When True & Faithful Pet Rescue Mission received a phone call from a local shelter requesting assistance for 12 elderly Chihuahuas, they realized they had a challenging mission ahead of them. Because these dogs had all been rescued from the same hoarding situation, they had never had a normal life, and as a result, they approached each new encounter as if it were their first.
According to Lisa Letson, founder and president of True & Faithful Pet Rescue Mission, who spoke with The Dodo about the rescued animals, “When they arrived at the rescue, they were all very scared [and] unsure of what was going on.” When it was time to bring them into the rescue operation, they were all found huddled together in the vehicle. As we began to unload them, it became very clear that they [had] never been socialized and most likely had never even been handled. When we went to pick most of them up, we found that they were quite uncomfortable and wriggly in our arms. Many of them were entirely immobile due to their extreme anxiety, their toes spreading out, their legs locking up, and their eyes bulging.
The volunteers and employees of the rescue organization brought the frightened puppies outdoors. Before the puppies’ paws made contact with the grass for the very first time, they had no notion what to do with themselves or where they should go.
Letson said that at first “we noticed that they were simply frozen up.” “A great number of them gathered together on the rocks, unwilling to budge from their position. After a period of approximately half an hour, they moved from the rocks to the grass, which triggered a chain reaction that altered everything. They were all together when they proceeded to run about on the grass, investigating every inch of it. They continued to run and jump through the grass with their tails waving and grins plastered all over their adorable tiny faces.
Before now, not a single one of the dogs had ever been granted the opportunity to frolic on the grass. It was as if they had undergone a full metamorphosis the moment that they did it. They turned into giddy little pups that had never before had the opportunity to be, and their saviors’ hearts warmed as they saw them all finally run free.
The puppies were all given baths, their ears were cleaned, and their nails were trimmed; the whole process took around three hours. After the puppies were all worn out, they were taken care of. They also received some rather mild medical treatments for the skin discomfort that they were experiencing. Finally, they were allowed to relax in their very own space, which provided them with plenty of mattresses, blankets, and even a television to ensure that they felt secure and comfortable at all times. They were still nervous since everything was so foreign to them, but everyone could see that they were more at ease than they had ever been in their lives.
The Chihuahuas have been at the rescue organization for almost to a month now, and throughout this time, they have made remarkable progress. They are all going to be put up for adoption as soon as they have fully recovered, but until then, they are going to continue to gallop through the grass and take pleasure in the sensation of being free.