Recently in chiahuahuas Category

She charmed millions without ever saying a word, and managed to make fast food tacos adorable. Gidget, the Chihuahua best known for her Taco Bell ad campaign, died from a stroke on Tuesday night at age 15. 

How about those chihuahuas? 

Here's a tale out of Riverside County where three chihuahuas apparently held a cougar at bay.

There's a homemade video on KTLA's web site..

It all started when 23-year-old Ana Lee Spray in Sage, Calif., went out to the garage to see why her dogs were barking so much Saturday morning. There, she encountered a full-grown mountain lion.

The chihuahuas, which weigh about 3 pounds each, had cornered the mountain lion. The big cat appeared to be angry and began hissing at her and foaming at the mouth. Spray called 911 and then grabbed her video camera.

The pint-sized puppies refused to back off and kept barking for about 45 minutes until two Riverside County Sheriff's deputies arrived.

They were followed by the Department of Fish and Game officers who shot the mountain lion three times with a tranquilizer gun. The mountain lion took off, but was shot and killed when it lunged at an officer.

We posted last month about another a chihuahua in Oregon who chased a cougar off and saved her companion, a border terrier. I'll have to adjust my image of the tiny breed. (My colleague who owns 2 chihuahuas tells me their bark is basically all they've got for defense, so they learn to use it well.)

****Updated story This one has the pups' photo & names (Abby, far left, Gita, front right, and Lena). They look like they're back on patrol:

Or maybe just crazy and a little too brave for her own good.

It's certainly a strange tale.

According to the Associated Press, a chihuahua named Chiquita managed to chase off a cougar that had nabbed her buddy, Rosie, a border terrier, up in Oregon..

Here's the story:

PHILOMATH, Ore. (AP) -- A big cat picked the wrong little dogs for a fight. Chiquita the Chihuahua and Rosie the border terrier chased off a cougar that strayed into this small town near the Oregon State University campus. The dogs' owner, Loren Wingert, said Chiquita and Rosie are tough, but lucky.

The cougar pinned down Rosie, who squealed, but Chiquita convinced the big cat to flee by barking ferociously.

Wingert lives in a cul-de-sac atop a hill that backs up to a wooded area with deer trails. Warning signs about cougars are posted on the trails.

Wingert said the dogs are fine.

Information from: Gazette-Times, http://www.gtconnect.com

You've probably seen the ads and trailers for the new movie "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" that opens Oct. 3.

And while the Disney flick is destined to be a hit, animal welfare advocates already are

The film's popularity, they warn, could spark a rash of the tiny dogs being purchased from pet stores.

The concern is so great that animal welfare advocates turned out last week to picket the star-studded Hollywood premiere of the film, according to LA Unleashed..

"We know the movie is cute," said Kim Sill, who runs the campaign against puppy mills for Last Chance for Animals, the group that organized the protest. "We don't want to say we're against the movie. We're against people going to a pet store after they see the movie. We want them to go to a shelter, because there are a lot of Chihuahuas there."

.... when a movie is about to open, puppy mills, she contends, gear up to produce more of that breed to supply pet stores.

 The film credits include an advisory that gettng a pet is a serious and lifelong commitment that needs research.