87 Chihuahuas is Not Enough to Satisfy Our Thirst for Cute

By Rachelle Bowden in Miscellaneous on Aug 24, 2005 9:11PM

Police in the ‘burbs last week discovered a puppy mill. Now while the term "puppy mill" conjures images of the more grotesque Monty Python sketches, it is, in fact, just a townhouse where a brother and sister were keeping yip-yip dogs.

But the police recovered 71 Chihuahuas and one papillon, so it wasn’t so much a puppy mill as it was a puppy refugee camp.

The 72 dogs were turned over to the now horribly strapped Heartland Animal Shelter. And now 72 dogs have turned into 87. Maybe they should stop playing Barry White for the pups.

Today the poor shelter isn’t just overrun with amorous Chihuahuas; it’s drowning in phone calls from people looking to adopt a dog or dozen. The puppies technically remain in the custody of the Wheeling Police Department, and this prevents the shelter from handing the dogs out like Rip Taylor with confetti. But it looks like the police will let the throngs of would-be adopters get a crack at the dogs Monday.

And it is "throngs," people. The shelter stopped putting people on the waiting list when it hit a thousand, and they’ve got all sorts of Looky Lous who are "creeping out" the staff. And on that front we have to say, "Cut it out, Mom."

But maybe the shelter can have a good gig going. Somebody’s got to keep a line of fresh puppies for Paris Hilton’s purse.

As for the brother and sister running the Barking Best Western, they’ve been charged with cruelty to animals, failure to have a license required for dogs, and unlawfully keeping dogs without rabies vaccinations; cited with noise disturbance and exceeding the number of animals allowed in a residence; and being the most disturbing brother-and-sister team since Brenda and Billy on "Six Feet Under."

Thanks, Roland!