Statler and Waldorf ended up at Hamilton Animal Services when their owner was hospitalized. Unfortunately, shelter staff were not able to reach the owner, nor any friends or family to get info on the dogs, so we don’t know their real names, or exact ages.
When a foster home stepped up, we were happy to get Statler and Waldorf out of the shelter and into a loving foster home. Statler and Waldorf are seniors and have some of the typical senior chihuahuas issues, such as luxating patellas, bad teeth, and heart murmurs. But they’re both very sweet.
At their rescue day vet visit, their blood work came back fairly normal for dogs their age. A good sign! They were given long-lasting pain medication to help with arthritis. We are going to give them some time to decompress, and their foster mom will monitor their health over the next few weeks before we make any decisions about getting them the dental surgery they need.
Statler and Waldorf were happy to be out of the shelter and enjoying all the soft beds, treats, and love their foster home provided.
We got Waldorf the dental and bladder stone surgery he needed. Unfortunately, Statler’s advanced age and physical frailty wouldn’t allow him to have the dental surgery he needed, but he went with Waldorf to the vet clinic for moral support. Waldorf did great for his surgery. Six teeth and three bladder stones were removed. Waldorf healed up perfectly and he and Statler were made available for adoption. They waited more than a month, but sadly, no applications were submitted for them.
Then on the evening of January 13th, without warning, Statler had a very serious seizure. It lasted a long time, and when it finally seemed to be subsiding, he had another seizure that was far worse than the first. Statler’s foster mom rushed him to the emergency vet, but the seizures had taken such a toll on his little body that no medical treatment would have helped him. The best thing for Statler was to let him go, and he was relieved of his suffering in the loving arms of his foster mom.
Waldorf has been missing his brother, but his foster family have been giving him lots of extra love and attention.
Waldorf is now available as a solo dog, and we hope he can be adopted very soon.
Here are some things to know about Waldorf:
He’s tiny and adorable. Since healing from dental and bladder stone surgery, Waldorf has been more energetic and playful. His adopters should take him to regular vet visits to be sure the bladder stones don’t return. Waldorf has been diagnosed with tracheal collapse, which is a common condition for small dogs. Most days he has a bit of a cough, and other days he doesn’t cough at all.
Sometimes he’ll walk by cats without issue, and other times he will chase after cats. Because he can be unpredictable in this sense, it would be best for him to be in a home without cats. Waldorf will tolerate other dogs, but he would rather be the only dog in the home so he can get all the attention.
Waldorf is not an overly barky dog, and mostly only barks when he goes after cats or when he hears a noise that isn’t familiar to him. Waldorf prefers to eat his food directly on a mat, as opposed to in a bowl or even a plate. He will sit by the bowl and whine until you take some of the food out of the bowl and place it on the mat. (his foster family will pass the mats onto his new home). He loves walks and spending time in the backyard where he gets bursts of energy and zooms all over.
Waldorf is not fully housetrained. He will use puppy pads for times when his foster family aren’t home when he needs to go. Waldorf will need regular grooming to keep his coat from becoming tangled and matted. Waldorf has luxating patellas, but it doesn’t cause him any pain or slow down his mobility.
A home without small children would be best for him.

If you can find it in your heart to give an adorable senior dog a loving forever home, apply to adopt Waldorf today!