It was only last year that the Chihuahua was Hollywood's “it” dog. Paris Hilton still uses a pair as accessories, and the breed stared in the 2008 film Beverly Hills Chihuahua. But for every flow there is an ebb, and it seems that many of the people who rushed to the pet store to get their own toy dogs are now dumping them en masse at California animal shelters.

The story first took flight in San Francisco, where the Chronicle noted that one-third of the dogs in shelters there are Chihuahuas. Today the Los Angeles Times reported that the breed is orphaned at local shelters at rate that's second only to the pit bull. Over the last year more than 4,700 Chihuahuas were abandoned at L.A. shelters.

Meanwhile, our friends at the Phoenix New Times report that some of the dogs are being pawned off to out-of-state shelters, including those in the Arizona city.

That's not hot.

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