BOSTON (WHDH) - Seventeen Chihuahuas that were recently taken from a home in Jamaica Plain after their families were forced to leave are now up for adoption in Boston and on Cape Cod, the MSPCA announced Wednesday.
The dogs, 6 males and 11 females, range in age from one to four. They are very active and in good health but come with challenges, according to the MSPCA.
“Our sense is that these dogs may never have left the apartments in which they lived and, as a result, will need time to learn how to walk on a leash, obey some basic commands and so on,” said Anna Rafferty-Arnold, associate director of the MSPCA’s Boston adoption center.
The MSPCA says the dogs were split among family members living in three different apartments in a three-unit building but they could not find housing that would allow them to keep their pets when they moved.
The dogs will now be spayed, neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped so they can be placed for adoptions.
Eleven of the dogs are at the MSPCA’s Boston adoption center in Jamaica Plain and six have been transported to the MSPCA-Cape Cod in Centerville.
The director of the Cape Cod adoption center, Mary Sarah Fairweather, says the dogs in her care are on the shyer side.
“The six dogs that we have — four females and two males — are a bit skittish, mostly because they’ve gone from a home in which they lived almost entirely indoors, and without exposure to any other dogs, to a busy animal shelter where they are just now getting used to collars and leashes and routines,” she said.
Fairweather still believes the Chihuahuas have bright futures.
“Chihuahuas are always in demand because they’re adorable and small — qualities that adopters often look for when evaluating pet dogs,” she said.
Cape Cod residents interested in adopting can email cape@mspca.org, while those near Boston can contact adoption@mspca.org.
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