Story of Tiny Tony Chicken the Chihuahua

The story of tiny tony chicken the chihuahua.

by Robert Hudson

Tiny Tony Chicken is a little chihuahua that was found by Animal Control walking the city streets of Bronx, New York City and was brought to a high kill shelter in Manhattan.  It was during the busy summer months when the shelter is overflowing. 

A local rescue called Posh Pets pulled the dog, fostered the little guy and contacted Vanessa to take over fostering..  “I had no intention on keeping him but he fit in with the crew and had a bunch of quirks that made him less than desirable for adoption.

Tony barks a lot, he also guards his bed, marks his territory and was poorly bred. His body is crooked and he has a short upper jaw. The past few years his asymmetry has effected his leg and he had surgery and physical therapy but then the pandemic hit. Tony’s leg never healed 100% and he has a slight limp. He also only has 3 teeth since his last dental. Despite all of his issues he is loving and loves to snuggle. “

She continued, “Tony is around 8, but because he’s a rescue his exact age is unknown. His poor breeding has made him vulnerable to health issues. His entire body is crooked. You can tell by looking at his mouth it is off center, as is the rest of his body. “

The Family of Tiny Tony Chicken

Tony is never alone. He has three siblings.   “Loo who is some mystery chihuahua mix, and was surrendered to me because she was biting the owners young child. Loo had extreme separation anxiety, was highly destructive and didn’t really get along well with dogs. She came to me on medication Prozac and Xanax, I trained her using aba therapy which is positive reinforcement based training. I am a behavior therapist for children with autism so I understand the principles of behavior therapy very well and applied my knowledge to changing Loo’s behavior. She no longer is destructive or has separation anxiety. She loves Tony and accepts her other siblings. 

Eloise

Eloise came to me as a foster. Posh Pets named her Nana after my dog Nana that passed away after years of struggle with mobility issues. Eloise is some sort of mystery mix mutt that was saved from the wild fires in California a few years back, the local California rescues were asking people to take dog’s so they didn’t have to euthanize them to make space for peoples pets that were displaced, so Eloise was driven across country to the posh pets shelter in Long Island.

I decided to foster her when I was informed she was terrified and was likely mistreated. Eloise would get scared at any movement. She assumed she would get kicked or hit, she would flatten like a pancake and scream.

When I left the house she would pee all over from anxiety, that took some time to work on. I actually put her in a diaper and a onesie when I left for work so I didn’t have to shampoo the rugs everyday. She is now comfortable in her home and knows she is treated with kindness, so no more peeing and no more onesie. She will get spooked sometimes for no apparent reason but she is loving and affectionate and confident. Eloise was recently diagnosed with mitrovalve disease and is on medication to help her heart.

Sweet Danny

Danny is my newest pup, even though he’s been with me a couple years. I met him when I was dropping a French bull dog off that was surrendered to me at the shelter facility. I noticed Danny was spinning and offered to take him home so I could bring him to his vet appointments since he would need some extra care.

Danny was extremely underweight and began having nonstop seizures 2 weeks into his stay with me. I rushed him to the ER and he had a MRI. It was determined he has traumatic brain injury that is undetermined if it is congenital or due to trauma. Danny’s issues includes spinning in a circle, motor planning issues, and he takes hours to eat. He also can’t control his urine and he constantly leaks. He takes a lot of medication to keep his seizures under control. “

Why is Tony’s nickname “chicken”?
Tony’s chest is hairless and looks like a chicken breast.

Vanessa told me Tony is a senior and he prefers to lay around most of the day but he will play with his toys, steal socks and play ball. Loo loves to bother him so he spends most of his time escaping from her love lol!

Tiny Tony Chicken is No Joke

I asked if she was surprised at Tiny Tony Chicken’s popularity? “Tony’s page began as a joke. He was my foster “just for the night” and ended up staying all of these years. He has a funny personality and makes the best faces that really connect with people. I wasn’t ever expecting anyone to follow his page. It originally started with just my friends because I didn’t want to flood my personal page with dog photos. It took off and people began following all of his adventures. Tony connects with people because it’s not just about him, it’s about all of us as a community.

Tiny Tony Chicken Paying it Forward

As a community we help animals in need through our Christmas card campaign, auctions, food drives etc. I pay for the items out of pocket. Whatever is earned gets donated to whatever cause we are helping. The items I auction, postage and time are my donation to the cause. It’s a great way for the community to get some Chicken merch and help animals in need. We typically help 501c3 rescues but will “grant wishes” to families that can’t afford vet care for their ill pet or lost their pet.

A sewing event at the local pet shop was done to benefit the animals of the Australia wildfires. We made kangaroo pouches, bat wraps, nests and shipped them down to friends who delivered them to rescues for us! Because of Covid our plans on doing a monthly sewing event to make blankets for shelters was put on hold. We hope to pick this up again in the future.”

Come say hi!

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