Tracey Tong/metro ottawa
Ottawa resident and Chihuahua foster parent Doogie Dick cuddles Choupette, her two-and-a-half-year-old charge.
Even if you’re not a dog person, Choupette is undeniably cute.
With huge, watery eyes and a friendly disposition, the two-and-a-half-year-old Chihuahua is irresistible. It’s hard to believe her owners surrendered her to the humane society in Montreal — all because she chewed her tail.
“They gave her up to be put down,” said Doogie Dick, Choupette’s foster parent and a volunteer with Canadian Chihuahua Rescue and Transport (CCRT). “She’s affectionate, she’s friendly and she’s good with other dogs. She’s perfect.”
The stereotype of spoiled toy dogs riding in the designer handbags of Hollywood celebutantes may make some snicker at the idea of a Chihuahua rescue group, but the reality is that many people who own these dogs don’t know how to care for them.
“Whether you have a 100-pound Lab or a 10-pound Chihuahua, there’s still work involved,” said Nathalie Houle, the CCRT’s co-founder and chairwoman. “People don’t appreciate the commitment and time involved, which is why we end up with these dogs.”
An Ottawa-based, breed-specific rescue group, the CCRT has rescued, cared for and re-homed almost 400 Chihuahua and Chihuahua mixes since 1999 and has since grown to 60 volunteers across Canada.
Houle is sometimes discouraged by people who want to adopt a dog for the wrong reasons. “There was a Taco Bell phase around the time that we started,” she said.
Now in the aftermath of that trend, the CCRT has seen rescues triple from about a dozen dogs three years ago.
“Even today we get applications from 16-year-old girls who want the tiniest two-pound Chihuahuas she can put in her purse. It’s very disappointing.”
While the CCRT does not seize animals from homes, 50 per cent of their dogs are surrendered animals and the others are from animal shelters across Canada.
“When you adopt, you hopefully give an animal a second chance at life,” said Lyn Collette, who adopted a dog from CCRT last year.
Although Dick sometimes gets attached to her rescues, she said it’s easy to give them up when the right owner comes along.
“You have to love them enough to wish them well in their new lives.”
Metro Ottawa’s Tracey Tong is an award-winning reporter. A Burlington native, Tong’s career has taken her all over Ontario. Her Cityscapes column appears every Wednesday.
