Megusta
Bobby Humphreys is a big guy doing huge things in the world of dog rescue – for small dogs! Bobby’s passion project is the Big Guy Littles World Sanctuary. He looks after and rehomes little Chihuahuas who have had a difficult start or have specific requirements. Bobby might have thought you were insane if you told him he’d be spending his days with a pack of small Chihuahuas just a few years ago.
More info: Facebook (h/t: iheartdogs)
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Bobby had Rottweilers for a long time. The gorgeous, athletic dogs are more of the type that a large, brawny person like Bobby would enjoy. He never considered smaller breeds and, in fact, would chastise other males who had pocket-sized puppies!
Things began to shift gradually. It all began when his 17-year marriage came to an unexpected end. Bobby hadn’t expected it, and the fact that it happened so quickly aggravated the pain. Bobby considered suicide because the grief was too much to bear. He got it through owing to a friend who refused to let him go down that road.
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“I’d given all hope in humanity. I started to feel weak. I wanted to put an end to it. Connie, above all, was the one who kept me alive on this world. A true friend who was always there for you. She wouldn’t even leave me alone long enough for me to accomplish what I wanted. She simply refused to go, no matter how many times I told her to. She’d lost friends to it before, and she wasn’t about to lose me now.
Bobby was once asked for a favor by Connie. She was relocating and would be unable to transport her dog, a Chihuahua named Lady who had a reputation for being nasty. Bobby had met Lady before and was not impressed.
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Bobby agreed to take Lady in because Connie had been such a nice friend. He reasoned that if he and his new roommate were to make their new arrangement work, they would try to avoid each other as much as possible. Lady was dropped off by Connie while Bobby was at work, and when he returned home, she was sitting nicely in her kennel under the TV. Bobby decided to take a chance and let Lady out, and when Connie arrived later to see how they were getting along, Lady was sitting in Bobby’s lap, watching TV like old friends!
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Bobby was still dealing with the sorrow of his abrupt separation, but Lady was able to help him put his broken heart back together.
“I was still trying to make sense of everything.” Many days I couldn’t even get out of bed and go to work. Weeks stretched into months, and spending time with Lady was the only thing that made me happy. I can’t believe how this tiny, adorable 7-pound baby has captured my heart.”
But one day he realized that Lady wasn’t his dog and that when the time came, he would return to living with Connie and her son.
“As a result, I set out to locate my own Lady. I recall fond childhood recollections of my grandfather’s Minpin, Lucy, whom I also adored. I either wanted to find someone who resembled Lady or someone who resembled Lucy.”
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Kira, a brown and tan puppy, was Bobby’s first find. His very first puppy. She was unskilled and undisciplined, living in less-than-ideal circumstances in a home where the floor was caked in mud due to bad construction.
“When I first met her, I was certain she would like me since, of course, Lady, who despises everyone, adored me. I was completely mistaken. I got to witness firsthand a Chihuahua’s rage! This puppy literally tried to rip my hand off. She roared and growled when she couldn’t come close to me.”
Bobby was concerned that she would meet other potential adopters in the same manner, and that as a result, no one would want to give her a nice home. Bobby agreed to take her in the hopes that she might change her mind. She was already cuddling with Bobby while he drove them to her new house by the time they arrived.
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Bobby, on the other hand, wanted a puppy to raise, and Kira was older than he had planned, so his search continued. He discovered his next puppy, Harley, on Puppy Finder, but when he went to pick her up, he saw something was wrong. After the owner chose to stop breeding their dogs, Bobby was told that Harley was from an unexpected litter, but one of the youngsters in the house revealed that a male pup from a previous litter was being inbred with the mother for future pups.
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Inbreeding made the two puppies, Harley and Quinn, who Bobby refers to as “the twins,” extremely vulnerable. Bobby was still in pain, despite the fact that he had been doing good for these dogs and that they had comforted him. He had a very difficult birthday that year, so instead of looking at social media, he decided to browse Craigslist. That’s where he met Lucy, who was the same color as him, had the same name as his grandfather, and was his grandfather’s MinPin from years before.
Lucy’s owner seems frantic to find her a new home. Bobby requested that she keep Lucy for a few days, but the owner demanded that he come that day, his birthday, because it was an emergency. She went so far as to offer to reduce the rehoming price. Bobby drove five hours to meet the little puppy and learn more about her story.
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Only a few days prior, Lucy had been discovered wandering near a trailer park. When the woman discovered her, she began knocking on trailer doors until she discovered Lucy’s prior owner, who informed her, “I don’t want that creature, I’m done with it!” Lucy had been a bait dog, according to the man, neighbors, and an emergency vet. She had been trained to train combat canines to be more ferocious. Lucy was strewn with teeth marks, had shattered bones, was malnourished, and was scared of humans and other dogs. Even so, she got onto Bobby’s lap while he was visiting, and he knew she was his.
She put Bobby’s dedication to the test on the trip home on a dark highway. She jumped out of his car and ran when he stopped for gas. Bobby knew oncoming traffic wouldn’t be able to notice her until it was too late as she rushed along a busy, unlit highway.
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“I’m now chasing her down a dark highway at 9 p.m. in the second lane of traffic. I knew they wouldn’t be able to see me until the very last second, let alone a small 4 pound black dog in the dark. I chose to wait in that lane in the hopes that they would notice me, as they would have sped right past her without seeing me. ‘Oh god, this is it,’ I think to myself. In the middle of a four-lane highway, I’m going to die.’ Due to her previous injuries, I was able to gain on her and run her down. She collapsed, curled up into a ball, and put her head between her knees as soon as I got within 5 feet of her. It was then that I realized what a bait dog was. I went completely still. The wind nearly knocked me over as the trailer passed by, sounding its horn.
“I was able to grab her and pull her off the road and back to the car,” says the driver. I left the station with my petrol tank full, but I had to pull over as soon as the adrenaline stopped pulsing. I sat there crying for more than five minutes. I was clutching her so tightly. This poor girl just knows how to survive. She understands that if she manages to escape, she must flee for her life, and when she is unable to continue running, she simply collapses and accepts her fate. I can only picture the kind of life she must have had.
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“At that point, I recognized that it felt better to save a dog from a poor circumstance than to locate the perfect little dog. That’s how I got out of control with my dogs and ended up with seven or eight. Almost majority of them stemmed from unfortunate circumstances. It appeared to be the proper course of action.”
Bobby has now taken in a number of other canines who had little chance of survival. Georgie, who was in bad condition and had lost his eyesight as a result of mistreatment. Chi Chi, who had heartworms and a ruptured disc in her neck due to maltreatment. Nugget, who was born with malformed front limbs and struggles to walk on her own. And there are plenty more.
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Bobby’s enormous heart has place for any Chi that needs help, but rescue isn’t easy. Requests for assistance have been coming in since knowledge of Big Guy Littles World Sanctuary spread. His rescue is mostly self-funded, thanks to the high-end custom flooring contracts he accepts. He’s had less time to focus on his trade as a result of so many special needs canines requiring his time and attention.
Money, on the other hand, will not prevent him from showing affection to pets who have never known it. Bobby presently has roughly 35 dogs in his care, but by next week he expects to have around 40. Some of the dogs have since found new homes and are doing well. Some people have died with the knowledge that they were loved for at least a short time. Some will be under Bobby’s care for the remainder of their lives. Much if there isn’t any money in it, he claims the return is even better.
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You can support Bobby and his pack by visiting one of the links below or simply sharing the news about Big Guy Littles World Sanctuary!
