Carmen has been adopted!
Sponsored by Cooper and Scarlett in celebration of their cousins Ilona and Alex’s birthday.
Carmen is a 4 year old terrier/chihuahua cross. We do not actually see much chihuahua in her – her appearance and character are pure terrier. She is about 15 pounds.
Before reading on, ask yourself if you are looking for a dog who plays wildly with her toys and leaves them spread throughout the house, who needs a good game of fetch every day, who wants up on your lap a lot and insists on climbing in bed with you at night? If you are not comfortable with these things, Carmen is not the dog for you. If this all sounds great – read on.
Carmen has the self confident attitude of a terrier. A big dog in a small body. As you will see in her video her approach with other dogs is to pester them until they have no choice but to either go to sleep or play with her.
While the vet estimated Carmen to be 4 years old, she seems much younger. More like a 2 or 3 year old.
She is spayed, up to date on shots, and a very happy dog. No known medical issues. Full of life and personality. She is super affectionate. Loves to cuddle on the couch and climb in bed with us at night. She is a big lap dog, so needs a home where that is welcomed. She would not be happy being made to spend nights in a crate. She is a people dog.
She is house trained. She is good on the leash. Good in the car. Good with other dogs. She is living with three other dogs and is very respectful of them. She communicates using a very throaty growling sound, which also surfaces when she wants to play. It can be off-putting at first, until you realize she is just communicating her wishes.
She would do fine in a home where she is the only dog. She loves to be the focus of all the attention, and will shove her way in if the other dogs are being given attention. If there are others dogs in the home, likely best they have a similar energy level.
She is a young dog with lots of energy and a love of play, so, she needs a fully fenced secure yard. She loves to play ball and she will go get it and bring it back.
She just cannot get enough stuffed toys. She will need a home where it is ok to have toys all over the house. She likes to be played with. Tossing a stuff animal around the floor with her is one of her favourite things to do.
While full of life, she does enjoy her down time. A nice long nap in the sun, or time spent in a soft dog bed or welcoming lap, are typical daily rituals for her.
One of her favourite ways to pass time is to chew a bone. You will see her walk around the house and outside carrying her bones, often going to the bone bin to pick out the one she wants to chew at that time. She will find a quiet corner in the house and chew for a long time.
When out for walks, she is pretty indifferent to people and other dogs. However, at home, she does have some fear of new people and keeps her distance. She will bark at them. This type of fear is not unusual in rescue dogs and she will need help learning that she can trust people.
She has not been exposed to cats or other animals. Our sense is that she would torment them and it might not be a good mix.
She has not been tested with children. She is a bit mouthy when she plays, and given her energy level, and terrier scrappiness, she might not be good for children under the age of 12.
We think she would be best in a home where she is not left on her own for extended periods of time (both now and post-Covid).
We are attaching a video you can watch and see Carmen in action: https://youtu.be/0G52KiG15MI
Carmen was lovingly fostered by Bob
