The Three Chis

Spring has sprung and I am loving every minute of it.  The days are so long and the end result is that I am often getting to have two walks a day!  Yes, TWO.  And we are so lucky where we live.  There is the Marsh, Seaport and Pulgas Ridge. 

Things are back to "normal" at our house.  We are foster-free right now and no one is here for dog sitting visits either.  We are three!  I am not used to having the house to ourselves. 

I really want to do a blog about fostering and where the six pups that we have loved are now.  I will work on this during the week.

For now, I just want to remind you to look for me on TWITTER.  I am @littlemingo.  I have lots of friends including Kirstie Alley and The Ellen Show.  I actually have 650 twitter friends. 

Watch for the Foster Dog Blog! 

How is it already March? And yes, it is offically SPRING!  I am happy to have the long sunny days, I just don't know where the short, cold, rainy days went. 

It's been a busy time for us....We have had five dogs living in our home for the past three weeks.

Zoe came back and was here with us as her adoptive family took the time to think seriously about the lifetime committment of a pet and especially a pet with special needs.  And the right decision was made...Zoe went home with Les & Kathy just yesterday.  I will miss her.  We started playing just a few days ago.  It took Zoe a long time to figure it out but once she did, she was a play machine.  She'd wake us up late at night, early in the morning and all throughout the day to play!  I know Zoe will be back...in fact, she will be here with us in May for a week.  Hope she still likes playing!

And Nikko.  Talk about a lucky, lucky dog.  It was a cold RAINY Friday and both Tim & Kate were home in the middle of the day.  Not a common occurrence.  Kate saw an urgent ad on Craigslist about a dog who was scheduled to be euthanized at 2pm and it was already 2:04pm.  A quick email and an even faster return call and it was off to Martinez on a wet Friday afternoon during rush hour traffic.  But it was meant to be.  Nikko is a sweet & lovable dog who was happy from the moment he settled into Kate's arms.  And today, Nikko became Jake.  He has a new home with Yulia and her little chihuahua Peanut!  We will miss our howling parties with our very own singer Nikko but wow, he is now living in Marin with the nicest of people!

And...so we wouldn't be complete without another foster...before Jake even left, Amanda arrived.  A crazy ball chasing Chihuahua-mix is now crashed out on the sofa with me.  She is full of energy and thinks we could play more but hey, she can run and we can sniff and we can all sun together .  I am betting that Amanda will be here a very, very short time.  She is going to an adoption fair tomorrow and who can resist a girl as pretty and full of fun as Amanda!

So................I will be back.  I will.  But now, my greenie beckons.  I must go eat it!

Love,

Little Mingo

Oh, what a long, windy, rainy day!  But it is a special day ...for today, a new foster dog came into our home.  Her name is ZOE.  Zoe was found on January 1st in San Leandro and she found a family that took her in and gave her a warm place to stay.  She was skinny, dirty and scared.  She still is skinny and scared but now she is here at our home and all dogs get fat & happy at Chez Singleton/Smith.  Today, she begins a new life....walks, loving, warmth, rules and freedom.  This pretty little long-haired blond chihuahua is sound asleep as Hawaiian music plays in the background.  She has some issues...physical.  She stumbles and has a crazy lump on her head.  We will get her vet care to address these issues.  And of course, spay & neuter! 

More on Zoe as the days go on!!!

Check out some videos that we took today with our new little houseguest. 

RAINY DAY WALK

ZOE TRAVELS IN COMFORT

Yesterday morning, I awoke at the ungodly hour of 4am.  Yes, 4am!  I stumbled out of bed and with the help of Kt, I made it to SFO to be part of the Virgin American Operation Chihuahua.  I was joined with Chocolate and we made sure that the 15 chihuahuas from San Francisco Animal Care & Control got on the plane and headed out to NYC!  The shelters in CA are over-run with Chihuahuas.  Penisula Humane Society has a over 60% of its population made up of Chihuahuas and chi-mixes.  There are more chis than adpoting homes...solution...send the chis to NYC where there are more homes than chis.  So 15 lucky little guys were selected off to go live in the Big City!  Hooray!  There were puppies and older chis...teeny chis and bigger chis...they were all really social little dogs.  Virgin America was AWESOME to do this for the dogs of SF ACC. 

It may have been 5am but the folks of Virgin America were so friendly and so very very nice.  Amy was one of the organizers and she was so good to me...she told me nover and over haow wonderful and how cute I was.  She is a winner in my book.  From the greeting dest, we went through airport security.  I had to take off my collar while Kt took off her shoes.  I passed by just fine and then the dude decided to FRISK me.  I think he just wanted to pet me but couldn' ask.  So since I had no sharp objects or illegal substances on me, I got in! 

We made our way to Gate 12-A.  I knew I was in the right place as I could hear Mariachi music and big signs announcing Operation Chihuahua.  And oh, the chihuahuas running around also made it easy to know I was in the correct spot!!!!  The media was everywhere.  Cameras were clicking away.  Reporter asking crazy ass questions.  And then I spotted the Chimosas...champagne and cranberry juice.  I had myself two drinkie-poos.  Its not drinking in the moring if the sun hasn't yet come up.  Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.....

Finally, the boarding call.  The chis all lined up and paraded down the red carpet.  Soon all were on the plane.  And well, can I say that I was a teeny big jeaous?  Well, I was.  Chis in first class.  Chis in the cock-pit.  And they got to have a little sleepy pill.  That is the way to travel.

Bon voyage, little dogs.  I wish you much happiness in New York City!

Some fun pics of the day

Here is a great link to videos of the whole thing. 

VIDEO 1 of OPERATION CHIHUA HUA

VIDEO 2 of OPERATION CHIHUAHUA

So tonight is a somber night at our house.  We welcomed Annabelle into our home just over three months ago.  Annabelle was a "stray" that ended up in the Martinez shelter and spent three lonely weeks in the back room.  She is such a social little dog that those days alone in a kennel must have seemed like eternity.  She was just 8.5 lbs when she arrived and she was battling a terrible case of kennel cough.  Her fur was sparse and her weak little hips were very very weak.  But when she arrived late July 6th, her tail was wagging!  The 3 Chis descended on her and sniffed every where but she calmly endured the initiation.  And that was that, she was a part of the pack that very night.

We love having Annabelle in our home.  She has those wobbly little hips and yet, she never lets that slow her down.  She loves hiking Pulgas Ridge with the rest of the pack.  She may bring up the rear but she NEVER gives up.  Her walk is hard to describe.  Its like a shuffle.  The back legs don't seem to bend.  They seem to almost glide.  Whatever those little legs do or don't do, Annabelle still runs and wrestles and loves every minute that she has on her Pulgas Ridge hikes and Sea Port excursions.  And then there is her crazy little grunty coo.  You can hear Annabelle's gurgling little sounds as she runs at Napoleon and chases him until he agrees to wrestle. 

Annabelle was given a second chance.  She was close to being euthanized.  And then MaryAnn Lovi found her and found us and within hours, that little dog came into our lifes.  We have changed her life and she has changed ours.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE this little dog.  I will miss her very much but thanks to Annabelle, I will foster more special needs dogs.  Good bye Annabelle.  Yes, I will remember you...

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