Giovana Alonso

After seeing some photos I fell completely in love. I wrote to the breeder, without any hope of attaining one since the publication was a couple of days old, but the owner wrote back to me! He told me that she had a miniature size female that was perhaps a red color. Being honest, I didn’t know the colors and sizes. So color wasn’t a decisive factor for me. All I knew and cared for was giving it a home. 

 Bruno's arrival was a little different. I had a person contact me mentioning that he had a Xoloitzcuintle with apparently albinism. He believed this because he noticed that it did not change color, the sun caused lacerations on the skin and he couldn't hear from one ear. Because of so much extra care he couldn't take care of him, so I adopted Bruno from him. 

 Maya Albino? 

 During our vet visit they had told me that she was apparently albino. This is very rare since it’s a very uncommon gene in the Xoloitzcuintle breed. They did several tests to find out if she was deaf or blind; a condition that albinos of any race normally have.

The results were unexplainable! Maya was able to see, but not perfectly in daylight and was able to hear from both ears. 

After a few months, we were able to the carry out the initial registration with the Confederación Canofila Mexicana. They were equally surprised. They carefully inspected Mayas characteristics, accepting to register her with the note “not suitable for breeding or exhibition due to color”. 

 Adapting 

The first year was very complicated since her stomach is very sensitive she struggled eat any type of food. Even barf food! Most of the time she had reflux, vomiting and diarrhea. This is due her intestinal flora which is different from the others as a result of chronic gastroenteritis. 

 On the other hand, her sensitivity to the sun is extreme so we try to limit her sun bathing to 10 minutes a day either at sunset or sunrise. And of course we can’t forget her skin allergies! This can come from a variety of different things including, clothes that have labels or seams, foods with seeds, grains or high fat, contact with the freshly cut grass, sand, and among other things. We also can’t forget to mention their eye sensitivity to direct light.

Staying Prepared  

Nowadays I carry an emergency kit that contains a variety of products to treat any minor complications or to aide before getting to the hospital. Sometimes out of the blue they can get sick, but I'm always prepared. In her emergency kit I carry medications to treat gastritis, pre and probiotics, antiseptics in different forms, allergy medicine, bandages, wet wipes, cooling bandana, T-shirt with UV protection, glasses with UV protection, a hat, umbrella, water, among other things to prevent complications.

Present Day 

Today Maya and Bruno eat hydrolyzed and balanced food, adding pre and probiotics in their daily diet. Their care routine include baths every 1 or 2 weeks, protective sunscreen when we are at home and additional sunscreen when we go out. Maya and Bruno use special clothes, since without it they can suffer sun burns. We also use cooling bandanas when going out to prevent heat stroke.

Even though Bruno doesn't hear well in one ear and Maya is very sensitive, I’ve trained them with gestures and in case of not seeing perfectly in the light they understand by sound.

This is just a bit of the day to day life we live having albino Xolos.

Unconditional Love  

Despite having a lot of daily care and without having a prognosis of life, I will always give them the life they deserve, doing everything possible to ensure they are well.

Cheers!