Printer-Friendly
Email this Story
Post a Comment (0)
Dachshunds ready to live large
I heard a horror story this week. For a dachshund lover like me, it was a real killer – but I think it’s going to have a happy ending.
A puppy mill was raided by authorities in Parkersburg, WV, and nearly 1,000 dogs were discovered in deplorable conditions. The kennel owner agreed to surrender the animals, and managed to avoid a jail sentence by agreeing never again to breed dogs.
The details are sickening. The dogs, most of them dachshunds, were kept in wire-mesh cages 24-7, and most had never known the touch of a human being. The smell of urine and feces overwhelmed the rescuers. The dogs stumbled when they tried to plant their paws on the alien surfaces of grass or carpeting.
But the rescue has happened, and some of the dogs have made it to the Washington D. C. area. Veterinarians are assessing and treating the animals, and some will be available for adoption as early as this weekend.
I’ve seen photos and video footage of the rescued dogs. I don’t think they’re going to have a lot of trouble finding homes for these little darlings.
As the proud parent of three dogs (including a purebred long-haired dachshund), I’m not in a good position to take on another dog (i.e., my family won’t let me). But I really really really really would love to.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m more than happy with the three dogs we have – the Doxie, the Sheltie and the Black Lab. But if I had to add a fourth, it would be another dachshund.
Now, it’s hardly a slam-dunk in the behavior department. The Black Lab is infinitely easier-going. The Sheltie more obedient and better behaved in public.
No, dachshunds are a little high-maintenance. For one thing, they’re loud. Our girl Penny is the one who will bark at all the other dogs at Leesburg Veterinary Hospital … the one to alert me to the UPS and Fed Ex guys … the one to tattle on any of the other dogs doing something they shouldn’t.
The very patient instructor at Penny’s obedience school had to erect a wall around our little girl because she wouldn’t stop barking greetings at all her other BFFs in the class. She graduated with distinction … the distinction of being the dog who wouldn’t SHUT UP! A few more weeks, and she would have been passing notes and chewing gum.
Doxies are also possessed of a certain kind of Napoleonic complex. They never got the memo that they are small and short, and shouldn’t be trying to boss around dogs three times their size.
My husband likes to tell about the time our old doxie mix, Heifer, chased two huge Dobermans off her street because … well, it was her street, not theirs.
Then again, dachshunds were bred to root out badgers in tunnels. Badgers aren’t exactly known for their docility, so their little pursuers had to be made tough enough to handle them.
What’s more, dachshunds are, to put it kindly, rather food-obsessed. I mean, more so than most other dogs. Penny is the guaranteed first responder to any food dropped in the kitchen. And I’d soon pull a surfer from the jaws of a shark than try to get a chicken bone out of that dog’s jaws.
Adding to our food challenges, Penny was recently put on a restrictive diet to rule out certain food allergies. She is to have rabbit and potato dog food only – nothing else.
Imagine my surprise when I looked down after opening the refrigerator door one evening to find her with an entire stick of butter in her mouth. There she was, chomping down, butter and paper wrapping oozing out of each side. No guilt, only annoyance that I was bugging her.
Our doxie mix used to narrow her eyes and blanch every time she was in trouble. It had to have been the beagle in her, not the dachshund.
For her rather numerous transgressions, Penny shows all the remorse of Hannibal Lecter on a fava bean bender.
At least our other dogs acknowledge that blame is being laid. The Sheltie always looks around the room as if to try and lay responsibility on someone else. And conveniently, the Black Lab (ears down, wagging tail, cowering in a corner) acts like she's the perp no matter which dog did the crime.
OK, Dachshunds aren’t big on remorse. Hey, life is short … just like them.
But they are fiercely smart, beautiful, brave, affectionate and lively.
Since she was a pup, Penny has always followed me around the house. She sits in my office while I type away on the keyboard. She plops herself down beside me on my bed and gives me reassuring kisses on a regular basis. It’s more than enough to get us through the rough patches.
With a little care and patience, I know those rescued dachshunds are going to make some families as happy as Penny and Zoe and Bonnie have made me.
As long as they remember to hide the butter.
# # #
You must be logged in to post a comment.