With the recent release of Beverly Hills Chihuahua, many animal organizations are concerned with the likelihood of an increase in impulse buys of Chihuahuas from pet stores and breeders. Often, when a particular breed is featured in a movie or television program, there is a rush to go out and buy pets of the same type – such was the case with 101 Dalmatians and Beethoven.

Best Friends Animal Society, in particular, would like to encourage people to think before they get a dog and consider that pet ownership is a big responsibility. For those that do believe getting a Chihuahua is right for them, the animal group has also started a program to encourage adoption from local organizations or through sites like Petfinder. Best Friends wants to send the message that there are a lot of pups available in shelters and rescues – and they need homes first!

Papi, the adorable dog in the movie, is played by Rusco, who was a rescue himself. He was actually plucked for stardom by the movie’s producers just a day before he was scheduled to be euthanized; in fact, many of the dogs appearing in the film were found in Los Angeles rescue shelters. Rusco took very well to training for the movie, and one of his trainers loved him so much, she kept him for her own after the movie finished filming!

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This entry was posted on Thursday, October 9th, 2008 at 11:18 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.