Kitten-Fostering Chihuahua Up for Adoption

A 5-month-old kitten found in freezing SoCal temperatures last month may not have survived if it wasn’t for an unlikely guardian: a longhaired Chihuahua.

Now, the inseparable mother-son pair is readying for adoption and is expected to be introduced to the public at a Mardi Gras-themed dog parade on Tuesday, March 4.

The chihuahua and kitten, named Beignet and Gumbo, were found when a Barstow resident living next to a vacant home heard what sounded like an abandoned dog and puppy outside. As temperatures reached 20 degrees outside, the good Samaritan checked on the dogs and found something unusual -- there was no puppy. Instead, Beignet was found nursing Gumbo, a small kitten.

The pair was taken to the Helen Woodward Animal Center where they have since been recovering.

“This incredible little family really demonstrates the pure hearts of the orphan animals we meet each day,” the center’s inventory manager Labeth Thompson said. “They needed each other and they were there for each other.”

Tuesday’s event is scheduled for 11 a.m. and prospective pet owners can call 858-756-4117 ext. 1 for more information. Beignet and Gumbo will be kept together together, center officials said

“They love each other,” Thompson said. “That’s all there is to it. It’s not complicated.”

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