Those Special Dachshunds: Happy Birthday Fairfax!

Wooo Dachshund!  Fairfax is stunning.  Thanks to her Auntie for writing in on the occasion of the pretty little girl's 7th birthday!  She writes:

Dear Joey and  Rowdy,

I am a huge fan of your website, and wanted to submit some of my favorite moments of my sister’s dachshund, Fairfax.  It’s her 7th birthday today, and she still acts like a baby! We love her to death and spoil her rotten.  Maybe that’s why she insists on having to share everything with my sister’s little baby!

Happy Birthday and sleep tight little one.

Awkward Family Dachshund Photos

This plump little sausage dog is going to need years and years of therapy.  Via Awkward Family Pet Photos.

Those Special Dachshunds: Meet Jasper and Ruby!

Jasper enjoys his throne

Ruby enjoys her yard

Thanks so much to Annie McElhaney for writing in from Tallahassee, Florida, where it's got to be warmer than it is at the world headquarters of The Long and Short of it All here in Chicago.  We're jealous.  She sends beautiful photos of her beloved duo 'Jasper' and 'Ruby!'  Thanks so much.  She writes:

Happy Holidays to Joey and Maggie!

First of all let me start with saying how much I love your blog! It's brilliant! Glad someone is giving due credit to the "short and long" of the world. I'd like to introduce you to Jasper and Ruby, my two miniature Dachshund puppies. Jasper is a smooth hair blonde dapple with a spooky blue eye. Ruby is a smooth red (no spooky eyes).

Dachshunds are the only breed of dogs my family has ever owned. We love them: their sassiness, energy and cuddly nature. I can't imagine having any other dog.

I got Jasper from a local breeder shortly after losing my red smooth Dachshund, Gus, in a tragic accident. We joke that Jasper is my "rebound" pup, adopting him less than two weeks after Gus's death. Jasper, who is supposedly a miniature, last weighed in at around 20 lbs. Not sure that falls into the category of Miniature-- I say he's just "big-boned". Jasper loves to play frisbee, soccer, and run circles around our home. I am currently training him to speak-- our progress is slow.  :)

Ruby was adopted 4 months after I got Jasper. She is actually the younger sister of Gus, and their resemblance is striking. Ruby's breeders warned me the day I brought her home, that at only 8 weeks she was beginning to show her "sassy" side. They were so right. The runt of her litter, she weighs about 10 pounds but her small size doesn't slow her down--She can out run Jasper any day. Ruby loves to sun in the yard, and play dress up in her many, many sweaters, scarves, collars, and hoodies.

Close-up of Jasper's spooky eye

Ruby with her BFF, Ainsley, the family's niece

Jasper after an afternoon run

Love Is Blind

'Dexter,' a 7-year-old Dachshund owned by John and Mindy McFarland of Newtown, Connecticut, was born without eyes due to a genetic disorder — but his sense of smell is keen. Here, Dexter shows great concern for 'Smudge,' the month-old kitten that has come into foster care at the McFarland home, as the kitten receives a bottle of formula.  The McFarland household is full of special needs animals who need lots of love and care.  "Dexter will sit in front of the crate and jump up and down, hoping we will take the kittens out," said Ms McFarland. "He loves to lick them, and has this motherly streak in him," she said.  Read all about this special household and see more photos at The Newtown Bee.

FarmVille Dachshunds

Apparently over 60 million people play FarmVille on Facebook - guess that's about everyone except us - and maybe you.  But if you do, you may be excited to know that Dachshunds will soon be available for your farm in cream, black and tan, and red.  Excerpt from Games.com:  In the near future, FarmVille will be adding an adorable trio of Dachshund puppies to FarmVille's selection of dogs. Dachshunds, wiener dogs, hot dog dogs, sausage dogs, it's all the same lovable companion despite what name you call them by, and soon you can have your very own in FarmVille.

City of Bozeman, Montana Cites Pet Supply Store for Dachshund Photo

Photo source

If you're like us, you get excited when you see Dachshunds anywhere - from a logo on a shirt to a mural in an underpass to a photo on a pet supply store.  And what's so wrong with that?  Apparently this photo is just too big for the city of Bozeman, Montana, population 28,000, where the city has cited Dee-O-Gee (spells dog) Pet Store last week for two roughly 6-by-7-foot photos — one of a border collie and one of a pair of Dachshunds.  Excerpt from the Great Falls Tribune:

Josh and Holly Allen, who own Dee-O-Gee, question whether the photos are subject to the city’s sign code because they’re more like a mural than a sign.

Commercial buildings in Bozeman are allowed a total amount of signage, depending on the building’s size and location and Dee-O-Gee is allowed 22.5 square feet of signage. Each photo is about 42 square feet.

Violating the city’s sign law could lead to a $500 fine or six months in jail. The Allens were told to remove the photos by Thursday.

Keep up with Dee-O-Gee's struggle on their facebook page.

Family Reunited with Dachshunds Left in Haiti

Welcome home 'Deiter' and 'Bella!'  Oh, the stories these 2 could tell.  Deiter and Bella were Hurricane Katrina rescues living in Haiti for 3 years with their humans, artist Paul Fowler and AIDS relief administrator Christine Duchatellier Fowler, when the earthquake struck.   The family and dogs made a 3-day trek through the rubble to the US Embassy, and while the humans were flown out of Haiti, the dogs were not allowed on the plane.  They had to be left behind for the second time in their lives.  Excerpt from USA TODAY:

"It was so painful" to leave the dogs behind, Paul Fowler says. "When we adopted, we promised them and we promised Best Friends (the organization that arranged the adoption) that these dogs would never be left behind again."
The Humane Society of the United States was contacted and vowed to do what it could. Members of the animal rescue team from Humane Society International, Humane Society of the United States and the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association finally were permitted into Haiti over the weekend.

The big reunion with the family was yesterday in Miami, Florida.  The family will be heading back home to New Orleans next week.  Watch the reunion video at wpbf. 

Rudolph The Dachshund on NBC Nightly News!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Thanks to 'Mickey' for letting us know that 'Rudolph,' the blind and deaf Dachshund rescue who hails from Michigan, made an appearance on last night's NBC Nightly News!  Rudolph and his human, Marcia Fishman, work hard to promote Rudolph's message about disability awareness, and have visited with over 2,000 elementary-age children.  Wow! 
Read all about Rudolph at NBC, or visit his website.

Related:  Dachshund News Roundup with Rudolph

Related:  Rudolph Visits Detroit Elementary School

Release the Houndstooth!

Good gosh, it's our favorite pattern, and it's made just for dachshunds. If you haven't been over to the new dachshund apparel store Noodle and Friends, head on over. Their coats and accessories are quite stylish. Noodle lives out East from what we know, but she has doxie cousins who live in Chicago that we play with at local meetups. There's a sale through the end of this month, and if you put in the code DARP (DARP is Noodle’s version of Congress’ TARP, in other words it is her Dachshund Apparel Relief Plan!) you'll get 20% off your entire purchase.

The Classic Pea Coat

Live Longhair Cream Puppies

Live Video streaming by Ustream

Well, there was live streaming video right before press time, but they've just gone off the air. Maybe they will be live when you get a chance to read this, because you don't want to miss mamma 'Lizzy Grace,' pappa 'Gizmo Jazz,' and their five pretty puppies born January 13th, 2009. Chat with their friends and humans over at USTREAM.

A Beautiful Christmas Portrait

We Wish You a Merry Christmas! by our good friend geckoam at flickr. Make sure to check out more great holiday photos of 'Mocha,' 'Levi,' and 'Pepper' at flickr!

Dachshund With a Half Pack of Cigarettes a Day Habit Killed by Car on Way to Tobacconist's Shop

Well, where do you start with a story like this? Meet 22 year old 'General Edi,' who hailed from Graz, Austria. Our hearts go out to his friends and family for their loss. Excerpt from Telegraph.co.uk: General Edi has been munching his way through half a packet of cigarettes every day since he was a puppy, said owner Wolfgang Treirler. But Edi has died after he was hit by a car during a walk to his favourite cigarette shop. Mr Treirler said:"His old owner abandoned him and so we took him in 17 years ago, and noticed straight away that he was in the habit of eating cigarettes.
"He eats the tobacco and the paper, and then chews a while on the filter before spitting it out."
Note that nicotine normally leads to poisoning in dogs. Read more at Telegraph.co.uk.

Rudolph Visits Metro Detroit Elementary School

Yes, it's the holiday season, but we're not talking about that Rudolph! Meet handsome blind and deaf 'Rudolph' the dachshund, who hails from the Metro Detroit area. Rudolph and his human, Marcia Fishman, visited Roosevelt Elementary School on Monday to promote his message about disability awareness. Rudolph is the subject of a new short story written by his human called Rudolph's Nose Knows. He was such a hit with the kids that he will visit other schools soon! See more pics and read all about it at HOMETOWNlife.com.

Dachshunds Rescued From Hoarder are Reunited

In a sad, yet somehow heart-warming story, 26 dachshunds were rescued from a Mission Viejo, California home, and then reunited with their new adopted humans. The above photo shows the rescued dogs with their new families. Excerpt from the OC Register: Karen Stone, 47, has been debilitated since 1991, and for several years has been unable to care for the dogs. Her husband and son tried to come to the rescue. Every night her husband cleaned and disinfected the back yard. Her son cleaned their bedding, fed and exercised them.
It wasn't enough. Since August Stone has turned over 26 miniature dachshunds to the Mission Viejo Animal Services Center. Deputies found more than 70 dogs in kennels in the home and back yard. Nearly all of the dogs' vocal cords had been cut.
"What is unusual is that she started as an unauthorized business and somewhere down the line she went into denial about the number and the healthcare care that was being neglected," said Sharon Cody, president of the Dedicated Animal Welfare Group that spent more than $10,000 in medical bills to make the dachshunds adoptable. "She will be monitored for compliance."
A week ago almost all the dachshunds and their new families reunited at Cody's home.

Read all about this sad story of hoarding and the happy reunion with 23 nice photos at the OC Register. For us at least, it's as though the reunion provides some sort of closure to an otherwise very sad tale.

Dachshund News Roundup!

So, the Olympics are half over and we still don't know whether to root for our home team or for Germany, the Motherland. These politically correct dachshunds know the right answer however in this photo titled Go World! by the fantastic flickr photographer geckoam. The Beijing 2008 Olympic Medals are awarded here according to age, 'Pepper' - Gold, 'Levi' - Silver, and 'Mocha' - Bronze, but the photographer notes: "but of course, I'd give them all Gold!" Make sure to check out more pics of the trio at flickr!

The Woodury Bulletin out of Minnesota says: Forget the Olympics in Beijing — the real athletes were taking part in the Third Annual Dachshund Dash in Woodbury on Saturday. Woof! Above, meet some contestants of the costume contest in conjunction with the races, Queen of the Harvest and Robin Hood. Read all about the charity event at the Woodbury Bulletin.

Sharon Enos cradles her 16-year-old red smooth, 'Beethoven,' at the First Baptist Church relief center on Friday after a fire forced them to evacuate the 7-story retirement home where they reside in Vallejo, California. Over 100 residents were evacuated, but we're glad to hear that no one was injured. Read all about it at the Times-Herald.

Finally, over 5,000 dog lovers attended the 14th annual Wiener Dog Nationals at River Downs in Cincinnati, Ohio. Above, 'Mister Runt' is off to a flying start from Courtney Cumminds of Maysville. Read all about the charity event and see another pic at the Cincinnati.com.

Have a great Monday!

"Levi and Shamrocks"

Meet beautiful smooth cream piebald 'Levi' as photographed by his mom, flickr photographer geckoam. What a great photo! Looks like Levi is all set for a big St. Patrick's Day weekend. See more pics, and find out more about the rescue boy in his flickr photo set. See more pics by geckoam (including Levi's doxie family Mocha and Pepper) at flickr.