Our Dachshunds - Part 1

Why Dachshunds?

In order to explain why we love Dachshunds as much as we do, I have to go back to Muggsi, who was our family’s first dog.  She was a black-and-tan miniature Dachshund.  She joined our family in 1995 and is solely responsible for our love our Dachshunds because she was such an incredible dog.  Due to immigration issues, I had to relocate to Pennsylvania and move back in with my parents and brothers after only eight months of marriage, while C had to stay in Canada and wait for all of our paperwork to be processed.  As you might imagine, I missed C terribly, having moved to a town where I knew no one. My parents worked all day and my brothers were in school all day, and so Muggsi’s companionship was priceless.  She was only five months old when I moved there, and although my parents wanted her to sleep in her own little dog bed in the laundry room, I snuck her into bed with me every night and returned her to her bed each morning before anyone else was up.  This went on for almost a year before I confessed, and by then, everyone in the house wanted Muggsi to sleep in their bed because we had all grown so attached to her.  She lived to the ripe old age of 14 and her death was a very difficult one for all of us because she was our first dog and had transformed us into a family of dog people.

Holly, another black-and-tan miniature Dachshund, joined our family in 1997.  Holly was very special because she was unfailingly kind.  Dachshunds have a bit of a reputation for being snappy, but Holly was the exception. Dachshunds are prone to back issues, and in 2000, when she was barely three, she ruptured a disk in her back.  This required extensive surgery, and as a result of the injury, she was paralyzed and completely lost the use of her back legs.  While this created some challenges for her, her very sweet disposition remained and she spent her time pulling herself around like an adorable seal.  We got her a cart (canine wheelchair), which she would use outside, but she wanted nothing to do with it when she was in the house.  She did not let the paralysis dampen her spirit or determination and although we tried all sorts of physical therapy for her, she never did regain the use of her hind legs.  Her tail, though, was another matter.  She wagged her tail nonstop before her injury, and it took some time, but a few months after her surgery, she started to wag her tail again.  Our family likes to say that she was such a happy dog that even paralysis couldn’t stop her from showing the world how joyful she was.

In 1999, my mom and I had traveled to Delaware to visit my brothers for the weekend (they attended boarding school) and we were at the mall.  This is the part I am ashamed to admit – we went into a pet store.  Knowing what I know now, I would never, ever, ever purchase a pet from a pet store.  We had also purchased both Muggsi and Holly from pet stores and I never understood puppy mills and the atrocities that result from them.  As the saying goes, when you know better, you do better, and we have chosen to adopt all of our subsequent dogs from shelters and rescue organizations.

That being said, the consequence of the pet store visit was that I brought my Chelsea home from Delaware that weekend.  She weighed 3.25 pounds and was just about the cutest creature I had ever seen.  Later that year, C got a job visa and moved to Chicago, with Chelsea and I following right behind him.  We ended up living apart for 4.5 out of our first 5 years of marriage, which is an incredible realization when I look back on that time.  While Chelsea had loved being with Muggsi and Holly for about ten months, she adjusted to life as an only dog very easily (read:  she was spoiled and absolutely enjoyed every minute of it).

In April 2004, my mom adopted an older black-and-tan miniature Dachshund who had medical issues from Dachshund Rescue of North America, named Murphy.  So for a few months, she had three dogs, which seemed like lot at the time!

However, Holly very unexpectedly passed away in June of that year – a blow to all of us that was extremely difficult to deal with.  She was only six-and-a-half, and while one is never ready for their beloved dog to leave them, this completely blindsided us.  Exactly one week prior to her death, my mom had been visiting and brought Holly to my school so my students could meet her.  She was so sweet with my students, and my last memory of her is watching my mom lead her to the car, Holly rolling alongside her with her tail wagging madly.  It is a very happy thought.

Murphy had a crooked hind leg that the vet said was the result of a broken leg that was never reset properly.  Apparently this is common practice at puppy mills so that the breeder dogs cannot escape.  Disgusting.  She had a difficult time trusting people, which is perfectly understandable, given her terrible life experiences, and she did not like being picked up by anyone but my mom.  When C and I watched her, we carried her around the house wrapped in a blanket inside of a laundry basket so she couldn’t nip at us.  Quite comical.  Overall, she was a delightful little dog despite her difficult medical issues and although she was only part of our family for 19 months, our hearts broke when she passed away.  We hope the love she was showered with for those 19 months helped to erase some of the horror she experienced all those years before she joined our family.

A month after Murphy passed away, my mom adopted a Doxador – a Dachshund-Labrador mix (don’t ask…we have no idea how that happened, either!).  Her name is Carmen, and she was rescued from a very abusive home.  She is fearful of almost everything, but has been a wonderful addition to our family.  We think she is about twelve years old now, and gets along with all of my dogs pretty well, which is good, because all six of them are often together when either my mom or C and I are traveling.

So at this point in the story, C and I still only have Chelsea, but that is about to change.  The next installment will chronicle those events!

Happy Tails to you!