Anatomy of a Rescue: The California Chihuahua Crisis

The Saving Train is on the road again!
We've packed up two vans with travel kennels and said good-bye for now to a few of our friends who were reluctant to stay behind. We are currently headed to the central valley of California otherwise known as the epicenter of the “California Chihuahua Crisis.” Splashed across websites and featured on the national news in December 2009, this story was not news to us; we have been rescuing Chihuahua mixes and other small dogs from California for more than a year now. It is not a “Chihuahua Crisis” nor is it a situation created solely by Paris Hilton. It is really a human crisis, fueled by human tragedy such as the loss of a job and a home. It is unfortunately also a crisis of human conscience and convenience.

The popularity of Chihuahuas at this moment in time may have been fueled by popular culture but there are so many other reasons for the tragic surplus of unwanted animals. Of the more than 80 dogs we plan to bring back we will be lucky if even a handful are spayed or neutered. We will be rescuing dogs only because Jackson County has an abundant supply of homeless cats and our first priority is helping pets in our own region. We will be bringing back Chihuahuas for sure, but not as many as past rescues simply because there will be a 30-40 degree temperature difference and we simply do not have adequate kennels to keep a large quantity of small dogs warm. Many are “immune-compromised” because they have not been properly vaccinated and because shelters are an extremely stressful environment.

This rescue blog will really begin tomorrow when we set foot in our first shelter. There are more than 180 animals waiting in that facility. The purpose of this blog is to inform, educate, and strengthen the heartbeat of the Herculean efforts required to rescue dogs facing euthanasia. There will be heartwarming stories as well as heartbreak… we will leave many behind. But, for the 80+ dogs who make the trip it will mean the difference between life and death for them. So please climb aboard the Saving Train blog to learn about the efforts required to save lives.