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  Frito's Page 

Frito was destined for rescue and onto his furever home, thanks to the efforts of our nationwide online group who sponsored his 'bail-out' from the shelter.   I'm not so sure he's exactly a 'rescue success story' but without a page of his own, our stories would be less than complete.

This first photo is one of Frito's "bad days"... You can tell by looking at him that he is not feeling well... Then he has other days when, to look at him, you'd not even know how sick he is... And Frito is young and sweet... His story really kills me at times - but we've chosen to celebrate his life (however long it is), instead of concentrating on his illness...

During the foster period, Frito had 'seizures' although not in the traditional sense of a seizure. My daughter described it as a 'car stuck between gears' as his front couldn't move, but his back end kept trying to.  At first, I suspected epilepsy, but the test results didn't indicate this. 

As they got progressively worse, my vet kept looking for solutions and Frito went to special testing to see if he might have a liver shunt problem.  Well, he's not a candidate for the surgery (between $5,000 and $7,000), but if he had been, I'd have found a way to make it happen for him. 

Interestingly enough, Peanut never was one to allow others to sleep with her in her bed, but from the very beginning of Frito's arrival here as a foster, she took on a maternal role with him...

During seizures, she'd put herself between Frito and the other dogs who came to investigate what was going on.  Our vet thinks it might be the different smell that Frito has because of the high nitrogen levels inside his body without a functioning liver...

Just goes to show you that if you watch and observe your dogs enough, they can tell you everything there is to know about life!

After all the tests were run, it was discovered that Frito has 'hundreds' of liver shunts, so the very best we can do is a special diet and meds... The special diet and meds are working in that we've stabilized his weight, he's not having seizures now (knock on wood) and not every day is a 'bad day'... When they are, he just gets extra cuddling and love.

One of the side affects of his liver shunt issues is that he is always cold... Until he gets too hot unexpectedly... He absolutely loves to cuddle underneath blankees and has learned to love sweaters - although trying to find ones that fit him are quite a challenge at times!!!

Another side affect is that he gets motion-sick very easily, so although he loves the dog parks, getting there is guaranteed to be a 'car-sick' time both coming and going...

On good days, Frito, Louie and Riley are known as the 'Three Musketeers' around here while one of their favorite things to do is to engage in "Chihuahua Take-down"... I can't tell you the times I've sat outside and watch them run around, playing and carrying on like three young puppers...

Frito's story just kills me because you've never seen a more outgoing and loving Chihuahua in your life... Doesn't matter if it's a huge Golden Retriever or a complete (human) stranger to him - he'll wag his tail and try to be friends...

Frito's my 'talker' around here... He has quite a vocabulary already and is a major 'tattle-tail' if someone else has a toy he wants, or one of the special cookies he's allowed to have... We've adapted everyone around here now to his diet, and as many are seniors with protein limitations, it has worked out OK...

Liver shunt problems are common in many of the smaller dog breeds... Especially Yorkies... I learned a lot about this health problem once I was faced with Frito's diagnosis... If by bad luck, your pooch is diagnosed with this, don't despair... If they're a candidate for the surgery, they have great successes with this now... Check out all the information available now on the Internet...

While he will not have the long life-span of a healthy Chihuahua (our vet tells us we'll be very lucky if he lives to see his second birthday), Frito certainly will have a happy home here with us as we celebrate each day of his life with him.

I write about our 'throwaways' often in the ezine I do online, and they continue on Rogaine's great legacy in that every dog up for adoption can live a great life regardless of their past circumstances!... Anything is possible if only you believe - and keep trying to improve the lives of our canine companions in whatever way we can!