Meet Penny the newest addition to our Dachshund family!

About Dachshunds

Any Dachshund owner can tell you that this is a unique breed. Dachshunds were bred to hunt badgers which are fierce burrowing critters. So, it is not surprising that Dachshunds are built low to the ground with a big powerful chest and paws made for digging. They are fearless and independent. They are protective and loving to their owners. They have their quirks as does any breed, but once you have owned a Dachshund, everything else is just a dog.

The Journey to Dachshund Ownership

I have owned several other dogs in my life and known many others. I always thought of myself as a 'big dog' person and gravitated toward Lab and Shepard mixes. I should also mention that I prefer rescue dogs. I am not big on buying from breaders, but they have their place. My personal experience has been that rescue dogs are even more loving and seem appreciative for the second chance at life. Anyway, back to the story. It took my spouse to introduce me to Dachshunds and convince me to try one. Well it was actually two. I figured it would take two to come close to a 'big dog'. I was very wrong. Our first two Dachshunds were Schatzi and Heidi who are memoralized in another website accessible from here.

What is that old saying, 'Once you've had the best, the rest are second at best' or something along those lines. If you are an emotive person it's likely that you've grown very attached to your pets. For us, Schatzi and Heidi were like our children. They participated in our lives and were an integral part of our daily existance. The same was true of Muffin and Sophie, but there are differences. They were both part of our 'family pack' for life. We can't imagine being without them. But we also know that their candles burn brighter and faster than ours.

Now Penny has entered our lives. It took less than a day for us to realize that Sophie really needed a four legged companion adn Penny would fill the role well. Now if we can just keep from calling her Muffin. She is a long haired mini red and cream. Unlike Sophie, she loves to play ball and chase and have growling matches. Within a day she was digging through the box of 'dog toys' that Sophie has been ignoring. We find them scattered throughout the house. Penny is not without problems however. She suffers from seperation anxiety and like Schatzi is afraid of thunder. We will work on those traits because everything else is exactly what we were hoping for.

To own a Dachshund is to constantly wonder who owns whom. Like the bumper stick asks .. who rescued who? We've found that the relationship is quite symbiotic. We all live for and support eachother. My wife and I provide the material support while Muffin and Sophie provide unconditional love, guard services, unending entertainment, and a laundry list of other benefits.