Never Forget

Within hours of the September 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center, specially trained dogs were on the scene, including German Shepherds, Labs, and even a few little Dachshunds.  Source:  99 Fun Facts About Dogs.

Tomorrow is DRNA's 14th annual Midwest Dachshund Festival at the Vermilion County Fairgrounds off U.S. Route 150 near Danville, Illinois.  We won't be attending this year with Joey recovering from surgery, but hope that everyone has a great time!  Above is this year's patriotic t-shirt design.  Read all about the festival at the Commercial News, or the official MWDF site.   There will be 17 vendors this year including Midwest Dachshund Rescue and Dachshund Delights, who is also sponsoring this year's event.  Dodgerslist, your IVDD resource, started this annual event 14 years ago. 

Speaking of Dachshund Delights, we are honored that your 'Long and Short of it All' host 'Joey' is featured in this month's newsletter and that 'Maggie' is Dachshund of the Month!

 

Joey continues to recover very well.  His appetite continues to improve, and he has not vomited since last Sunday morning.  He is off his anti-nauseants and has been started on ursodiol for his "gallbladder sludge."  He has an appointment next week for his second monthly DOCP injection for Addison's Disease, and his 2-week post-surgery follow-up. 

Have an awesome weekend!

Midwest Dachshund Festival Photos and Recap

It was another great year at the Midwest Dachshund Festival in Danville, Illinois on Saturday. This was the 13th year for the event, which is now sponsored by Dachshund Rescue of North America.
We headed down Friday afternoon, it was about a 3-hour drive. We were restless in the car wondering if we were going to see grandma and grandpa, two of our favorite people in the world. But when we got to the hotel, we kinda remembered the smells, and knew that a big Dachshund event awaited us the next day. We could hardly sleep we were so excited.
We got up at about 6 AM to go outside and do our duties. Dad was busy packing all his stuff back up in the hotel room, (actually it was mostly OUR stuff), and then we argued with the hotel clerk when we were checking out for charging us a $25 pet fee on the room. Last year, it was $5/dog. He said "it's on the website, and it's supposed to be $25/dog, so we gave you a break." Yeah, right. We stood our ground, he called the manager, and they reduced it to $10 total. Don't mess with Dachshunds. We won't be staying there next year.
We finally got to the event, which started at 10 AM, and could hear all the dogs barking from inside a big metal building at the fairgrounds. There were over 300 Dachshunds in attendance. Joy! We sniffed more butts than we really care to mention.
There was plenty to do and see - wiener races, costume contests, multiple rescue groups (lots of available dogs), contests for oldest Dachshund, biggest Dachshund (not fattest!), parades for IVDD dogs, you name it.
There was also plenty of Dachshund paraphernalia to buy - some of the vendors included Dachshund Delights, the Greener Wiener, III Dachshunds Beer, meetup groups, and many of the rescue groups had lots of stuff to buy, as well as silent auctions and raffles.
We were getting exhausted. Maggie was tired of walking around, so she sat with our friends at the Dodgerslist booth for about an hour to relax.
Then it was all over at 3 PM! We weren't done yet though. We sat with our friends at our picnic table outside after the event for 3 more hours, enjoying food, wine, and song (Dad brought his boombox of course.)
Finally, it was time to go home, and we slept like logs the whole way back to Chicago. We're still exhausted. It was great to see all of our friends, and we really appreciate all the hard work that went into this event.
Enjoy the pics.

Midwest Dachshund Festival 2009 This Weekend

It's keen to be green. Don't miss the Midwest Dachshund Festival this Saturday, September 12th in Danville, Illinois. Keep an eye out for us and say 'Hi!' About 400 Dachshunds attended last year; it's always a great time.

Find out more at Dachshund Rescue of North America.


Related from last year: Photos and News Video, and MWDF Recap.

Photos and News Video: Midwest Dachshund Festival

The 12th Annual Midwest Dachshund Festival sponsored by DRNA on Saturday was a hoot! There were almost 400 dachshunds and 500 humans in attendance. There is a nice slidshow of about 90 photos at The News Gazette. Also, check out the fun news video at wandtv.com and meet 'Baron,' a GIANT 65 pound smooth black and tan, as well as some solid black smooth littermates.

Related: Midwest Dachshund Festival Recap

Midwest Dachshund Festival Recap

A young assistant helps out at the DRNA nail clipping booth. The smooth red piebald is one of the 1,000 dogs (mostly dachshunds) recently rescued from the Parkersburg, WV, puppy mill.

Well, we sure had fun at the 12th Annual Midwest Dachshund Festival sponsored by Dachshund Rescue of North America on Saturday in Danville, Illinois. We went for a long car ride on Friday, and Dad tricked us because we thought surely we must be going to visit Grandma and Grandpa, but we ended up in some hotel room. It all made sense the next morning when saw all the dachshunds and recognized some of the good folks in attendance. It looked like it was going to rain all day, so the festival was moved indoors at the last minute, and of course it didn't rain a drop.
There was plenty to do.....there were several parades honoring different dachshunds and their humans....doxies with back injuries, alumni of the festival, new attendees, and a costume parade. There were several contests including farthest traveled, most doxies brought to the festival, a costume contest, littlest dachshund, biggest dachshund, and of course wiener races! We're not quite sure, but we think that the smooth red piebald pictured above won the littlest dachshund contest, weighing in at just four pounds!
There were also several vendors there....dog related vendors, a professional photographer, doxie vendors, and the rescue organizations including MWDR, and IVDD resource Dodgerslist had booths with lots of fun raffles. We've lost a couple pounds over the last few years, or maybe our long and short bodies have just reorganized themselves, but the good folks at Hug-A-Dog Harness took our harnesses for a free adjustment! Wow! We also bought a case of III Dachshunds Root Beer to share with our friends, and even a sleigh pulled by a smooth and longhair (like us) to put in our front yard for the holidays.
All in all, it was great fun, and thanks to DRNA and all the dedicated folks and their wonderful doxies who put on such a nice event.
Check out news coverage of the event at the Commercial-News. There are some heartwarming stories to read.

Related: 2007 Recap: Dachshunds Get Wet in the News

Dachshunds Get Wet in the News

Hundreds of dachshunds and friends descended on Danville, Illinois on Saturday for the 11th Annual Midwest Dachshund Festival. It rained and rained and rained. Your 'Long and Short of it All' hosts, Joey and Maggie, can attest to the downpour, the first time it rained at the event in 11 years. All things considered, the doxies still had a great time. Photos courtesy Chicago Dachshund Lovers. Excerpt from Commercial-News: Hundreds of little legs ran as fast as they could Saturday as a drizzle turned into a downpour at Lincoln Park.
The annual Midwest Dachshund Festival moved into the park’s pavilion, but many of the pint-sized participants and their parents packed up and headed for home.
The annual event seeks to publicize the plight of abandoned dachsies. Previously called Dachsiefest and held at Kickapoo State Park until this year, more than 300 dogs and their owners were expected to attend. But as with any outdoor event, weather plays an important role. This year, Mother Nature cut the festivities short, as short as the little dogs’ legs.
Neil Cortus served as the event’s emcee. He said as soon as the lightning started, he had to shut down all his electrical equipment and cover it up.
“It’s been a tough one today,” Cortus said, as he and his wife loaded their nine dachshunds and all their supplies into their camper.
“Once the weather got really bad, we moved into the pavilion. We still had a few events, and the people who stayed had fun.”
Those events included contests for: the farthest travel to the festival — dog and owner from Washington state; most dachsies brought to the event — 13; oldest dog — 20-years-old; and everyone’s favorite, the costume parade.
Although Jill Blasdel-Cortus, president and founder of Dachshund Rescue of North America, felt disappointed that the weather interfered with the event her group sponsored, she and her husband Neil remained optimistic.
“We spoke with the mayor (Scott Eisenhauer) right before things got really bad,” Neil Cortus said. “He said he’ll help us find an indoor venue for next year.” Read the rest.
More information on dachshund rescue and an event calendar for Dachshund Rescue of North America can be found at DRNA.

The 2007 Midwest Dachshund Festival

(click image to enlarge)

If you live in the Midwest, don't miss the 11th Annual Midwest Dachshund Festival tomorrow, September 8th, 2007 in Danville, Illinois. The event is now organized by Dachshund Rescue of North America, and over 300 dachshunds are expected! There will be vendors, wiener races, costume contests, dachshunds on parade, and lots of other fun contests. Find out more at the DRNA website.
Your 'Long and Short of it All' hosts, Joey and Maggie, will be there. Stop by and say hello at the Chicago Dachshund Lovers tent! Woof!