California Wants to Unload Its Abandoned Chihuahuas on New York

Abandoned chihuahuas are apparently a problem in California, the land of second-guessing dog owners. So many people abandon Chihuahuas that California shelters are shipping the small, emotionally manipulative dogs to New York, claiming that Chihuahuas are an in-demand breed in New York because prospective pet owners are jammed into tiny apartments and don’t have the space for a quadruped companion any bigger than a coffee mug. Unfortunately, New Yorkers may be just as fed up with Chihuahuas as their West Coast counterparts.

Citing overcrowded shelters, animal advocates on the West Coast have voiced support for programs like Operation Chihuahua Airlift, a project sponsored by Virgin America that helps relocate the surplus of abandoned Chihuahuas in San Francisco to New York. There’s a hitch, though — New York shelters are already struggling to find homes for the relocated Chihuahuas, because people are just as indecisive and fickle on the East Coast as they are on the West Coast.

After pit bulls and American Staffordshire terriers, Chihuahuas are one of the most commonly surrendered dog breeds in the country (the dogs are listed as primary and secondary breeds because most of them are mutts). According to the New York Post, more than 800 Chihuahuas were left at AC&C shelters from 2010 to 2012. Another 363 were brought in to the shelters to be put down, and 1,060 were picked up as strays. A grand total of 2,276 Chihuahuas ended up in AC&C shelters, but only 1,549 of the dogs were actually adopted.