'Tots' helps all have the best Christmas

Nubz is living a chicken's best life.

After losing his toes to leg scale mites, he was adopted by an Escondido, Calif., woman who nursed him back to health.

According to a story on the Good News Network, Meech Davignon developed a bond with the Malaysian Serama chicken, who quickly became top chicken of her menagerie of dogs, cats, guinea pigs and 11 other chickens.

When Davignon noticed Nubz had trouble moving on hard surfaces because of his disability, due to the thin skin on his feet because of the damage from the mites, the dog trainer told the Washington Post.

A few days after bringing Nubz home, and as she treated him, she wondered if a pair of reindeer slippers that her Chihuahua, Rex, had, but never wore.

She tucked his feet inside the slippers and set him down and held his favorite treat in front of him, hoping he'd come after the treat.

“As he got more comfortable wearing his little shoes, I’d leave them on longer each time,” Davignon told the Washington Post. “Pretty soon, he was getting around a lot better than he did without them because they were great little mobility devices. I’d let him wear them to walk on wood chips and anything else that was rough on his feet.”

After she adopted Nubz, Davignon told the Washington Post that she learned that he was a gynandromorphic chicken — one with both male and female sex organs — but said she has always used the pronoun he for Nubz.

Nubz seemed to like the slippers — and he seemed to move faster when he had them on.

To celebrate her first anniversary with the feathered family member, Davignon created a TikTok page for Nubz. A video of him learning to walk in his holiday slippers went viral. Soon, followers asked if they could add to his wardrobe. Soon, Nubz had dozens of tiny boots, shoes and slippers.

“Probably his favorite pair is his dark blue shoes that look like Ugg boots,” Davignon told the Post. “He’s pretty fast in those and seems to really enjoy wearing them.”

Nubz has more than 38,000 followers, who can't get enough of him, Davignon told the newspaper.

“He’s a sassy little chicken and he needs to be the boss,” she said. “But he’s also sweet, cuddly and extremely loving, and he likes me to snuggle with him. I adore him.”

Today’s generous donations, totaling $584 comes from the Daily Bee and Bonners Ferry Herald employees.

To date, $32,239 has been raised. The goal for this year’s Toys for Tots campaign is $75,000, an increase over past years due to the number of people needing help.

The Lions make the most of the money by bargain shopping and with the assistance of generous local businesses. 

Funds raised during the Sandpoint Lions' annual Toys for Tots Christmas campaign go to purchase new toys for area children — or gift cards for older youth — who live in the Lake Pend Oreille School District. Every Christmas, the Lions help almost 1,000 area children, from Sandpoint to Clark Fork and all points in between.

In addition, the Lions give a gift card to a local grocery store so that families can get supplies for their Christmas dinner.

The Lions started taking applications earlier this month, and demand for the program is already well above last year's total, with 100 more applications submitted during the first week than in 2022.

The club is accepting Toys for Tots applications until Dec. 15. Applications are available on the Lions' website, and printed copies are available on the door of the Lions Club, 609 S. Ella Ave.

Donations for Toys for Tots can be dropped off at the front desk at the Bonner County Daily Bee, 310 Church St., from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. You can also drop off donations (checks and cashier's checks) at Umpqua Bank’s Sandpoint branch, 414 Church St., or at the Ponderay branch, 300 Bonner Mall Way; and at the Ponderay Starbucks.

Donations may be mailed to the Sandpoint Lions Club, Box 414, Sandpoint, ID 83864.

Donations made by check are preferred. Be sure to include a note with your check indicating that it is a Toys for Tots donation. If you wish to make an anonymous donation, please mention that in your note.

If the donation is being made in someone’s name, be sure to also include a note.

Information: Sandpoint Lions Club, 208-263-4118, or online at bit.ly/SandpointLions