The Peninsula Humane Society and SPCA in Burlingame, CA - Giving Free DNA Tests Under the Slogan "Who's Your Daddy?"

Burlingame, CA - A quarter of the dogs taken in by one California animal shelter look like Chihuahuas. So how do you make a pet stand out when it's similar to so many other dogs at the shelter? Check the DNA.

The Peninsula Humane Society and SPCA in Burlingame, a 30-minute drive south of San Francisco, began free DNA tests under the slogan "Who's Your Daddy?" Scott Delucchi, the shelter's senior vice president, came up with the idea to speed up adoptions of Chihuahua-centric dogs.

Because pets become part of the family, the $50 tests allow owners to find out the background of their pooches and certain traits they could exhibit. The tests also allow the shelter to get creative by coming up with clever breed names that can boost adoption odds.

For example, the Chihuahua-Australian shepherd-Jack Russell terrier-collie became a "Kiwi collier"; a Yorkshire terrier and beagle mix became a "Yorkle"; and a golden retriever-miniature pinscher-Chihuahua was proclaimed a "golden Chinscher."

In February, the shelter tested 12 lookalike dogs. One of the results was inconclusive, but 11 showed mutt combinations that the facility had never seen before. The tested dogs were all placed within two weeks — twice as fast as any 11 untested small, brown dogs in the previous months.

Twelve more dogs were tested, and once the last few in that group are placed, 24 more dogs will find out their breed backgrounds, Delucchi said.

In the two batches of tests, only 10 of 23 dogs had no Chihuahua in them. Chihuahuas took over from the glut of pit bull mixes that dominated the shelter until five or six years ago, Delucchi said.

There are a lot of reasons Chihuahuas became so popular, he said, citing Hollywood stars toting them in purses and the "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" movies.

Seeing one of the tiny dogs at the shelter changed Lynn Mazzola's mind about what kind of pet she wanted.

Mazzola of San Carlos, California, wanted a big dog, but 2-year-old, 6-pound Lily stole her heart. DNA results showed her that her new dog was part miniature pinscher, part Yorkie terrier and part Chihuahua, which the shelter dubbed a "Chorkie."

Knowing Lily's DNA gives you clues to her behavior, Mazzola said. For example, "it explains why she goes after birds and mice and she's not nervous like a Chihuahua," she said.

Mazzola's husband was about to undergo surgery and she wanted the dog to keep him company while he recovered.

After his operation, "he walked in the door, she ran up to him and hasn't been out of his lap since," Mazzola said of the dog that had been at the shelter for seven months.

The adoption promotion helped Lily, but it's going to take more than a gimmick to reduce the "alarming" number of Chihuahua mixes coming in, Delucchi said.

"Another part is making spay-neuter low-cost or free to the community," he said. "If you have a lot of one breed, you target that breed and those owners and make it easy for them to do the right thing and get them fixed."

He said facilities also work with states that need small dogs, such as Florida and New York, by flying in as many as they can handle.

Despite the promotion's tagline, the question that never gets answered is "Who's Your Daddy?" The DNA tests describe two parents, but they don't reveal which one is dad.

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A Hospital Bent Their Rules To Grant A Dying Man's Last Wish To See His Dog, And Nobody Expected What Happened Next (Video)

When James Wathern was admitted into a Kentucky hospital, his health was declining quickly and he was thought to not have much time left. Social workers who were talking with Wathern discovered that his dying wish was to see his dog, Bubba.

Although the hospital has a strict no-pets policy, they decided to bend the rules and tracked down his beloved elderly Chihuahua at his foster home.

Their reunion was emotional and heartwarming, and was luckily caught on tape! They report that Wathern’s health is steadily improving, and that now Wathern, as well as Bubba, are eating regularly and seem less depressed.

The healing power of animals is nothing to be laughed at. The hospital says they are now revisiting their no-pets policy after witnessing his improvements.

See their adorable reunion below.

To see the video, click HERE.  FOLLOW US!

10 Adorable Dogs Taking the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

From a dachshund in a shower cap to a cavapoo in a raincoat

You might be at least a little sick of seeing people dump water over their heads everywhere you turn on the Internet, even if the hugely viral phenomenon is raising insane amounts of money for a worthy cause.

But the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has now taken a cutesy turn. Here, we present some of the best canine contributions to the ever-growing collection of icy videos.

The dachshund that’s totally prepared with a cute little shower cap:




The pug that would rather just donate the damn money and have you leave it alone:




The big guy named Jet that’s pretty chill about things:




The puppy named Buttons that’s all, “can you not?”:




The corgi that actually seems excited to complete the challenge:




This chill chihuahua named Jack:

The little dude named Phineas Ernest Sander that’s rocking a fly raincoat:
Click here to see his video:
http://instagram.com/p/rurmSgF58_/?modal=true








The little cutie named Tinkerbelle that chills in protective rain gear while her human sings for some reason:

 


The dog named Boomer that realizes the challenge isn’t so bad after all:



The courageous pooch that uses an actual bucket:



Honorable mention: this cutie named Lucky that almost completed the challenge:



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Houston Police Officer Leaves Family’s Senior Chihuahua, Mostly Blind from Cataracts Alone on Curb, Arrests Owner - Dog Gets Hit by a Car and Dies

The mayor of Houston, Texas, apologized last week to a woman whose beloved family dog died when a police officer forced her husband to leave it on the side of the road after a traffic stop. The helpless little 14-year-old chihuahua was already mostly blind from cataracts and didn’t stand a chance when the officer arrested Josie Garcia’s husband, on a charge that was quickly dropped anyway ,and refused to let him call anyone to pick up the dog.

Josie Garcia appeared at a Houston City Council meeting on July 22 to tell her story.

On July 14, she said her husband gave a friend a ride home from a family gathering when a Houston police officer pulled his truck over, saying that he made a turn without using his turn signal.

The cop then searched the car and found, according to court records, that the friend was in possession of the drug PCP. The officer then took the two men into custody. But Garcia said her husband pleaded with the officer to let someone come and pick up Guero, the lovable chihuahua who enjoyed riding in the truck and was along for the trip.

But the Houston officer refused, telling the man to leave the dog by the side of the road, but according to Garcia, the arresting cop said it wasn’t his problem, that the dog would be fine.”

What makes the story even more unbelievable is that the arrest happened close by to Houston’s Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care. But in addition to refusing to allow the man to call someone to get Guero, the officer didn’t even bother to call animal control to collect the dog.

Charges against Garcia’s husband were dropped and they put up “lost dog” posters, hoping someone had picked Gero up and they would see the dog again. Instead, they got a call from a Good Samaritan who said he saw Guero wandering up a freeway ramp near where the officer forced him to be abandoned.

The Good Samaritan said he tried to get the dog, but traffic was too heavy. Before he could reach Guero, the dog was struck and killed.

“Let me give you a public apology right now on behalf of the city of Houston,” Mayor Annise Parker said at the council meeting. “I don’t know what airhead, there’s another word in my mind but I’m not going to say it — would throw, you wouldn’t put a kid on the side of the road. You shouldn’t put someone’s pet on the side of the road.”

The report is one of many recently involving family dogs killed by police officers, seemingly for no reason.

The Houston Police Department says an investigation into what happened and why Guero was dumped on the road could take an astounding six months.

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New World's Smallest Dog - Guinness World Records - Meet Milly

Meet Miracle Milly, a brown Chihuahua, and, she's really small.

The dog world can rest easy tonight, as a new smallest dog in the world (actual title: Smallest Dog Living) has finally been christened by Guinness World Records. This caps months of intense speculation by dog lovers everywhere, with long-winded debates breaking out in comment sections, bars, and even the senate floor (Ted Cruz, R-Texas).

Finally, a ruling came down. The 2013 Smallest Dog in the World is ... small. Victory! To be sure, the dog is small. How small? I don't know.

Okay: She's 3.8 inches, from backbone to paw. Small, to use the vernacular.

 “She knows how to pose,” owner Vanesa Semler told The Associated Press.

She also knows how to crush her competition. Licking her paws right now is a dethroned long-haired Chihuahua from Kentucky named Boo Boo, who stands outclassed at a massive four inches. Enough about Boo Boo.

“Milly really likes salmon and chicken,” Semler said.

Here's what we know about Milly thus far, thanks to The AP:

Milly weighed less than an ounce when she was born and "fit in a teaspoon." We don't know whether Semler ever put her in a teaspoon.

Early on, she slept in a doll's crib next to Semler's bed.

She doesn’t bark and likes playing with the plants in Semler’s backyard. (The make of plants is not specified, so make of that what you will.)
Semler has nine other Chihuahuas.

“We give her a new toy almost every week,” Semler said. “She likes to cuddle with them.”

                                                                         Here is Milly amongst her awards:

                                                                      Here is Milly cavorting with a candy bar:

 

                                                                         Here is Milly on the View (second from left):

                                                       Here is Milly weighing in against Floyd Mayweather (TKO):

                                                                             Here is Milly eating a bone -- weird!

                                                    Sorry for knocking Boo Boo a while back. Here's a picture of Boo Boo:

In Milly's honor (also Boo's), let's hope that awards like these are just a fun thing we do to celebrate a quirk in a litter and that people aren't actually irresponsibly breeding dogs to be as small (or as large) as possible to win stuff like this.

Congratulations, Milly!

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