Three Meat-heads That Make Us Swoon.

So lumpy yet so sleek. So active yet so cuddly. So infinitely smooshable yet so....smooshy. They're....

What? What am I? Aside from waiting for you to throw that ball.

Blockheads. 

And we have a fresh crop of them waiting for foster or permanent homes. This might be our most exciting group of pibbly-bulldog pooches EVER and we want you to meet three that set our hearts all a-flutter.

Courtesy of pinterest. Because, well, LOVE. 

What ARE you, Moose?

Snorty. I am very, very snorty. And fluffy. 

Oh, Moose. Your lineage is more mixed up than a smoothie. What made you? The yodeling, the snorting, the long silky coat — we are befuddled and enamored all the same time. The best guess we have is English Bulldog/Australian Shepherd. You snore. You fart. You herd. You are so uncivilized but we just can't resist ourselves. We understand that some of it (the jumping, the shoes-are-not-chew-toys thing) is a product of your youth. At ten months old, you can barely be expected to have Downtown Abbey manners but you still need some charm school. Even still, you have us not only wrapped around your meaty paw but also firmly entrenched in your drooly, endlessly squishable cheek folds.

Who can resist the cheeks of smoosh? 

The Diplomat: Bayou

Kids are cool. I dig kids. 

You're a playgroup rockstar. A Doggy Day Out favorite. A snuggle muffin. A gentleman. Why, Bayou, have you not found your people yet? We know you cannot stand the shelter life. At some point during your five years on this big, crazy orb you had a family that treated you well and we can tell. We know you don't show well here because you don't like it. We know pooches like you get overlooked a lot at the shelter. Maybe this humble little missive will make someone ask about you when they stop in. In the meantime we'll just keep sending you to playgroup and on your Doggy Day Outs so folks can stumble upon you in the real world, where your awesomeness is on full display.

Behold the ears of joy. 

Summer and her never ending smile.

Kisses? Lots of kisses? Anyone?

The more lemons life hands you, dear Summer, the more lemonade you insist on making. You are a veritable lemonade factory and we couldn't love you more for it. You came to us covered in ticks and with infected ears. Even still, the only time you stopped smiling was when you took some much deserved power naps while recovering from the streets. Or fields. Or where ever it was that you picked up that legion of ticks. Now clean, healthy and recovered you truly are a ray of sunshine, an eternal optimist and a dog of the people. You love to par-tay with the other big pooches. You've charmed the pants off of corporate volunteer groups. We know there's a home out there with a Summer-sized hole in it and we're just waiting for them to show up. 

Smoochies?

It's almost the weekend and what are you up to, seriously? Why not stop in and cuddle a blockhead? They're waiting. With ginormous, meat-head smiles. Come by!

Thmoochies?

Chis Make Great Pets. Cheese, Not So Much.

We get a lot of chihuahuas and mixes. So many that they even have their own verbal shorthand: chis. Chi generally means anything small, usually tan and having some traits in common with a chihuahua, which constitute the majority of their lineage. As a group, chis and chi mixes dominate shelter populations in California. So we talk about them a lot. A lot a lot. Which can lead to some confusion when we talk about having a passel of chis:

Adorable little fun happy muffins.

And people think we mean a passel of cheese.

Inanimate cracker ornament. 

The sad thing is due to silly misinformation and prejudice about chis, a lot of people are about as likely to adopt cheese as a pet....

The cat, like most of the readers, is amazed at the ridiculousness of this stunt.

As they are to adopt one of our adorable, bright, silly little chis. Like Baby.

If you're not going to eat that cheese, here I am. I'm just sayin'...

Which is just ridiculous. Let's have a chat about the differences between cheese and chis and the misinformation that's out there about our poor maligned little petite pooch pals.

Chis: Cuddly, snuggly and perfectly lap sized. 

I WAS MADE FOR THE SNUGGLE!

Cheese: Oily, cold, unaffectionate and prone to melting.

Poor companionship. Seriously. 

Chihuahuas and mixes come in as many varieties as, well, cheese. But one thing about most of them? They all love them some snuggle time. Even our most playful, bouncy chis still enjoy a good Netflix cuddle and sleeping under the covers with you. Cheese? Lame. And it melts. 

Chis: Great walking buddies who enjoy a chance to sniff the flowers. 

I'm such a better pet that I'll eat the competition. 

Cheese: Prone to attracting ants. Needs to be dragged, creating scrapes that attract even more ants and possibly hungry raccoons. Melts on hot days. 

Marketing Director Sandy really went all-in to help us make this point. 

Chihuahuas are smart, curious little nuggets who love to know what's going on around them. They're a little nosy and pretty social, like people. While most of them generally don't need a marathon run (thank goodness!) they do enjoy taking a stroll to check out the scene. They'll give you a great excuse to get some exercise and see what the neighbors are up to. 

Chis: Funny, playful and smart. Love to learn tricks. 

When I'm done here I'll start working on your taxes. 

Cheese: It's...cheese. 

We need to know what Sandy's neighbors were thinking when she was doing these photos for us. 

We're pretty sure everyone knows who is going to win the fetch contest here. Hint: it's not wearing a wrapper. Meanwhile our chis are slaying in their obedience classes, playing fetch like machines and (like HSSV alum Lady Marmalade above) having a blast on the agility equipment. Contrary to popular belief, chis are actually super smart little guys who love to learn. Small dog owners are less likely to take their pooches to classes. This is a shame as chis are trick-meisters who love to learn. 

Chis: Quick to pick up housemanners, great apartment pooches who don't mind you going to work for hours provided they can get a walk when you get home.

You can go. We're cool. See you when you get back. 

Cheese: Must be refrigerated when left, otherwise will leave enormous cheesy mess on furniture. Not at all happy to see you when you get back.

Okay, even we admit it looks sad to see you go. 

Our conclusion? It's chis for the win. And cheese for, well, the sandwich. 

If you're looking for a dog but haven't considered a chi, take a second look. We have plenty of amazing little guys who would have been snapped up in a heartbeat were it not for the breed prejudice against them. The majority of our chis are not yappy, not bitey, not shakey and are (shockingly) just....dogs. Like any other dogs. In a more compact package.

We all have that one friend. 

This weekend we're celebrating the magic that IS the chi and chi mix population at our shelters with reduced adoption fees on them. Through Sunday, all our little chi and chi mix nuggets have an adopt fee of just $20. Which is only slightly more than a fairly lame, non-responsive, melty block of....

If that was a cracker we'd have a solution to this dilemma. 

cheese.

You guys pulls some bonehead stunts to get us adopted but this...this...

Kittehs, Like Shoes, Go Better In Pairs.

Kittens will be kittens. They're super adorable...

Cup o' kitteh

Super playful....

Gimmee..

Super loving...

Cuddle puddle!

But can also be....

Hooman! I scale you like tree! You WILL play!!

Demons. It's not their fault - they're just wee little things. With youth comes boundless energy and an insatiable need for attention but it can lead to a conundrum. What if you just NEED a kitten?

When I am bigger I will knock ALL of these off this shelf. #kittengoals

(Trust us, dear reader, you do need a kitten. And kittens need you so this works out wonderfully)

I am kitten. Take me home. 

You need a kitten but you're concerned because you work or what-have-you and don't want to feel guilty for leaving the little nugget to it's own devices...

Why you go?

Or you simply would like to sleep without having your toes pounced on at 3 AM? Buckle in, friends, we're going to tell you a secret. Ready?

Shhhh...iz secret.

Kittens go better in pairs. They really, really do.

I smoosh him so I don't smoosh you. Everyone's happier. 

Not only do they keep each other company while you're gone...

They can do this for hours...

They also provide each other an outlet for the type of play that kittens enjoy but humans often don't.

Let's play face-punch!

That punchy, bitey kind of playing. Which means after a long day at work you come home to sweet kitten adorable-ness...

We were good all day. We (kind of) promise.

and not crazy, bouncing off the wall kitties that keep you up all night and make you feel guilty. And they expend those sorts of vaguely-homicidal-but-totally-normal kitten hijinks on each other..

Let's play face-tackle!

leaving your ankles significantly safer...

Note happy, un-bothered dog. 

and giving the poor dog some peace. We're not saying they'll be little saints but they are more likely to sleep through the night..

Power-nap!

Or at least wake each other up to play as opposed to waking you up. It doesn't mean they won't want to play with you...

We take turns...

It just means they'll get some of their ya-yas out with each other so you're not expected to be a 24/7 play machine. Plus they'll get to keep each other company for years to come...

Twinsies!

Leading to years of social-media-ready adorableness.

If you turn the water on we will flay you in your sleep. 

So when you come in to adopt your kitten - because you ARE coming in to adopt a kitten, right? - just say...

Practicing fine twinsie form for later life. 

Make mine a double. 

We make snuggles. 

They'll be happier, you'll be happier - we promise. As Aunt Ethel used to say about her brownies..

Look - we even fit in a bed together. 

Take two, they're small. 

And for the next few weeks adopting a pair is even easier. On weekdays adoption fees are waived on ALL kittens and cats. Check out the available babies here.