Dozens of Chihuahuas Rescued From Property Scorched by Fire

Forty-three Chihuahuas are safe and well after being rescued from a house fire in Indiana, with 29 already finding new forever homes.

The dogs were saved by first responders on March 20 and taken to the Border Tails Rescue in Glenview, Illinois. The animals' former owner struggled with compulsive hoarding, leaving the dogs to run wild in unsanitary conditions.

"It was a very unhealthy living situation," Harleigh Goodman, Border Tails Rescue director, told Newsweek. "Thankfully, they were not [injured]."

After hearing about the Chihuahuas' plight, animal advocates Eric Noxon and Joey Masloski (@eric.and.joey) shared their story to TikTok. The footage quickly went viral, receiving more than 4.5 million views and leading to 500 adoption inquiries.

"Our goal is to help as many dogs find forever homes as we can," Masloski, 22, told Newsweek.

What Causes Animal Hoarding?

People with hoarding disorder chronically struggle to part with possessions, according to the American Psychiatric Association. Classed as a compulsive spectrum disorder, an estimated 2 to 6 percent of Americans struggle with the condition.

Sufferers believe they need to "save" these items, and attempts to throw or give away items can lead to significant distress. Animal hoarding is a subtype of hoarding disorder, where people house more animals than they can care for.

The ASPCA said that animal hoarders cannot meet the minimum standards of nutrition, sanitation or veterinary care for their pets. This can lead to overbreeding, starvation, disease and death.

However, hoarding disorder is a complex mental-health issue, with animal hoarders often not realizing they are causing their pets harm.

Masloski first heard about the Chihuahuas from his sister, who works at the Border Tails Rescue.

'Breeding Over and Over Again'

Masloski and his friend, Eric Noxon, 21, run the @erik.and.joey TikTok account. There, they collect and share stories of animals in need across different shelters, including the Heartland Animal Shelter in Wheeling, Illinois, and Muddy Paws Rescue in New York City.

The college students have been friends since sixth grade and share a mutual passion for animal welfare. They created their social-media account to help shelter animals find their forever homes and reduce dog homelessness.

On March 22, the pair headed over to the rescue center to capture the Chihuahuas' story.

Shelter workers had traveled for several hours to collect the dogs. The Chihuahuas were checked over by vets upon arrival and received vaccinations and microchips. They were also dewormed, tested for heartworms and spayed or neutered the following week.

The house had been covered in feces and urine and was generally filthy from the number of animals crammed into the space. Despite the unhealthy living conditions and the house fire, the animals were miraculously unhurt, although some were treated for skin issues and conditions such as cherry eye.

Masloski and Noxon filmed the dogs as they arrived at the shelter, with some of the terrified animals shaking in their carriers. However, the pups looked much happier after being tended to by shelter staff.

The majority of the dogs were between 1 and 2 years old. However, there were puppies as young as 2 weeks old, as well as an older dog aged around 12 years old.

"Many are related," Goodman said. "It was a case of [the] dogs being unfixed and breeding over and over again."

At the time of publication, 29 of the Chihuahuas have found new homes, while 14 puppies are being fostered as they're too young to leave the shelter. There are two of the animals still available for adoption.

Not much is known about the dogs' former owner, or how the house fire started. "The situation is ongoing and not all the information is clear yet," Goodman said.

Masloski and Noxon plan to launch a clothing brand, with a portion of the profits going directly to animal shelters. "This will allow us to spread our message around the world," Noxon said.

"But, for right now, we are looking to continue growing our socials and most importantly, using the community we have created to get more dogs into homes."

'A 2nd Chance'

The story made TikTok users teary-eyed, with Meganfetchhappen asking: "How could they do this?" "This is so sad," agreed alondra.cxxx.

"As a grown 28 year old man with 4 chihuahuas, this broke my heart," wrote Noriega.

"Poor babies," wrote itzel. "If I could I would take them all," commented Mirthe94.

"So glad they've been given a 2nd chance," posted Ashleigh Robins. "Well done [to] all involved, absolutely brilliant work."

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