31/08/2024 – Rio has found his ideal new home and we couldn’t be happier for him and his new family!
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Gorgeous Rio is a 7-year-old Chihuahua boy who came into rescue because the young child in the home wouldn’t leave Rio alone. Rio is in an Oldies Club foster home in Cricklade, Wiltshire, while he waits for someone to offer him a permanent home.
Special arrangements for Rio’s adoption: Due to Rio being frightened when transported by people he doesn’t know, we are putting in place a special arrangement for Rio’s adoption. The applicants that are chosen to adopt Rio will have a homecheck as normal, and then they will visit him at his foster home. However the visit will just be for Rio to start to get to know you, and you won’t take him home at that point. Instead, once your vist has taken place, his foster carers will arrange to bring Rio to your home. For this reason, we can only rehome Rio within a 2-hour drive of Cricklade, Wiltshire (SN6).
Summary: Rio is a larger Chi, weighing around 4.5kg, and his birthday is in October, when he’ll be 8. Rio needs very patient adopters who will allow him plenty of time to get used to them. He was incredibly stressed when he first came into rescue and it has taken weeks for his foster family to gradually gain Rio’s trust. Once he trusts you, he is a wonderful little chap, but he is not suitable for someone expecting a dog to slot straight in. Rio needs a quiet home with someone around most of the time, but you must be fit and active enough to take him for long walks. Rio can live with small dogs and sensible teenage children, but not cats. He needs to be allowed to sleep on your bed please!
Settled gradually: Rio took 2 weeks to start to settle at his foster home, but took around 6 weeks to fully build trust with his fosterer.
Wants to have his person around: Rio is very anxious when left on his own. He lies right up against the door waiting for his foster carers to return and will sometimes howl if left for more than about an hour. He needs someone who can build up absences slowly over time. Rio would not suit a home with people who go out to work.
Good with small dogs: Rio has been brilliant with his foster carer’s similar-sized dogs, even when the resident male dog was less than welcoming when Rio arrived, Rio just ignored it and they are best buddies now. Rio seems to enjoy the company of the other dogs, but he could probably be an only dog in a home with lots of human contact. He finds big, bouncy dogs quite worrying, so canine companions will need to be small ones.
Needs a home without cats: Rio will chase cats in the garden so is not suitable to live with cats.
Teenage children only: Rio has had a bad experience with young children teasing him in the past, so any children in, or visiting, his new home would need to be teenagers.
Sleeps on the bed: Rio likes to sleep curled up on his foster carer’s bed by her feet.
Enjoys walks: Rio is a young oldie so needs an owner who will enjoy taking him out for a couple of good, tiring walks each day. He is good on the lead. He can be worried by too many people or other dogs around so is best walked in quiet places, though he’s gaining confidence all the time. He loves offlead time in a private secure field and has good recall. He has two daily walks of around 45 minutes but has also been on longer walks up to 1.5 hours and was fine, he just kept going. In the short video below he is demonstrating his exemplary recall!
Good in the car: Rio is a good boy in the car and sits on the back seat with a harness and seat belt attachment.
Rio’s favourite pastimes: Snuggling on the sofa, walks and treats (especially cheese!).
Rio’s dislikes: Vets – he is absolutely terrified. Rio is worried by strangers in general and will bark at new people coming into the home, but if they ignore him he settles down and soon wants to be friends.
Rio’s ideal home: A quiet but active home with someone around all or most of the time. He needs sensible, experienced dog owners who will be kind and non-confrontational with him. If he is worried he will growl, but once he trusts you he is a delightful, affectionate little dog who just wants to be your best friend.
Health notes: Rio is neutered, vaccinated and microchipped and has been wormed and flea treated. He has a heart murmur and has had a heart scan which confirmed mitral valve disease. At the moment this isn’t affecting him at all and he doesn’t need any medication, but it will need to be monitored as he gets older and the vet recommended a repeat scan in a year’s time. He’s also had a major dental with 16 teeth removed.
More from Rio’s foster carer: Rio is loving, cuddly and loyal but can be anxious. He has the most gorgeous soft, thick apricot-coloured coat and looks and feels like a (slightly grumpy) teddy bear.
If you would like to offer Rio a permanent home, please read our Adoption Procedures for information about the general adoption process. You can then contact an Oldies Club Rehoming Coordinator as follows:
Email: rehome@oldies.org.uk
Telephone: 0844 586 8656
Rio can only be rehomed within a 2-hour drive of Cricklade, Wiltshire (SN6). Note that once you have passed the homecheck, you will be required to travel to the foster home to meet Rio. If all goes well, his foster carers will then arrange to bring him to your home. This is a special arrangement to minimise stress for Rio who is frightened when transported by people he doesn’t know.
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If you would love to offer a home to an oldie but your circumstances aren’t suitable, perhaps you would be kind enough to sponsor one of the special oldies we are caring for that, due to health problems, are unlikely to be offered a permanent home.