Dog | Neutered Male | Est DOB: 6/28/2013
Chihuahua | Tan/White | Adoption Fee: $400
Age: 12 years
Weight: 5.5lbs
Meet Auggie the doggie! This little guy was surrendered to Minneapolis Animal Care and Control in June and we pulled him after his 7-day stray hold. What we thought was just an underweight lil’ guy turned out to be a whole lot more! 🙂
Let’s start with the good stuff: Auggie is a lover! He wants to be on my lap, burrowed under covers every chance he gets. He had a really hard time being at the shelter and it’s clear that he needs to be nurtured. He spends all night sleeping under the covers, pressed up next to me. He’s just a classic chihuahua lover. 🙂
Auggie was diagnosed with congestive heart failure soon after joining us in rescue. We started him on the appropriate medications and he responded beautifully! He is no longer in heart failure, but we know it’s just a matter of time before he goes back into heart failure – that could be months or years. Auggie saw a cardiologist and had an echocardiogram completed in August, which confirmed his diagnosis of mitral valve disease, the most common heart disorder in dogs.
Auggie will need to be on heart medications (pimobendan, furosemide, and spirolactone) for the rest of his life. He also gets daily gabapentin to help with his arthiritis, as well as a joint supplement. It is recommended to recheck his chest xrays and bloodwork every 2-3 months.
Auggie is not housetrained. When he is not being monitored, I keep a belly band (diaper) on him. He knows to go potty when I take him outside, but he will still urinate in the house. Because he is on diuretics for his heart, he does drink a lot of water and need to urinate frequently.
Auggie is also a barker. When he wants your attention or is trying to enggage in play, he will often bark. While it’s cute, it can also be aggravating. I just want his new family to be okay with that. I do think he needs to go to a single family home vs an apartment or duplex, as not everyone appreciates a yippee dog.
The other important thing to know about Auggie is that he is a velcro dog. He wants to be with me 24/7. He loves to be carried around. I work from home, and he insists on sitting in my lap while I work. In the evenings, he is right next to me on the couch. Even when I leave him alone with my menagerie of dogs and cats, he will bark and seek me out – he needs his person. Auggie also loves car rides, so likes to join me for errands. 🙂
He has done great with my small dogs and has co-existed nicely with my cats – he would do well in a household with other tolerant pets.
Net/net, here is what we’re looking for in Auggie’s new home: *someone who is home most of the day, *someone who is comfortable with medicating him multiple times a day, *someone who won’t get irritated with his barking and possible urinating inside the house, *someone who will invest in his health with regular exams, xrays, and bloodwork, *someone who will love this boy as much as his foster family does for whatever days he has left.
Auggie is neutered, microchipped, has had his core vaccines, tested heartworm negative, and is current on both flea/tick and heartworm prevention. If interested in meeting this sweet boy, please complete an adoption application on campkitten.com . Auggie is being fostered in ANDOVER.
