Goodbye My Sweet Spaatz

 Of course I knew this day would come eventually. I knew it would be extremely painful because I loved him so much. Spaatz truly was a best friend. He was always there for me, and with dogs love is not so complicated. My husband Jerry agrees that when you looked into those two different colored eyes you felt a connection. He was a great nuzzler. He would brush his cheek against mine and give a little doggie kiss.

Spaatz came to us in 2010 by way of Florida. I had wanted a dapple dachshund with different colored eyes. Our daughter Marlena had the opportunity to get me just what I was looking for, and while she was at it she got Spaatz's sisiter Loreli. We still had Miss Peaches and Foozeball but our first dachshund Watson had passed the previous year.

When I first got Spaatz, Jerry wasn't exactly pleased. I think he wanted another wire hair. He felt they were more of the hunting dog type. I think any dachshund can be a hunting dog, if given the training and opportunity to do so. We are fortunate to have a little fenced in area in our back yard so the dogs can run around and sniff all they want. Occasionally they might get the chance to tangle with woodland creatures. Spaatz had the chance to kill a long tailed weasel. It's a dachshund playland.

So I started this post quite a long time ago. Losing Spaatz was really hard, but I had to pay a price for all that love. I made it through and now our cast of characters has changed once again, so we're back to 3 dachshunds. With the addition Rupert, my granddog, we keep the Doxson Ranch going.

Happy 13th Birthday Spaatz!

 Happy 13th birthday to my sweet beloved Spaatz. My black and tan dappled dachshund with one blue eye. He's finally starting to slow down, but he's been the ultimate alpha dog forever. He still is and let's the newish guy, Flynn, know that he's still the man. This dynamic will change one day, I know, just not yet.

The pack is getting along fine. Flynn is a very energetic knucklehead that keeps the old dogs going.

 Miss Sandie is also about 13 as far as we'll ever know. She has slowed down much more than Spaatz. Unfortunately she is nearly blind from cataracts. At first when we got Flynn she wouldn't play with him

but now they play often. It's great to see the old dogs get up and play again when you add a youngster to the group. That's how we keep the pack going. As the dogs get older, we add new blood to the group

I hope to never be dachshundless. They make everything better, They always make me feel better , even in the toughest circumstances. Their devotion is endless, I'm so lucky to have them here to get through this thing called life together.

Happy Birthday Spaatz!

My Three Doxsons Rides Again!

So we've been away for awhile. It felt very odd to only have 2 dogs. After having 4 for 7 years and 3 for, I was going to say 8, but we had Watson years ago so there was more than that. Anyway, we are back to 3 with the arrival of the new guy. Let me introduce you to Flynn. He is our first long haired dachshund. He's sweet and loving, but needs some work to be his best boy he can be.

We were kinda thinking that we would get another wire haired dachshund, but the simple truth is they're hard to find. I thought that we could maybe get a long hair. It would be cool to have one of each coat type. We have known several nice long hairs, My daughter has had three of them.

Here we have Lorelei, who is Spaatz's sister and Hugo and Rupert. My daughter's dogs, two are long hairs.

The funny thing is that the way we got Flynn is almost identical to the way we got Foozeball, who passed away this past December at the age of 14. My husband is the dog control officer for our town, as he has been for 22 years. In both cases he was taking a stray to the shelter, and when he gets there it's "we have a dachshund for you". Both dogs came from non-ideal circumstances, so they come to live with us, a veritable dachshund paradise. 

Think about it. Friends to play with, dog beds to sleep on in every room, unless there's a couch available. A fenced in backyard, complete with red and grey squirrels, chipmunks and the occasional mouse or vole. Spaatz even caught and dispatched a weasel in the woodpile. There's a bluegrass fiddle and banjo song there somewhere.

So now we embark on a new chapter in the lives of My Three Doxsons. Flynn is about 1 1/2 and he has spent most of his time cooped up in an apartment barking, so he will have to learn some manners. He is very smart with a great play drive, so I think he has a lot of potential. We have work to do, I'll keep you posted.

The original My Three Doxsons: Spaatz, Miss Peaches and Foozeball.

Rest In Peace Foozeball

I am sad to say that yesterday we had to say goodbye to Foozeball. It's always hard to say goodbye to someone who has been such a big part of your life for the past 14 plus years, but that  time had come.

I'd like to say that we're very proud that we were able to give him a really full life. Just a pup, the SPCA was going to put him down because he was turned in, and was biting everyone who worked there.

We took him in and it took time, but we were able to help him get over his bad habits. Plus he had friends to hang out with always and a yard with a fence, and plenty of squirrels to bark at.

He got to travel from Maine to Florida, with many stops along the way. We took the dogs on camping trips and road trips to see grandma in Cape Cod. We went for walkies on the Hudson Valley Rail Trail.

He even was able to get together with my daughters dachshunds for the holidays a few times as well.

He's the one with the Star Wars shirt on. I know, it's a bit of a melee. Reduces the clean up time though!

I know it's My Three Doxson's, but for awhile it will be just two. If you want to get technical it was four for a long time. Life is always in changing and we'll miss the "Old Man", because he was if nothing else a bit of a character, which is why he was Foozeball. All he really wanted was a warm place to be, a heater vent, a sunbeam, but mostly my lap. I'll miss you Mr. Foo.

 

Sandie, black walnuts and unlimited tennis balls

 It's been a wet end of summer and early fall in New York, so that has made many things grow really well. One on particular, is the mighty black walnut tree. A tree that has been a feature in most of my adult life. It was never an issue with the dogs until Sandie came along.

Sandie seems to think the nuts are tennis balls and she wants to rertieve them. I find them in the house, under tables. This year was an absolute bumper crop of nuts, and they're big. I've gotten good at golfing them over the dog fence to get rid of them. I get the confusion, kinda, but we're talking about Sandie. 

Sandie is a very sweet dog that everyone loves. She was voted Dachshund most likely to go home in someones suitcase, every year, since they started taking polls. Part of that charm is due to her honest to goodness dopeyness. Not the sharpest tool in the shed. No matter, she makes up for it in sweetness.

It makes her the perfect foil to Spaatz, who is a little too smart for his own good. When he wants to be. She aspires to be able to be like him, and is often his partner in crime, if given the chance.

Fooze is no longer participating in the shenanigans, and spends his time looking for the next sunbeam to lay in. Or he may sit on my foot until I sit down somewhere so he can snuggle up against me.

I'm glad to say that the nuts have all been removed from inside the dog fence and we're back to toys that sport some fur and might even still squeak if your lucky. The dogs are stacked like the hot dogs that they are in a bed that's probably a little more comfortable for two. No matter, weenies roasting in the sun.

Foozeball: Still Spinning after all these Years

 Foozeball, the old man. That name makes you think that this guy is a little bit different. You would be right. Fooze does this thing, and I'm sure there are other dachshunds that do this. Maybe even other breeds of dog that do this. I've personally known 10 dachshunds, and he is the only one who does.

Foozie spins for his supper, or basically anything edible, sometimes just the refill of the water dish. He has done this since he was a puppy. There is usually a certain amount of whining, yelping, shrieking that goes along with this display that digestables are to be celebrated everyday. No matter what it is.

This is a little film I did from 2012. So Foozie is only 5 years old and Spaatz seen briefly mixing it up with Fooze is a mere pup of 2. This is when I was coming home to their dinner time, which can be crazy.

 One morning when I was feeding them, it was quite early, I hadn't turned the lights on, Fooze was spinning as usual, he tripped over my husbands boots and crashed pretty bad. I laughed so hard, and I wasn't even awake yet. Not to worry, he got right up and continued on with his happy dance and food.

Nowadays with Fooze being 14, and Spaatz being nearly 10 things have slowed down quite a bit, and the boys can usually be found just chillin. That's what they do best. Chillin in the hot sun.

Hot dogs chillin in the sun. If there is a ray of sunshine available, these guys will find it. I do spend and unusual amount of time repositioning different dog pillows and beds about the house as the sun moves throughout the day. This is particularly so during the cooler months of the year. 

Now as the days get warmer they will be seeking the sunshine, then looking for a cool place to lay as it will just be too hot, even for the heat seeking dachshund to lay in the sun all day.

The spinning happy dance is about to commence because these guys are starving, and waiting for me to even come close to the food bowls. sometimes the celebration starts early and I tell them it's "too early". They know this translates to "No food now", so they just start waiting again. Such is life, hurry up and wait.

 

Happy 14th Birthday Foozeball!

 Happy 14th birthday to Foozeball, aka, Foozy, Foo, Mr. Foo, Foober, Foobie, Foob, Old Man. I probably call him Mr. Foo the most lately. That, and Old Man. He is now our 2nd dog to make it to 14. Peachy was first. Before that, unlucky 13 was the end for numerous dogs in our lives. 

In general Mr.Foo is doing better than Peachy was at 14. She had gotten frail and we lost her six months later. He has slowed down a lot, but has moments where he shows how fit he really is.

Last night I let him in after he toured the backyard and it was like he was shot out of a cannon. Sometimes when the dogs go outside they come in all fired up, ready for some action. 

Then they go back to bed. It's always amazing to me how dogs can jump instantly from one level of activity to another at the drop of a hat. That's why they are the best companions. Always ready.

Ready for a ride, ready for a walk, or maybe just to sleep close to where you are. Or even better, right on your lap. That's the absolute best, and it's something Fooze has come to insist upon in his old age.

Every evening around 5 or 6 o'clock Fooze NEEDS me to sit on the couch so he can sleep on my lap. He has had his supper, and that 's what he wants. I try to accommodate him by sitting down to crochet or something. Otherwise I find him sitting on my foot and that doesn't work either.

For those who might wonder how he got the name Foozeball, which of course is spelled incorrectly. Back when we got him, we rescued him from the SPCA, we were debating what name to call him. At that time we had a standard wire hair named Watson, so I suggested something to complement that like Sherlock. My teenage daughter shot down that silly idea immediately. That's just dumb.

Meanwhile he's running around the kitchen like a nut. He was 9 months old at the time. I said, well the way he's running around here we might as well call him Foozeball. And that was it. No further discussion was had or needed. He was Foozeball, which is who he is and always will be.

One of my favorite photos of my favorite dogs. 

Sandie, Rupert, Foozeball, Spaatz and Miss Peachy