Urban legends are also known as folklore, often these tales are made up by people from a past time period who have tried to offer explanations about the unexplained. Some of these mythical tales and stories still exist and persist, even today. There are several stories surrounding the different breeds of dogs, including Chihuahuas.

Chihuahuas Cure Asthma and Allergies:

One such legend about chihuahuas comes from Mexico, which claims that the dogs have an uncanny ability to transfer illness from the owner to themselves, thereby ridding them of illnesses like allergies and asthma. This legendary folklore resurfaced in the United States, where Sandra Billitz of Warrior, Alabama, claims that she bought a Chihuahua with the strict intention that the dog would cure her mother’s asthma.

Bigchihuahua.com disputed the claim that a Chihuahua can cure or lessen the effects of asthma, even though Ms. Billitz claimed that it cured her mother. Devoted Chihuahua owners who commented on the site claimed that their Chihuahuas actually cured or reduced asthma symptoms. However, Bigchihuahua.com backs up their claims by citing that there is no specific information to lend credence to this claim.

There are many possible explanations for the way a Chihuahua owner feels pure love, “the power of faith, belief and suggestion.” Also, since a Chihuahua can have either a smooth or long-haired coat, a smooth-haired Chihuahua kept as a family pet may produce less dander and other airborne allergens that can trigger asthma and allergies in some people .

Chihuahua being dragged by a hawk:

Taking place in Manhattan’s Bryant Park, this incident occurred when a tourist had his pet Chihuahua on a leash and saw a trained hawk, which was part of the park’s recreational program, swoop down and take the dog with its sharp talons. Apparently, the chihuahua ended up being released and only suffered minor injuries.

No evidence was offered to support these claims that a small chihuahua was almost a meal for a trained falcon. The falcon most likely believed the animal to be a rat or other vermin. Since then, park officials have taken extra precautions to prevent something like this from happening. They are continuing their recreational hawk program, which was implemented to get rid of the pigeon population in the park. The program has been a success and park officials say they are not going to get rid of the program because of a small mistake.

According to David Emery of “Your Guide to Urban Legends and Folklore”, this falcon story should be considered “almost a myth”. Emery also claims that it could become a true urban legend if the chihuahua hadn’t been on a leash at the time.

However, there is still an urban legend that birds such as hawks, pelicans, and other large birds commonly catch and snatch a small pet like a chihuahua. It is most likely a coyote that would hunt a chihuahua and other small animals.

A tourist buys a chihuahua that is actually a rat:

Another story widely spread on the Internet was that a couple from the United States bought a chihuahua to take home. It turned out that the dog was strange looking, but the buyer assured them that it was actually a chihuahua. Once the couple returned to the United States, their vet confirmed that they had actually purchased a hairless Mexican sewer rat.

There are several versions of this story going around, some have said that the dog was a stray and the couple liked it, others have said that the dog nearly drowned and was rescued. Other sources state that the vet confirmed that the animal was from several different species of rats; Korean, Chinese and Guatemalan are just a few. Other variations of the story claim that the hairless rat was supposedly dying when it arrived at the vet. Again, like all the other stories, this too is an urban legend.