Hi. My name is Chico. I am the cute, little tan dog in the picture above. The other dog is my sister Kiki. You can probably tell by looking at us that Kiki is not my real sister. She is my adopted sister. But, I love her just as much as if we were real siblings.
Though we come from very different backgrounds, Kiki and my stories have some similarities.
I was rescued by some wonderful people at Best Friends Animal Society. After the big storm in Louisiana you call Katrina, I lost my home and my family. I was found floating in water, starving and covered in strange chemicals long after the storm. To say that I was freightened would have been an understatement. I was terrified of almost anything that moved. To protect myself, I would bite anything that came near me.
The nice people at Best Friends didn't mind. They rescued me anyway and they took me to a place where Animal Ark was working with them to save thousands of other dogs, cats, and other animals that were also injured and displaced by that terrible storm.
I ended up staying at that rescue center for a little while, because most of the rescue people who met me said I was "too vicious" to be rescued. Thankfully, Animal Ark did not buy that excuse and recognized that, since I weighed only about 6 pounds, I could not be seriously dangerous to anyone, except maybe a mouse. So Animal Ark rescued me again and took me to Minnesota. I was fostered by one of the staff there, along with another Chihuahua mix named Goldie. We were two of about 250 dogs Animal Ark brought back from New Orleans.
Animal Ark located Goldie's family and returned him to them. And my foster home decided to keep me, after trying to find my family for nearly 6 months.
Now I have a wonderful life. And, one of my favorite things in my life is my adopted sister Kiki.
I thought I had it rough! Then I met Kiki. When she came to Animal Ark, she had never even met a person. She had lived her whole life as a wild dog scavanging garbage dumps in northern Minnesota. She was one of 4 puppies born to a feral mother. Two of her siblings were shot by people. People who know her story, and who helped in her rescue, believe her mother was shot, too. Of her family, the only surviving members are her and her sister Nikki. Both Nikki and Kiki were rescued by Animal Ark.
It has taken Kiki about 2 years to learn that people are not going to shoot at her any more, or throw rocks at her. When she first came to Animal Ark, she would cower and shake and hide around people. Now, she is a social butterfly who loves to go visit all kinds of places, and who even does public appearances.
Not only have our lived been fully transformed following our rescue by Animal Ark, we have seen thousands of other animals saved by the same caring people who rescued us. Not all of the animals rescued by Animal Ark need extra work like Kiki and I. But, it is nice to know there is a place in Minnesota where us "special" animals can go to get the care we need.
Now, Kiki and I are asking you to help Animal Ark to help more animals like us. The Animal Ark Animal Walk is coming up August 1st. The Animal Ark Animal Walk should not be confused with that other animal walk that happened in May. Animal Ark gets no support from that walk.
To help support the walk, Kiki and I are collecting pledges online. Donating through our secure, online, e-pledge form is easy and simple. Your donations will help us to help other animals like us.
Additionally, we invite you to collect pledges yourself. It is really easy to do! Just use the links on the right side of this page and get going! Thanks in advance for helping!
Also - I have posted a video of Kiki and I playing in bed. One of our family members took this video early one Sunday morning to help you all see how happy, healthy and full of love we are. Click the play button below, then sign our e-pledge form!
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Information about the Animal Walk
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