The Chihuahuas are learning all about collars, leashes and basic commands after lives spent almost entirely indoors. —MSPCA-Angell

For those looking for a small canine companion, you’re in luck. The MSPCA-Angell just took in 17 chihuahuas.

The dogs range in age from one to four, and there are 11 females and six males. The dogs were surrendered to the organization because their owners, a family living in three different apartments in the same building in Jamaica Plain, had to find new places to live, and the housing they found wasn’t dog-friendly, according to a news release from MSPCA-Angell.

“Our sense is that these dogs may never have left the apartments in which they lived and, as a result, will need time to learn how to walk on a leash, obey some basic commands and so on,” Anna Rafferty-Arnold, associate director of the MSPCA’s adoption center in Boston, said in the release. “But we’re committed to working with them — and their new owners — to ensure they become excellent canine citizens.”


Most of the dogs also need to be spayed or neutered, and be given routine vaccinations. After that, they’ll be ready for adoption. Free obedience training will also be provided as part of the adoption fee, said Rob Halpin, the MSPCA’s director of public relations, in an email.

While 11 of the dogs will remain at the Boston adoption center, six were taken to MSPCA-Cape Cod in Centerville.

“The six dogs that we have — four females and two males — are a bit skittish, mostly because they’ve gone from a home in which they lived almost entirely indoors, and without exposure to any other dogs, to a busy animal shelter where they are just now getting used to collars and leashes and routines,” said Mary Sarah Fairweather, director of the Cape Cod adoption center.

Rafferty-Arnold said the MSPCA wants to find people who understand and appreciate chihuahuas since they think the new additions “will appeal to them.”

Cape Cod residents interested in adopting should email cape@mspca.org, while those near Boston can contact adoption@mspca.org for more information about the dogs and the adoption process.