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About Chihuahua Safe House
Sue and her husband live in the outer northern suburbs of Melbourne with their many four-footed children.
Sue works full time in a sales and clerical position where she has been for the last nine years. On Saturdays she volunteers at a shelter for abandoned cats just outside of Melbourne.
Animals have always been her greatest love and Chihuahua Safe House is allowing her to dedicate herself to her favourite breed of dogs when they are in need of special care
How Chihuahua Safe House started
I have always been very fond of Chihuahuas even though some of my earliest experiences weren't very pleasant.
A close friend of mine had a tiny little fellow who put terror into everyone in our circle of friends. We would sit at her table keeping our feet perfectly still while this tiny terror would sniff around under the table like an inspector. One false move and we believed we would leave missing a toe or two!
He had been having a nap with my friend's mother once and flew off the bed without a sound as I bent to pick my bag up off the floor. Suddenly I had a Chihuahua hanging off my thumb by the teeth!
The second chapter starts when I adopted my first Chi from Chihuahua Rescue & Placement Victoria. I had been searching the Internet and found the service in my search results. I spoke to Rita - one half of the couple who ran it, after viewing their web site and enquired about a beautiful nine month old Chocolate Chi who needed a new home. A couple of hours later after work, I tentatively knocked on their door and as the saying goes, the rest is history.
"I was very scared of adopting an older pet. What if he doesn't like me? What if I don't like him? What if it doesn't work out?"
Well, I needn't have worried. Clyde followed me around for about 16 hours never getting too close or letting me get too close to him. The ice was broken when he sidled up to me, got up on his hind legs and started scratching my leg to be picked up.
We are now inseparable and he still sometimes manages to bring a lump to my throat when I look into those beautiful, soulful eyes. I look at him and marvel at how happy and well balanced he is after the miserable start to life he had (and unlike my friend's old chi, he doesn't bite!).
Clyde was our first of many adopted older pets. We now have another two Chi cross dogs, and three cats all adopted as adults and they have all fitted into our household without creating too many ripples.
Chihuahua Rescue was founded around 1966 by Maree Turner, who since 1946 had been running the Sunshine Animal Welfare Centre. She recognised that these tiny dogs needed specialised care and continued to give them this care voluntarily until 1995, when she became unwell and was unable to continue this invaluable, not for profit service to the community.
Rita and Mayer Bram took over from Maree Turner in 1995, changing the name to Chihuahua Rescue and Placement, Victoria. For the last 12 years they have rescued thousands of dogs from all types of circumstances, mended their wounds, fed and sheltered them and provided patience and love while finding new homes for them. Nowadays they provide a home for many Chihuahuas who have not been able to be re-homed because of old age or special needs. They still require donations from the public to assist them in this commitment.
Chihuahua Safe House Victoria is the third chapter of my relationship with Chihuahuas. I am now keeping up the tradition and taking over the three R's - Rescuing, Rehabilitating and Re-homing of our tiny four footed friends. Like my predecessors, I hope to keep it going for a long time to come.
~ Sue Fedrizzi
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