Pixie came to the San Jose Animal Care Center with a broken radius and ulna on her right front leg. The veterinarians gave her medications to relieve the pain from her injury and took x-rays of her injured leg.

Fortunately, the fractured bones weren’t displaced from each other, and we predicted that she would be able to make a full-recovery if the leg was kept in a splint for the eight weeks it would likely take to heal.

Unfortunately, in a municipal animal shelter with a high intake, we are unable to keep animals in our care for long periods of time, so we depend on our partnered agencies and animal rescues to take animals (like Pixie) from us to provide the time and care needed to bring them back to health. Oftentimes, we will provide financial support to these organizations for fixable problems so as to facilitate this process. If no rescues or partner agencies show interest by a deadline (which is easily extended), the animals may be euthanized.

With Pixie, the shelter reached out to rescue organizations, yet no one was interested in the adorable tan chihuahua. Sadly chihuahuas are all too common in shelter environments, and consequently, they may be overlooked.

While Pixie was in the shelter, she showed no interest in people. She seemed very timid despite my best efforts to win her over. When her rescue deadline date arrived, I went in to examine her as per usual and she was a completely different dog. She was at the front of her kennel, eagerly soliciting my attention.

I was so happy to see that Pixie had turned a corner, but when I looked at her records on the computer, I was surprised that no rescue showed interest in her.

Given the transformation she had made, I was determined to reach out and ensure she was rescued. I went back to her kennel and took the following video of her.

I contacted the veterinarians at Humane Society Silicon Valley (HSSV) and pleaded for assistance, promising that Pixie was no ordinary chihuahua. I sent them her x-rays and uploaded the video to Facebook, and they agreed that Pixie was special. Within hours, she was picked up and whisked away to HSSV.

I am lucky enough to also work at HSSV as a surgeon, so I was able to see Pixie on a weekly basis to give her some love and follow her progress.

This was the first time that Pixie saw Dr. Ostermann after being rescued by HSSV. Clearly Pixie remembered her!

Here is a compilation of classic moments with Pixie during her time at HSSV.

Ultimately, Pixie was adopted and went to her forever home. I couldn’t be happier!

This was the last photo Dr. Ostermann got of Pixie, the week before she was adopted!