Click here to fill out adoption application

Clarice is a chihuahua and dachshund mix (chi-weenie) that is estimated to be between 14 and 18 months old (vet’s guess) and weighs 10 pounds. She was found close to Christmas so is named after Rudolph’s girlfriend. And just like the fairy tale this Clarice will want to be a best friend and constant companion. 

She has a very relaxed temperament and is one of the sweetest dogs people say they have ever met. Clarice loves sitting on a lap or beside someone on a sofa or human bed plus likes dog beds, bean bag chairs, and mats. She is an explorer curious about everything in the house and loves following people around to be near them and giving. Each day her foster family sees more of Clarice’s personality emerge and her become more confident which makes them smile.

The story of how Clarice came into the rescue is she was tied up in a dog food bag and tossed from a truck into a creek. Luckily someone saw this littering occur. She found that bag and when she opened it, she was very surprised to find a dog inside. Clarice was traumatized by this event and was afraid of humans for a few weeks. She would hide wherever she could to get away from people, such as in a crate, behind a chair, or even under the Christmas tree. She would NOT allow anyone to pick her up because of the fear of what would happen to her if they did. But being in 4LD foster care has changed her and taught her that most humans are nice, and she has learned to trust. She is now ready to find a loving permanent home.

Clarice enjoys a calm predictable routine. When moving to her new forever home Clarice will need some time to learn to believe in new people. Initially she may be nervous and scared, possibly running away from her new family members, because that was her previous instinct. We discovered that Clarice likes going up to people on her terms. At the foster house she still occasionally jumps away whenever someone leans down to pet her or pick her up – but then realizes she knows this person and allows touching. Then she just smiles or melts in their arms when being held. Since she learned to love her foster family 4LD believes she will adjust to her new family, the adopter will just need to be willing to have patience and give her the time she needs to do so.

She loves playing with dog toys! She gets toys out then carries them to a dog bed or to a rug. She will shake them, squeak them, chew them – everything that makes toys fun for dogs. When she is in one of her playing moods there are about 10 toys taken out of the toy box strewn all over the place. We recommend the adopter have a large selection of toys for this little girl because she likes a variety!

Clarice is fully potty trained and even goes to the back door when she needs to go (she is not comfortable using the doggie door yet because of the loud sound). She is also pee pad trained so if her signal to go outside is missed she uses the pad. She is crate trained and appreciates having it to feel secure and safe. She is considered low energy just wanting to stand or hang out by people. Older children in the new household would be fine because they would understand Clarice is still learning socialization, but younger children may not understand her hesitation.

She needs to live in a house with a fenced-in yard which will be a requirement for her applicants. Because of her past an unexpected sound or action may startle her and cause her to run so she needs to be contained by a fence. It is also sometimes challenging to put a leash on her because of her instinct to run from a human hand reaching toward her. At the foster home (contained by a fence) she goes out to the backyard, does what she needs to, and comes back to the porch – unless it is a nice day then she likes running around enjoying the weather.

Leash walking is something she is starting to like to do. Once the foster family can get the leash on her (using the “stay” command) she shows excitement of ready to go out the front door. 4LD wants her permanent family to know leash walking will continue to be worked on because it is new to her, and she is still learning etiquette of not pulling and gets a little tense when cars drive by. She does better on the walks when her foster dog sister goes along because it gives her some more security. Clarice is fond of riding in a car either sitting on a lap or curled up on a dog bed and sometimes looking out the window wondering what adventure she is going on.

Clarice likes other dogs – she lives with a foster dog sister and vacationed with two other dogs. She will follow dogs around seeing what they are doing or else learning where she should be such as the kitchen looking for food droppings or the office where her foster mother works. Clarice is starting to play at the same time as the foster dog sister does and sometimes with her. She also considers it a contest to “steal” the other dog’s toy when that dog walks away from it (is fun to watch).

The average lifespan for this breed of dog is 15 years; therefore, Clarice’s adopter will need to be prepared to care for her for around 14 more years so she will not have to move to a different home again.

Clarice’s adoption fee is $500. This dog comes microchipped, spayed, up to date on all necessary vaccines/rabies shots, heartworm tested, and dewormed. She is currently being fostered in the Plant City/Valrico Florida area.

***We are a foster-based rescue with no shelter or facility to view our dogs, and our address is a mailing address only. Please be patient as we are an all-volunteer rescue, and our rescue dogs are in various loving foster homes throughout West-Central Florida. As a general rule we try to limit our adoptions to within the state of FL. If interested in one of our dogs, please fill out a foster or adopt application at www.4luckydogs.org, and we will contact you by phone/text if we feel your application is the best fit out of the ones received.***