150 New Yorkers Vie for 15 Chihuahuas

The migration of Chihuahuas from overloaded California shelters to the East Coast has gotten a lot of press—maybe too much. The publicity led 150 New Yorkers to line up outside the ASPCA yesterday to compete for 15 Chihuahuas. “This is a f---ing joke,” one would-be owner tells Gawker. “In the paper they said there were hundreds of Chihuahua. Now they tell us there are only 15?”

The scene got even weirder when the group started chanting, “Chihuahuas! Chihuahuas!” to a passing bus driver who wanted to know what was going on; he responded by urging the crowd to adopt pit bulls instead. Inside, overwhelmed ASPCA reps tried to convince people to consider other breeds, as one potential adopter wondered, “Did anyone get a dog yet? I didn't see anyone come out with a dog yet!”