a collage of photos of a tiny (8lb) chihuahua with white and brown spotted fur, one hazel eye, and a big smile. he's pictured out on walks, lying on his back pawing his face sleepily, cuddled up against another dog napping, and lying on his foster's chest. there's also a cutout of his adorable tiny pawsies; he has pink and black spotted pads.
i'm making one last desperate plea to save this sweet little guy! pepper has nowhere to go. i've rehabbed him as far as i can and believe he could thrive in a home... but it's not mine. and i can't find anyone else willing to give him a chance. i'm not sending him back to a shelter to go right back on a kill list, especially considering the terrible shape he came to me in -- rail thin from refusing to eat, brittle patchy yellowed fur, stress rashes and hotspots -- so if i cannot find a foster or trial adopter by monday i'm going to have to put him to sleep. please read the whole post before judging this decision, and if you're also heartbroken by it maybe share his story so someone with the space in their home and heart might see. pepper wants so badly to be a good boy. he's housebroken, well trained to both signs and commands, very smart, and incredibly affectionate. he loves plush squeaky toys and chest scritches, he sometimes forgets his tail is attached and spins around chasing it, he is an excellent road trip passenger, and a good long walk is his favorite thing in the world. he doesn't mind street and traffic noise or being left alone during the day, and he's never chewed or destroyed anything except stolen tissues/napkins. problem is pepper is EXTREMELY fearful, and unfortunately fear aggressive. i have done behavioral rehab for over a decade but he was so shut down it took me awhile to understand all of his triggers and how they manifest. he is very slow to trust after being abandoned. it took me a month to feel like he fully trusted me and 2.5 before i felt he might be ready for adoption trials. in the 4 months and change that i've had him, we've only gotten one application (because i'm not gonna lie that he's got a bite history, his size doesn't matter) and he failed in under 12 hours for biting the husband.
he has two major traumas. 1) men -- i don't have one so have tried to work with him on this by bringing him on errands, to the park, etc, and he's desensitized enough that he can exist and accept a treat/pet or two but is still very tense, and 2) being restrained -- he cannot be crated and will not relax if his harness is left on after a walk. grabbing him by the harness or collar is a no-no, though he did eventually adjust to wearing a collar in general! he can get territorial about space, so i've had to really encourage sharing (i have 3 resident dogs and usually 1-2 fosters), establish strong boundaries, and ensure that everyone respects his. he is easily overstimulated and sometimes his excitement tips over into panic, so he'll go from happy wiggly playing to snapping. while i've strongly encouraged redirecting that energy to toys or flight (go to your room!) rather than fight, you have to watch his cues and help him with that level of emotional regulation. he's scared of large dogs and he DESPISES cats. the cat issue is really why he can't stay with me any longer. i've been begging since september to move him somewhere without cats, but we've found no one. after four months and no progress with desensitization, he finally cornered one of mine aggressively enough they swiped and he took a good claw to the nose. things have escalated since: my mother and i have each been bitten several times in the past week trying to protect them, when prior to this incident he hadn't gotten either of us since an accidental redirection on august 10th. he's just too scared, so pepper is now spending a lot of his time locked in the back bedroom now for everyone's safety, which is no life for such an affectionate little guy. he needs to be placed with a patient woman who has no cats or large dogs, who will keep up his rehab. i'm not gonna lie: you will probably get bitten at some point. that liability is why no other rescue has or likely will ever agree to take him on.
i have pleaded in every rescue group i'm in, several of us have posted him various places, i've asked everyone i know personally to ask their friends, but no one is willing or able to take my little pepperoncini. putting him back in a shelter would be unbearably cruel. i've tried medicating him (lexapro, cbd) and noticed little effect except sleepiness (trazodone), though in a calmer home one of those might be a good option for him. euthanasia is my absolute last option, and i'd be there and holding him like it's a normal vet appt. but i don't want to do this! he's not an aggressive dog, he is a traumatized and terrified dog. i've just accepted that he is also a liability to most people, my home isn't safe for him as much as my cats and elderly mother aren't safe around him, and he'll likely deteriorate again if i try to keep him here isolated. if you read all of this, thank you. it's been difficult but rewarding to work with him up until this month, and i really hoped someone would come along for him. maybe it's you. maybe it's someone who will see if you repost this? if not, well. he's got until monday, and had four months of love and cuddles and playtime and a warm soft bed and good food and delicious treats. and i'll know that i did absolutely everything i could for him. he was not my pull, he only landed with me because another foster (who absolutely could not have handled him, so it was for the best) backed out last minute, but he is my responsibility now and i love the lil guy. reach out if you can give him one last chance?
#dogsofbluesky i desperately need help to save pepper. i've limited interactions for hopefully obvious reasons, but my DMs are open. if you message to condemn what is already a heartbreaking situation, you will be blocked.
tl;dr pepper needs a new foster, or it's goodbye. in nyc but will transport.
