The Curse Of 'Beverly Hills Chihuahua'

A Flood of Chihuahuas is washing over animal shelters in Los Angeles Visits to animal shelters in the city of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County are on my list of weekly activities. One of the most noteworthy observations in the shelters is the ever increasing number of small dogs, particularly Chihuahuas and Chihuahua Mixes in almost all shelters. While pit bull type dogs used to be among the most common, if not the most common, dogs found in a dog shelter, nowadays that position of dominance is seriously challenged by all dogs small and noisy. Among them, Chihuahuas appear to be taken over the world.

Chihuahua (blue) versus all other dog intake

 Note how the number of dogs committed to shelters declines (it rises only with the economic woes). On the other hand, the number of Chihuahuas increases steadily as they become the fashion dog to have.
The draft of a still unpublished study by Los Angeles animal services gives facts and figures to confirm my hunch. Chihuahuas and their assorted mixes are increasingly becoming a major problem that taxes the resources of City animal services exceedingly, often to the detriment of other animals, dogs and cats alike, in shelter care.



Since 2001 the number of Chihuahuas showing up in city shelters has increased at a steady rate of between 14 and 29 percent annually. However, in 2008 the intake rate exploded to 53 percent. I could not find intake statistics for the years after 2008, but my experience allows me to conclude that the numbers have not come down significantly.
This impression is also bolstered by the empirical fact that my walks with my medium sized service dog feel more like running the gauntlet than taking an peaceful afternoon constitutional. Hardly a day and a walk passes without being harassed and screeched at by some diminutive wannabe Napoleon with not much more than hot air to back up a nasty attitude.

Chihuahua intake at shelters. (Source: City of Los Angeles)

The diagram above makes the point. Note the steady increase in Chihuahuas that landed in animal shelters. There is no reason to assume that this explosive trend has been broken already. There are still thousands of small tyrants to be dumped that were acquired as fashion accessories or simply because the dog in the movie was 'so cute'.
While irresponsible, misguided dog owners get away scot free when the animal has outlived his welcome or inflicted one bite too many, it is the poor dog that pays with his life for the foolishness and lack of respect for other creatures of his owner.
Consequently, with skyrocketing Chihuahua intakes, more and more of them were expedited to a better more permanent “life” at the end of the Rainbow Bridge.

Chihuahua euthanisia (Source: ibid.)

Look at the diagram showing the increasing rates of euthanasia.
Does this make Los Angeles shelters the culprit as many emotional dog lovers might claim?
No!
The real culprit for the misery and the suffering of these Chihuahuas are those who got them because it was cool to have one at home or riding around in a shoulder bag. They do not pay for the cost of their folly. They just pass on their discarded toys hoping that some merciful person or rescue group will come and get it. And on to the next toy we go . . .



I would be remiss in my evaluation of the Chihuahua problem if I did not mention another important factor that is not pointed out in the yet unpublished draft study.The city has to be politically correct. I do not have to.
Chihuahua surplus situations are not only the result of fashion statements or movies, a trait they share with, for example, Dalmatians. Chihuahuas are very popular dogs with certain ethnic groups. In my travels around Los Angeles I sometime come to neighborhoods where every single house is home to one or more of them.
What do they all have in common – besides the incessant barking and frequent nips at owners and strangers alike?
Well?
OK, I'll tell you if you do not know:
Hardly any of them are spayed or neutered. It is a very rare exception if one is.


What else do they have in common?
They never, hardly ever maybe, are on a leash, roaming the neighborhood free at all times of the day. They are only restricted at night because the coyotes would get them otherwise. If they are in rare cases on a leash, it is more often than not a flex leash.
What is the result of free roaming unaltered Chihuahua hordes?
More and more Chihuahuas.
May I humbly suggest at this point that you now go back and look one more time at the euthanasia diagram?
I repeat: Do not blame heartless city bureaucrats for 'wanton slaughter' of innocent small dogs. Blame irresponsible dog owners and breeders for not spaying and neutering the animals.
The city and the taxpayers cannot be asked to pay forever for the irresponsible actions of certain dog owners. Does the overgrown ego of a macho Chihuahua owner really get diminished when the pocket Napoleon undergoes some snipping?
You can still be proud of your barking Chihuahua that harasses dogs many times its size despite the fact that they could dispose of him in seconds. His bark is still the same – lots of hot air.
More importantly, does a little snipping on your Chihuahua really equal snipping at your manhood? I don't think so. Maybe you do . . .

And to dog rescue groups and heart-bleeding self-appointed dog rescuers I say:
The solution to the Chihuahua problem is not to rescue every little noisemaker in a shelter. You will never be able to rescue and place them all. The 'free' ones will make more Chihuahuas faster than you can ever rescue the imprisoned.
Instead true friends of dogs should stop whining and blubbering and concentrate their efforts and their funds more on convincing dog owners and potential dog owners to spay and neuter their pets. That is the real challenge; it also offers the highest reward and satisfaction. One Chihuahua neutered or spayed is better than a dozen rescued from a shelter.
Believe it or not.
Now go do the right thing!
PJJ