Boo (world’s cutest dog) to New Yorkers: Adopt airlifted Chihuahuas!

Boo, the self-proclaimed “Cutest Dog in the World,” walked a doggie red carpet Wednesday to wish bon (or is that bone?) voyage to nine Chihuahua pups flying from San Francisco to Newark, N.J.

It’s all part of Operation Chihuahua run by Virgin America Airline, the fifth airlift the airline has provided for San Francisco Animal Care and Control. The problem? Too many abandoned Chihuahuas in Bay Area shelters.

The idea is to shift the pups to the East Coast where there’s a demand for small pets among apartment-dwellers in New York.

“We have a major overpopulation of Chihuahuas here in California,” Rebecca Katz, director of the San Francisco animal control agency, said in a statement. “Virgin America’s continued support in flying these little guys out to the East Coast over the last few years has helped us place them into loving homes that they couldn’t have found here.”

The airline has transported 70 adoptable dogs free of charge over the past few years.

The Chihuahuas, accompanied on board by volunteers, arrived safely in New Jersey on Wednesday and were handed over to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. They’ll settle in for a bit before their stories are posted on the agency’s website and officially put up for adoption.

And Boo, the 5-year-old Pomeranian and Virgin America’s official pet liaison, will go back to wearing Boo charms for Crocs or chat with his more than 8-million Facebook friends.

mary.forgione@latimes.com
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