In this week’s 16 To The Rescue, we meet a young dog named Chiquita, found as a stray and struggling with shelter life.

SOUTH ABINGTON TOWNSHIP, PA — In this week’s 16 To The Rescue, we meet a young dog named Chiquita, found as a stray and struggling with shelter life.

“I mean, she’s right there. She’s right there with you. She wants to just be with somebody. Someone who loves her and cares about her. That’s it,” said Mercades Drake, Griffin Pond Animal Shelter. 

That’s not too big of an ask when meeting Chiquita; she’s pretty easy to love. This rotweiler/mix was rescued as a stray and brought to live at Griffin Pond Animal Shelter near Clarks Summit. Rescue workers don’t know much about her past, but they know whatever happened to her is probably the reason she clings to the people who show her love. 

“She likes to cuddle. She likes to give kisses. She will be in your lap 100% of the time whenever she can. She is always full of kisses,” Drake said.

Chiquita is probably only about 2 years old, maybe even younger. Rescue workers say she is smart and picks up on learning tricks and skills very quickly. They say she has a lot of energy, so she should go to an active home and maybe someplace with a lot of property. 

“So she doesn’t like cars on the road, she doesn’t do cars. Petrified of them, she’ll try and chase them down like her life depends on it,” said Drake. 

Chiquita can be people-selective and seems to like women better. Rescue workers would like to see her go to a home with older kids, and they think she’d be happier being the only pet in the home, at least for now, because she can be dog-selective, too. Chiquita has been at the shelter for several months, and rescue workers say it is really starting to show.

“She’s been here for quite a long time. It’s starting to take a toll. She’s starting to lose it a little bit. She’s starting to run in circles in the kennel. She barks at everything and everyone that comes in the kennel, but of course, her anxiety is high; it’s through the roof, Drake said. 

But when Chiquita is out of the kennel and with the people she knows and trusts the most, she is a totally different dog, which is why rescue workers just know how happy she’d be in the comfort of a forever home. 

“Being on the trail, she’s at peace with everything. She’s calmed. She’s relaxed. She’s not stressed,” said Drake. 

If you would like to meet Chiquita, you can find her adoption information by clicking here.