Chilli becomes her adopter’s muse

This is Chilli. 

 

In 2018, Chilli, rescued by Second Chance Animal Rescue, found a loving home with adopters Marcus and Yvette. Little did Chilli know that she didn’t just find a new home but was also about to make friends for life...

 

Meeting her future bestie, Lacey

 

 

Marcus and Yvette already had a furry family member called Lacey when Chilli joined the family.

 

“We took Lacey as part of the initial meet and greet. Lacey initially sniffed Chilli and then went off to smell everything else around her. Chilli seemed comfortable with Lacey from the onset. When we left to take her home with us, it just felt right. When you know, you know. Chilli was meant to be a part of our family.”

 

Marcus and Yvette wanted both the dogs to have a slow introduction to gradually give them time to warm up to each other. They did this by creating a separate space in the house for Chilli. 

 

“As for the introduction with Lacey, it was monitored from the on-set, and when we weren't home at the time due to work, Chilli was placed in a safe mesh wall puppy playpen so she could see, hear and smell Lacey for comfort. The day they truly connected was when I forgot to latch the back zip on her pen, and we came home, and they were running around the house together. They had bonded all day and became inseparable.

“We crate trained Chilli in the initial days, which was successful. Sometimes, she’d sneak out and jump into Lacey's bed to snuggle with her. Lacey would wake us up to dob on her. Haha. This still happens on occasion to this day,” said Marcus.

 

Settling into her new home with a bit of help 

 

Although Chilli’s first few days were challenging, having Lacey around definitely helped. 

 

“Chilli's initial training was initially a challenge. Because she was seized from an illegal breeding house, where no one lived, just dogs running around everywhere doing whatever they liked, she would always go to the toilet inside on the carpet. This was a challenge initially, but we accepted mistakes, placed puppy training pads down around the house leading to the back door to outside and encouraged her to go on these. When she started using these purposely, then the rest was history. We migrated the pads outside & Success!''

 

 

“She watched and learned from Lacey a great deal also, which made her training easier. She sat and left food until told it was OK. She sits on command. Speaks on command. Turns around and rolls over on command. More so with treat incentives.” 😉

 

Changing her adopters’ lives

 

Chilli and Lacey have had an enormous impact on their adopters’ lives. So much so that Marcus decided to cement his love for his furry friends. 

Here’s the adorable tattoo of Chilli that Marcus shared with us:

 

Because of his background as an animal ranger, Marcus knew how adoption could change the lives of homeless pets and give them a new lease on life. 

''I used to work in Local Laws as an Animal Ranger and was raised in a family where my father was a vet. I have seen so many beautiful fur-souls who have been abandoned, or worse, and my wife and I were of the heart and mindset that if we could adopt and rescue a beautiful fur soul to include in our family, we could provide a loving, safe and inclusive family environment to a less fortunate, mistreated soul. It meant a lot to us, and we have learnt that our rescue (Chilli the Chihuahua) has provided us with so much love, fun and beauty in our lives we are clearly are the fortunate ones.''​

Marcus and Yvette have since grown the pet family and added Neo to the pack. 

This family photo of Lacey, Chilli and Neo is giving us all the fuzzy feels!

 

 

Marcus and Yvette say they ''truly encourage people to seek the right adoption animal for their family. The rewards from this are endless.'' We couldn't agree more!

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