For those who don’t know the background, we found Rita roaming the woods in mid-September, 2014. She wouldn’t come near us so we put food and water out for her but we couldn’t catch her. I left to go to MO and Vince tried and tried to catch her. He finally put out the Havahart trap out and caught her in that. He wasn’t sure if she would bite him so he was being super careful and in the process, she escaped. She ended up living in the woods for at least 8 or 9 days before he finally enticed her to come close enough that she would eat out of his hand and cautiously allow him to pet her.
Vince went to all the houses within a reasonable distance (houses are pretty far apart out here) and no one claimed her. He took her to the vet and had her scanned for a microchip and there wasn’t one. We gave the info to the local animal shelter in case anyone called about her. No one ever did and we had ourselves a chihuahua.
Rita
Obviously, she has very crooked teeth! Our vet said she’s an orthodontist’s dream . . not in this lifetime!
Not long after we found her, we found her stash of acorns. She had been living off acorns and for the longest time, when we took her outside, she was on the prowl for acorns. She may have just had her fill of dog food but she grabbed the acorns she saw.
Last week, Vince brought a bag of cracked pecans over from the freezer. We put it in a corner and had been working to shell the pecans, vacuum seal and freeze the meat.
A couple of days ago, Vince heard Rita munching on something and she had a pecan. He got it away from her, cleaned up her mess and we put the pecans where she can’t get to them.
Yesterday, I heard her rummaging around behind my knitting basket. I thought she was getting sick so I took her outside and she was fine. I brought her back in and in a few minutes, I heard her munching on something and sure enough, it was a cracked pecan. I went to my knitting basket and she had hidden 5 pecans in there! I cleaned those out and threw them away.
Rita’s Pecan Shells
Just now, we heard her munching on something and she had another pecan. She has another stash somewhere and we haven’t found it so we’ll have to watch her and see where she goes snooping!
I guess when you have to scrounge for food, you learn to always keep something stashed.
Kat Scribner says
Such a funny story about hiding the pecan shells. It’s heartbreaking to think such a little guy had to scrounge for himself. I’m sure he knows how good he has it now. The teeth are just too funny too.
Swooze says
Cute!
Dottie N. says
So wonderful that Rita, the prepping pup found y’all! She’s definitely one SMART dog!
Vivian Oaks says
Sounds like a very smart dog to me!!
Gail Hickam Fines says
That Rita is too funny!
One of my college friends had a dog that hid her MilkBones in the furniture, usually under or around the cushions. She was a bit chubby and they didn’t give her as many as she wanted so she’d hit up her stash!
Toni Wood says
That poor baby went through her own personal Great Depression and she will always be prepared with a stash. Good message for all of us.
glen in louisiana says
One of my Irish Setter girls was starved by the guy who owned her. I went to court and got her taken away. She would hide bits of dog food all around the house when we fed her. I would inadvertently vacuum up her stashes from time to time!
Joyce says
It’s sad that Rita had to scrounge for food. It’s funny that pecans are her choice for prepping…are you sure she wasn’t raised by squirrels?
Sherrill says
That little dog is a punk! And what a strange food of choice! LOL I’m so glad she found you guys and that you love her!
Rebecca in SoCal says
I had a dog that liked hazelnuts. She was a medium-size dog, but it still took her a while to crack them open!
You know, there probably is a canine orthodontist somewhere! Blech.
pat says
I have Trixie lady penelope the chihuahua does the same thing and we got her as a 6 week old puppy.
hides things everywhere.
Susan Fields says
Now just how is that different from when we had chocolate in our sewing kit for those moments when we need a pick-me-up?
Smart dog…………..
JudyL says
Good point!
Bev Gunn says
As the adoptive mom to 4 kids from hard places, yes they do stash food for later or I can count on food disappearing overnight! I have to keep things I want for later locked up or my son will eat it. He even broke the lock on my freezer several years ago when I had locked it! Not as bad now as was several years ago as he knows now what he can and can’t have-one good thing about his becoming a teenager!
JudyL says
It’s sad to think about dogs living that lifestyle but it’s horrible to think about children going through it. Bless you for providing them with sufficient food and safety!
Ranch Wife says
Clever girl! She knows where she belongs…just took her a while to find you. That picture of her is too cute.
Dar in MO says
I’m with the lady that said, “she must have been raised by squirrels!” lol She is definitely in the right home since she knows how to prep for those lean times. That’s a cute picture of her.