Small world Chihuahua club goes supersize
IT can be big scary world for a lonely little chihuahua.
So owner Lynn Richardson decided to help out tiny pet Tinkerbell and set up a group to find her some mates.
Now 18 months on, Tinkerbell’s chihuahua club has grown to giant proportions – with get-togethers for dozens of dogs every weekend.
And Lynn, 55, spends each night making Tinkerbell crazy outfits and planning parties for the pooches.
She said: “Nearly every weekend there is a birthday party and all the dogs come dressed up. At Christmas, we had a big party and they all played in a ball pit and played games like musical sits, where they have to sit down when the music stops.
“At Halloween one of the dogs, Cocoa, had a birthday so we celebrated at a pub. They sectioned off a VIP area and made a buffet and all the dogs wore Halloween costumes. Seeing them dressed up, the girls in their pretty frocks and the boys in their suits and dickie bows, is adorable. They all l ove us spoiling them.
“It’s nice for the chihuahua mummies and daddies to get together too. If OUR vet Brian Faulkner, from Petplan, has 16 years of experience and is a freelance working all over the country. Send your questions to Brian at: Petplan, Great West House, Great West Road, Brentford, Middlesex, TW8 9DX or via Petplan’s Facebook page facebook.com/ PetplanUK. there isn’t a party, we meet every week for a walk on the beach.”
Civil servant Lynn is sure being part of the North East Chihuahuas in Tynemouth group has even spared dogs being rehomed because it has stamped out snappy behaviour.
She said: “Bringing the chihuahua parents together is so good for them. Many people think they are aggressive because they yap and bark at other dogs – but they’re misunderstood.
“Because they’re so small, they get scared when people approach them.
“Members range in age from 18 to 70s and many of the women are on their own, so it’s a good social thing.”
Lynn, who lives with her husband Ray, 58, in Tynemouth, also runs Sparkles Pet Boutique, making dresses and suits for the party animals and steps so they can get on sofas.
She said: “We’re setting up a dog hotel, too, as many members don’t want to leave their dogs when they go away. W We’ll have them linked to a webcam so they cancaa see them.
“It’s l lovely I’ve been able too to bring this communn munity of dogs and pee people together – it’s changed my life. Seeing the dogs playi ng happily m makes me see I’ve e changed theirs too too”.o BUMPS keep appearing on my lovely ten-month-old miniature schnauzer’s neck and body. What do you think could be causing them?