Wiener Dog Rescue Blog

Hi, it’s me, Robin. I saw that Frankie had a video and I have a better video and I think it’s fun so I’ll let you watch it. It’s me playing with my toys but I made a hole in the big toy and mom hasn’t fixed it yet and I don’t know where it went. You can see how pretty and happy I am and Frankie isn’t pretty because he doesn’t have long hair and he’s a boy and he’s big and sometimes he is happy but sometimes he is angry.

I have a whole basket of toys but I like the ones that make a lot of noise the best because when I play with them everyone looks at me. When mom and dad are talking on the phone with lots of people doing something they call a presentation, I like to play with my toys so everyone on the phone can hear me too.  I know mom and dad like that because they get all red and they point at each other and then point at me and then one of them picks me up and puts me on their lap and pets me for a long time to thank me for sharing.  They like squeaking but they don’t like barking because sometimes we think it’s fun to bark at stuff  but they don’t thank us when we do that. They tell us to go outside in a not nice way.

I’m going to be busy for a few days so the rescue people told me to say thank you for all the cards and updates and donations that you sent in for the holidays because they really appreciate them. My two brothers and I were some of the dogs they helped last year and sometimes there are so many dogs to help that mom is on the phone with other rescue people and she sounds sad but the updates make her happy. I like it when people are happy so if you’re a rescue dog you should send your foster parents a note to tell them that you’re ok because they share them with everyone in the rescue and then everyone is happy.

Happy holidays, everyone.

I look like a pumpkin

Have you been outside recently!  It’s frickin freezing!  Especially for a little short haired guy like me.  Winter is most definately alive and well.  When I go outside I go as fast as I can so I can come back in.  If I go for a walk, I get dressed up in my winter best.  Dad feels like a dork walking these two little wieners in winter coats and booties.  People giggle as I go by but it’s a gift to make people laugh (and I get to stay warm).  Us dogs can get frost bite too!  So remember to protect your wiener this winter!

We were home alone yesterday discussing what I should tell you about next. The girls said that I shouldn’t be allowed to post because I’ve led a charmed life because I’ve had one home since I was a pup. Somehow it ended up as a pissing contest, literally as well as figuratively, and by the end of it maybe I learned a bit about them and we sure did make a mess.

I won’t go into the details, but when we were highlighting bad stuff that happened to us in the past and all the stuff that gets us down, we realized how ridiculous and spoiled we sounded and we felt a bit bad about all the pee. Sure, some of the girls had a rough start but baggage just weighs you down so why carry it around? What happened in the past is over and what’s important is today and the future. Mom and dad have adopted 4 dogs and some have taken longer to let the past go but when they do, it’s a great thing. Just let it go.

If you have people who love you and take care of you, a warm place to sleep, and enough food to eat – be thankful. So guys, smile as they dress you up in stupid outfits, let them cut your nails without complaint, and try to use the outdoors toilet. There are a million dogs who would give anything to be in your place. Well, maybe you don’t have to do all those things but maybe you could give your people an extra wag and kiss today.

Here are some pictures of me with my family past and present – even one with me and Holly. I might complain about them sometimes, but I know that I’m lucky to have them.

Dogs – is this innocent fun, or is this offensive mockery? Seriously, what’s with people. Someone somewhere decided that there was a need for a singing dachshund dressed in a silly hat and biker gear (complete with earring) that wags and dances. I’m offended on so many levels. I’m mostly offended that my people recorded my confusion for your enjoyment.

If you don’t have flash installed, you can see me on YouTube.

I’ve been helping the rescue arrange their shows for next year. So far, we’re booked for some great events. We’ve got a Pet Fun Fest on February 13th and 14th, the Toronto Sportsmen’s Show on March 17th to 21st, and the All About Pets Show April 2nd to 4th.  Robin is pretty excited about attending all the shows – and you know how she gets when she’s excited. I don’t think she should be let near a keyboard until she learns the art of proper punctuation. I think she actually IS a run-on sentence. She’s all over the place and doesn’t give you the chance to breathe.

I hope that you can come to the show and purchase a trinket or play a game to help support the rescue. I hear there are some new dogs coming in soon and we’ll have lots of spays to do. Spaying the girls costs a lot. I hope you’ll check back to find out more about them. If they can put two words together, I might let them add a post on my blog.

So I went to the Deck the Halls with Dachshunds.  It was really cool.  Meggie came with me too.  She did a lot better than I expected.  She met the other dogs and people and towards the end of the night she was starting to come out of her shell (she’s shy with other people, but at home…not so much).  Anywho, my human (Erica) thought that Meggie would be the problem child that night, but I decided to surprise her (hehehe). 

I had Erica following me around with the cleaning spray and paper towels for the whole night.  Just so much to mark and so little time!   Dad was there with us too.  He was with Meggie.  He couldn’t stop laughing at Erica having to follow me around. 

Anywho, it was my first time there.  The very first thing that I did when I got there was have a nice big BM.  Just ask Erica…that’s how I started my night off.  Then I went around and met lots of nice people and dogs.  I said hi to my friend Robin too (though she spent most of the night off the ground in peoples’ arms…apparently I’m too big for that)

Towards the end of the night I got really tired.  I’m soon to be 12…it takes a lot out of a guy.  Erica says that I was being a grouchy old man (she sometimes forgets that I’m not as young as I used to be).  After chasing a puppy and getting my grumpy self into trouble with the big boss (Erica) , we decided it was time to take this old man home to bed.

Bedtime for Beekie

I've been good!

Did you go to the Meetup last Friday? I did and I saw lots of dogs and I met lots of people and I sat on Santa’s lap and I convinced Uncle Dan to hold me because I’m too pretty to be on the ground and I was a bit scared because I didn’t know anyone.  Mom told me the rescue spent lots of dollars in the past two months on vet bills so she was happy that people bought stuff from her to help the rescue pay the bills and there was a raffle too. I don’t really understand all that but I know that one dog in the rescue was really really sick and spent more than two weeks at the vet but she had cancer so now she is in the dog park in the sky. That’s sad and I don’t like to be sad so let’s talk about happy things.

Santa knew I had been good and I asked for squeaky toys and treats for Christmas and I think I’ll get them because I’m always good and good things always happen to me. I also asked for a blanket for Holly, some socks for Duchess to play with, and a big sandwich for Frankie but most of all I asked for homes and people to pet all the dogs that don’t have homes and people to pet them. The holidays are all about family for me because I like visiting but mom and dad went out visiting on the weekend and I was so tired from the Meetup that I stayed home and had a nap.

Some people at the show called me Sophie because one time, at Woofstock, I was wearing a collar with Sophie written on it because the rescue sells them and I said I didn’t mind being a model because I’m so pretty. Now I have my own collar with Robin written on it in sparkly letters and if you haven’t seen it you can go to www.wienerdogrescue.com and look at my picture in the Rescue Me calendar because I’m wearing it. They chose me to have the biggest picture on the Dachshund page and mom said I wasn’t allowed to be in the calendar for next year because someone else should have a turn. I like the name Sophie and I liked the people who remembered me especially the ones who helped find homes dogs without homes so they can be happy too.

I like holidays but I don’t like Sundays because sometimes I get washed and today I got washed and I didn’t like it so I’m sitting with dad and not mom.

A rare social moment

The lesser dogs of the house are nagging me to tell my story but I put it all behind me years ago. One more time, but this is it. And only because I want to, not because they asked me to.

My name is Holly but for some reason they call me “Balls”. You will refer to me Holly. I’m the leader of the Frankie, Robin and Duchess pack. Some of the rescued dogs thank the rescue for saving them, but they were really not in any danger. I, however, had a life of pure hell and was saved from a painful death in a gas chamber (aka an old oil barrel) with only hours to spare.

I was bred and abused in my first ‘home’. I still have huge scars and a fused spine from an incident that I will not speak about. I had just given birth to another litter of puppies when I was dumped in a rural pound. My pups weren’t old enough to be weaned but I hear the smaller they are when you sell them, the more money they bring in. From that day on I swore I would never be used again.

As a dog, and blissfully unaware of my mortality, I didn’t fear for my life in the pound but it smelled like sick and terror and my cage was cold and sterile. The people were nice enough but I knew it was a bad place. I now understand that the inmates have only 3 days to find a home and I was running out of time. Fortunately, the shelter people reached out to rescue groups and even though I was in the US, the Canadian Dachshund Rescue agreed to save me and arranged a long transport to get me to their igloo in Ontario.

I was pretty young back then, and my motto was “bite first, ask questions later”.  Humans proved to be unreliable, irresponsible, immoral, and pretty much a miserable self-righteous species. Fortunately, my foster family pretty much left me alone and my views softened a bit. I rested comfortably under a blanket except when it was time to eat and thought maybe they’re not ALL so bad. I was spayed (thank goodness) and they removed half of my teeth. The teeth were rotten and I didn’t even know I was in pain until they were gone. It was amazing to have humans actually looking after me instead of neglecting me and selling my babies.

One day, Frankie and my people came to visit. Frankie’s brother had just died and since he’s a wimp, he needed a leader to follow. I set him straight right away. Let’s just say it wasn’t love at first sight. I knew that yet again I wasn’t in control of my destiny so when I heard the people say they were adopting me, I saw an opportunity and took off running. Better safe than sorry, you know. Fortunately, I was caught and stuck in a car and my new life began.

I let the people know how things were going to go down. I was the boss and if they stepped out of line, they’d feel my teeth.  I still thought that maybe I’d be better off on my own because humans are so iffy so I was always looking for a way out. They learned quickly and in time I was able to retire my teeth and I was able to appreciate what I had. I even started liking Frankie. These days I just have to yell at them to get what I want. One good “WOO!” is all it takes. Up. Down. Out. In. Food. Attention. Walk. Fire. Bed.

I attended many CDR events over the past 7 years but these days I’m too old to enjoy that kind of thing. I like the idea of a day at a show getting treats and being admired, but everything hurts the next day. I’ve let the young annoying dog take my place.

The rescue saved my life but don’t think I’ll be outwardly thankful forever. Inside, I count my blessings and shed tears for the dogs that rescue can’t save.

'Tis the season to eat Santa...

Fa la la la laaa laa la la SQUIRREL!

Jingle Beeker, Jingle Beeker,

Jingle all the way.

Oh what fun it is to ride in a one Wiener open sleigh, HEY!

(I swear mom, you will get a piece of wiener coal in your bed if you even think about hitching me to a small sleigh!)

I really like this time of year…I get to curl up with the closest available body and watch Christmas movies…Sniff the tree (I like to think of it as my own personal indoor toilet)…knock the bulbs off and watch everyone race around to try and clean it up before someone gets hurt…there is just so much to do!  Okay…the tree isn’t up yet…but when it is….hehehe.

This will be Meggie’s first Christmas with us.  How exciting!!  I get to teach her how to open our presents (and anyone elses’ that we feel like)  have some turkey for dinner (no gravy though…MONSTERS!..how can you have turkey without gravy?) and then settle down for a long winter’s nap!

Ahh this is the life!

I just can’t wait!   How ’bout you?

More food, less snow

I heard on the news that we’re expecting snow this week. I wish to register a complaint about this plan and I want all the smooth dachshunds to join me.  Especially the boys for obvious reasons. Perhaps it’s not the snow that’s the problem, but the fact that ‘they’ insist that I use the outdoors toilet when the snow is tail-high. Every year I exercise my right to protest the bathroom rule by ‘protesting’ on the floor inside. Ok – every season I protest. Fine. Every time it’s raining, or the wind is strong, or it’s cold, or it’s too hot, or it’s too dark I protest the double-standard in the house. Down with outdoors toilets. Down with snow. Heck no, I won’t go (outside).

Equal rights for Dachshunds. Either YOU start doing your business outside, or we all go inside. Who’s with me?

While I’m at it, I’d like to be treated with a bit more respect. I’m tired of the nick-names making fun of my weight and appetite. I also want access to the fridge so I can get myself a snack when I’m hungry. Having to start the whining countdown to remind the people that dinner time is in an hour takes a lot out of a guy, but if I let it go I know they’ll forget and I’ll probably starve and die.

I have so many things to discuss but I don’t want to be a downer so I’ll stop there.  Plus, I’m tired. I had to get up at 4:30 this morning to remind my people to feed me at 5:30. I heard some talk about “sleeping in the laundry room tonight”. I’m not sure why they would do that when their bed is so comfortable, but you know how humans are.

Take that!

Hi, it’s Robin. Today was a good day because I got kibble for breakfast and I got lots of pets and got to play with my toys and then I had a nap and I played with my friend Duchess and then I got more kibble and nobody washed me. I posted a picture of me with my favourite toy because I think I look pretty when I’m playing. I have a lot of toys but I like the ones that I can rip open and unstuff the best. I think it’s funny to squeak them when mom and dad are on phone conferences for work because that’s when they don’t pet me.

If you want to meet me, come to the Toronto Dachshund Meetup at PawsWay Pet Discovery Centre on Friday Dec 11th from 7-9 PM. Mom will be sewing customized blankets and things to help raise money for other dogs that are sick and don’t have anyone to pet them and there will be a raffle and we can play but sometimes I’m shy in new places unless you have treats. There will be lots of Dachshunds and Chihuahuas there so go to the Meetup site to find out more but make sure you don’t forget to pet me.

Frankie told me that I have to calm down if I want to post here and I’ll try but everything is just so good and everyone is so nice and I’m so pretty and it’s hard to be boring like him because he’s old and went to school and I’m not old.