sounds like a bad b movie. Gremlins meets Pirhana.
10 posted on 07/17/2003 6:44:29 AM PDT by kinghorse
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To: laweeks
I think a large pot, sliced carrots, boiling water, salt, and some green veggies would make a nice soup. ....yeah, and I bet your one of those sicky's who would stick them in a pillow case and throw them in a lake or on a freeway!!!!!!!!!SHAME ON YOU!!!!!!!
11 posted on 07/17/2003 6:44:31 AM PDT by GrandMoM ("Vengeance is Mine , I will repay," says the Lord.)
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To: GrandMoM
Dog is actually a fine meal. Koreans / Chinese and American Indians would eat them.
12 posted on 07/17/2003 6:45:58 AM PDT by Centurion2000 (We are crushing our enemies, seeing him driven before us and hearing the lamentations of the liberal)
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To: Zavien Doombringer
Hmmm...I can't think of 170 different fast food chains that need mascots.
13 posted on 07/17/2003 6:46:06 AM PDT by ICX
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To: ICX
Well, McDonald's, KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell are owned by one company - Pepsi.

So, those count only as one. you have 173 to go :)
14 posted on 07/17/2003 6:49:03 AM PDT by Zavien Doombringer (Ain't nothing worse than feeling obsolete....)
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To: schaketo
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.

That ought to bring the authorities to their knees! The always dreaded but surprisingly affordable candlelight vigil!

15 posted on 07/17/2003 6:49:15 AM PDT by CaptRon
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To: Centurion2000
"I say eat the dogs and use the paper for wadding"..."Eat the dogs!!?"..."Dog makes a fine meal..." - The Patriot
16 posted on 07/17/2003 6:50:40 AM PDT by Zavien Doombringer (Ain't nothing worse than feeling obsolete....)
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To: GrandMoM
"I bet your one of those sicky's who would stick them in a pillow case and throw them in a lake or on a freeway!!!!!!!!!SHAME ON YOU!!!!!!! "

I take it you've never had sweet-and-sour Chihuahuas . . .
17 posted on 07/17/2003 6:51:18 AM PDT by laweeks
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To: GrandMoM
I got my recipe from that Chinese cookbook, "Woking Your Dog."
18 posted on 07/17/2003 6:52:41 AM PDT by laweeks
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To: schaketo
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, prices going up at some of the more popular fast food joints and a few ethnic resturants due to the supplier being busted?
19 posted on 07/17/2003 6:55:18 AM PDT by llabhgiH (Lets grab the bull by the tail and look the problem in the face! - W.C.Fields)
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To: schaketo

20 posted on 07/17/2003 6:59:14 AM PDT by Nick Danger (The liberals are slaughtering themselves at the gates of the newsroom)
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