Your Pet's Age
5 Years
Your Pet's Breed
Hairless Chinese Crested
How and when did you get your pet?
Three years ago, I found Sasha's profile on Pet Finder. She was 2 years old, just rescued from a backyard breeder/hoarder situation. She had spent her entire life in a cage, had never been outside and no one was sure how many puppies she had already given birth to in her short life. She had never been socialized and did not know how to behave around other dogs, much less people. On top of that, she is a Chinese Crested dog, which means she has many skin care needs that had not ever been taken into account, she was covered in pimples and black heads and her skin was so dry in certain spots it was almost permanently wrinkled.
Since she had so many skin issues and she didn't play well with others at the rescue, Sasha had been labeled "special needs" drastically reducing her chances of finding a forever home. I was nearly in tears as I shared her story with my husband, who was equally as moved. We decided right then that we wanted to give Sasha a life she probably never thought she could have. After a few phone interviews and a face to face meeting, we brought the tiny, terrified Sasha home with us to start her new life.
The first thing she did was climb onto the entertainment center to get away from us, then pee all over my husband when he gingerly removed her! For the first week, she barely left her bed, we would pick her up and carry her to go outside for potty. We brought her food and water to her bedside and then had to look away so she wouldn't be too scared to eat. We spent a month carefully caring for her, without looking right at her, or she would run and hide. We bribed her with treats, toys, anything we could think of to get her to open up. We slept on the floor beside her bed when she cried at night, scared and lonely, but too afraid to snuggle in bed with us.
Finally, one day, while my husband was sitting on the floor trying to get her to play, she walked up to him and climbed into his lap. We both were so overjoyed we almost scared her with our excitement!
What does your pet like to do for fun?
Sasha is not much for toys, but she is obsessed with chasing the laser light, or as she knows it, "the red bug." If she even thinks she hears us getting it out she scurries into the living room and shakes in anticipation!
Sasha's one true love is snuggling, on the couch, in her daddy's lap at the computer, in the big bed, just about anywhere. She loves reading time and TV before bed, because she knows that she's got a couple of hours with one of our laps, and no interruptions!
Do you have anything else to share about your pet?
Although she finally opened up to us, Sasha is still very afraid of other people. It is hard for us to get people to understand just how terrified a dog can be, even when it's been years since she experienced abuse, she has not forgotten. Whenever we take her somewhere people always ask to pet her because she is so cute and most people had never seen a hairless crested in person, but we just can't let them.
Instead we try and take the opportunity to share a bit of her story and raise awareness about puppy mills and backyard breeders. We have the most trouble with kids, it is hard for them to understand that all dogs are not friendly and don't want to be touched, held, or even approached. Kids are very scary to nervous dogs, they are loud, move fast and unpredictably and a lot of times don't understand the idea of personal space.
Even if you don't vote for Sasha, please let her story sink in. And please, if you have kids, or work with kids, help them to learn how to properly interact with animals. The best thing for everyone involved is education! That's the easiest thing you can do to help other animals in her situation, is to just be aware and talk about it. The more people know about how animals are treated by some people the more unacceptable that treatment will become. When we all know how horrible these places and their practices are, there will be no demand for them to fill and they will be out of business.
Sasha says "Thanks so much for listening to my story!"
The Chinese Crested dog is unusual looking and comes in two varieties. The first is "the Hairless" which is almost completely hairless except for a crest of fur on its head, a tuft on its tail called a plume and fur around his feet known as "socks". The second is the Powderpuff, which has long silky hair.
Tucker is not a dog I ever thought I would own. But he is the best pet '
Biggie Smalls is a 6 month Hairless Chinese Crested. I bred him. He likes to run as fast as he can in circles, play "keep away"(from me), and eat dandelions.
Wimsey is 4 years old and a Chinese Crested Powderpuff. I got her from a breeder a year ago. She is just starting to learn to play with toys.
