14 DAY TRIAL // Residents of Maryvale in Phoenix, Arizona, are being terrorized by ruthless packs of stray Chihuahuas. Lots of dogs are wandering unleashed and loose on the street.
Animal control officers are having a tough time because of the unusually high number of reports about the wandering strays. They say they have received over 6,000 calls from Maryvale complaining about abandoned Chihuahuas.
“We compared the number of calls we got in 2013 from that area to similar areas in town, and the calls from Maryvale were three times higher than surrounding areas,” says Melissa Gable of Maricopa County Animal Care and Control, informs ABC News.
“Part of it is these animals aren’t spayed or neutered, so they’re out looking for a mate and are having babies, which also contributes to the problem,” she adds.
Apparently, animal control authorities don’t have enough staff to respond to all the service calls coming from people living in Maryvale.
Most of the dog shelters in the city are overcrowded and can’t accommodate other dogs. Even private animal rescue organizations have been struggling with the invasion of abandoned Chihuahuas, but the authorities are still working on a plan to solve this problem as more residents are complaining that gangs of 8-12 dogs have been chasing their kids on the way to school.
In addition, animal control officers are also worried about the health threats posed by possible dog bites and the unsanitary conditions from feces.
Maricopa Animal Care and Control plan to spay and neuter these tiny dogs at no cost.
Sadly, Chihuahuas are the most popular breed at the Arizona dog rescue centers. Authorities believe the little dogs have been breeding randomly and now are overrunning the city’s neighborhoods.
Residents who happen to see one of these stray dogs should try to safely trap them in a yard and call animal control.