Louisiana Dachshund Barely Escapes Claws of Hawk

Meet pretty pure black and smooth little 'Hannah Marie' who hails from Slaughter, Louisiana.  She was recently nearly carried off by a hawk, had it not been for her elderly human who stretched out to grab her hind legs from the sharp clutches of the hawk who was flying away with her.  Wow.  Excerpt from Fox19:

It was a Wednesday afternoon in Slaughter, LA and Bringol had just let little "Hannah Marie" out to play in her backyard like she's done almost every day for the past two years, but even in rural East Feliciana Parish, her stalker found the 10-pound miniature dachshund.

"He's been in the trees and around our property," said Bringol. "And, he's been around the neighborhood. Our neighbors have seen him. He's even been on our carport. And, that's...scary."

For the past week, Bringol has been keeping an eye out for the hawk, but in an instant it "just swooped down above her" as Hannah was sunning in her favorite spot. The hawk snatched up and tried to carry her off. Pat chased the predator and caught it just before it lifted Hannah into the sky.

"I had to reach on my tippy-toes and grab her hind legs. And, it took everything I had to pull her. I said, 'You're not getting my dog!' I was so mad I was shaking," she explained.

Bringol was able to wrestle a frightened Hannah free, unscathed. Hannah's favorite pink jacket wasn't so lucky. The hawk's talons ripped three gashes in it. Bristol said she's just happy Hannah is still around.

Her daughter bought a stuffed puppy to act as a decoy of sorts to use until the hawk finally decides to leave, but now Bringol doesn't let Hannah out alone. When Hannah goes for her walk, it's never for long and Bringol always keeps an eye on the sky because you can never be sure who's watching.

Read more and watch the news video at Fox19.  We're sure glad that Hannah is safe and sound.

Signs Of The Times

We love it when our Dad puts leashes on us to walk us while he drives his RV.  Cough.  Ahem.  Thanks so much to Jennifer, "mom to a dapple doxi," for sending in this fun photo!  She writes:

Dear Joey and Maggie,

I took this picture yesterday at the Outlet mall in Florida City, Florida – I thought you and your readers might get a smile out of it, like I did!

We sure did!  Seen a Dachshund on a sign?  Send it in!

Related:  No Dachshunds Allowed

Dachshund Collector's Corner: Dachshund Bookends

Thanks so much to Angela Wish for writing in with her favorite Dachshund collectible - those are some looong bookends!  She writes:

Dear Joey and Maggie,

I just stumbled on your blog and I am in love! I have a mini red long haired Dachshund named 'Rue,' and she is our 1st and only child.  Anywho - I saw the antiques and collectible Dachshund items you post, and wanted to share our favorite gift we received as a house warming gift (found at a garage sale) from our friends - Dachshund book ends! Thanks for the awesome blogsite!

Which of course begs the question:  Why would someone part with their Dachshund bookends at a garage sale?

Got a favorite Dachshund collectible?  Send it in with a nice photo!

Sing, Sing A Song

Santa Maria, California natives 'Gretta,' and her human Genete Bowen auditioned last night in Atlanta, Georgia for Season 6 of the popular television show America's Got Talent.  While we haven't heard the outcome of if they will make it on the show, they got a private audition, which is reserved for acts that the show producers think they will like.  They perform big band and swing songs.  Hope to see this unlikely duo on Season 6!  Read all about them at the Santa Maria Times.

Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear - Just sing, sing a song. 

Bojo's Bounce (The Periscope Song)

Thanks so much to Hugh Banks, who hails from Florence, Alabama, for sending in this little ditty - we love to sing!  He writes:

Dear Joey and Maggie,

A couple of weeks ago we had 12 inches where I live in Alabama, which is WAY out of the norm here!!!! Anyhow I wrote this novelty song about little short-legged furry friends havin a hard time in the precipitation.  The dachshund puppy in the video belongs to my son..CUTE as she can be!..
Hope Ya'll get a kick out of it......it is available on Amazon .com.

Bojo's Bounce (The Periscope Song)

I woke up to see a heavy snow...lyin on the lawn
I thought about if it hadnt fell.....where all I would have gone.
White as far as the eye can see ..and I cant head to town..
But what about my fuzzy friends..that live so close to the ground....?

Well I commenced to think it through while Bojo was still asleep...
And, it hit me like an old hambone, that when the snow's this deep..
My vertically – challenged friend's, altitude is so low....
When I let him out to run around, HE CANT SEE where to go....!

Life as we know it's been called off, But we got our milk and bread
And all the stuff I need to do's still runnin 'round in my head.....'
But, at least MY EYES are ABOVE the snow!...It really aint no joke...
If I'z a Yorkie or a Poodle or a Dachshund son,.I'd need a periscope.

They're like submarines out in the yard.....Surfacing for air..
They jump and bounce and tunnel 'round...Wait!..Are they still there?
Until the snow recedes a bit.....It's really hard to say....
Are my little fuzzy buddies here?....Or Have they run away?

Copyright Hugh Banks Out Run the Rain Publishing ASCAP 2011

Dachshunds To Watch Out For: It's Raylene!

Katherine Dettmer nuzzles up Monday to her 6-year-old Dachshund 'Raylene' in her back yard in Gilroy, California.  Raylene, whose show name is Champion Wagswells Ray of Cambria, will compete in the upcoming Golden Gate Kennel Club All-Breed Dog Show at the Cow Palace in San Francisco this weekend.  Go get 'em Raylene!  Read all about the Dettmer family, who have several Dachshunds and a 140-pound bullmastiff(!) at the Gilroy Dispatch.

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The Dachshund Holds Firm as 8th Most Popular Dog in United States of America

Yes, Me!

The American Kennel Club has released its registration statistics for 2010, and the lovable Dachshund retains its spot as the 8th most popular dog in America, same as 2009.  The Dachshund was the 4th most popular dog in 2000, 6th in 2006, and 7th in 2007 and 2008.  Of course, these are registration statistics, and heaven only knows how many Dachshunds aren't registered with the AKC each year.  The Dachshund seems to have lost popularity in many major cities across America, most notably New York, where we were in the top 5 for the past 6 years, but fell to 7th in 2010.  Read all the stats at The American Kennel Club.

Related:  Dachshund Domination Continues: Dachshund Makes UK Top 20 For First Time

Picasso Dachshund Plate Donated to Harry Ransom Center in Austin, Texas

Photojournalist David Douglas Duncan, author of Picasso & Lump: A Dachshund's Odyssey, has donated the plate given to him by Pablo Picasso to the Harry Ransom Center in Austin, Texas.  The plate features 'Lump' the Dachshund, as painted by Picasso on April 19, 1957.  You can check out the plate beginning February 1st at the Ransom Center, in a show that runs through July 31st.  Read more about the plate at artdaily.org.

Photo scanned from our copy of Picasso & Lump

Viral Dachshund Videos: Iso in the Snow

Love those flopping ears!  By youtuber IsoInSloMo who notes:  Apparently cute puppies in slow motion are all the rage, so here is more to feed your addiction. Iso loves the snow (sometimes). Luckily we caught him on a good day.

South Beach Dachshund Winterfest 2011

Hundreds of long dogs and their humans descended on Lummus Park in Miami Beach, Florida, on Saturday for the annual South Beach Dachshund Winterfest.  Activities included Dachshund Fortune Telling, Mini Massage, Doxie Funhouse (tunnels, Odor-ama, scary badgers!), a Costume Contest, Singing of the Dach Song and The Grand March!   We're so jealous.

Bundle o' Cuddles by CCochrans

Check out some nice photos of the Dachshunds over at CCochrans' photostream at flickr.

Thanks to youtuber ElgaGutierres for posting several nice videos from the event! 

Ruler Song: The Riddle of the Dachshund

Science4us.com asks the age-old question:  How can my doggie be so long and also be so short?  It's a paradox, ain't it?

Dachshund Domination Continues: Dachshund Makes UK Top 20 For First Time

Who, Me?

The UK's Kennel Club trumped the US' AKC by releasing their 2010 registration statistics early this year (we are expecting AKC's any day now) with interesting results: a huge increase in the number of registrations for what they term Handbag Dogs - or dogs carried in bags as fashion accessories.  While we would never consider ourselves a fashion accessory - Dachshunds never go out of style - the Pug, Chihuahua, and Dachshund made huge strides in registration numbers. 

For the first time ever, the Miniature Smooth-Haired Dachshund made it into the top 20 with 2,802 registrations, 12 percent up on 2009 and 72 percent up on 2005.  It's also interesting to note that UK's Kennel Club counts the Dachshund as 6 different breeds - smooth, mini smooth, longhair, mini longhair, wirehair, mini wirehair - and the AKC doesn't do this in their statistics.  In fact, if you add up all the Dachshund registration numbers, the Dachshund as a whole rises to number 12 in popularity in the UK, with 5,483 total registrations. 

Of course, we don't feel that this is the best news for the Dachshund breed as a whole:  popularity leads to irresponsible breeders and owners.  But we're so stinking cute, how can we not be popular?

See The Kennel Club's stats at their official site.

Dachshunds in Paradise

It's a bit nippy here in Chicago at the world headquarters of The Long and Short of it All - we'd call Florida paradise about now.   So would this pretty black and tan smooth named 'Lucy,' a seasonal resident from Ohio, who, with her human Judy East, attended the "Pets in Paradise" Pet Costume Parade in Naples yesterday dressed as the Red Hat Ladies.  Lucky Dog.  Source.

Happy 20th Birthday Heidi!

It's comforting to know that so many Dachshunds live to such a ripe old age.  In the last few years, we've met 'Chanel,' a 21-year-old New York Dachshund mix who claimed a Guinness record for World's Oldest Dog.  We also met 'Otto,' a 20-year-old Shropshire, England, Dachshund mix who also claimed a Guinness record.  Then there was 'Paco Sosa Fetes,' a red smooth who celebrated his 20th birthday, and earned the title of New York's Oldest Dog. 

Now we meet 'Heidi,' a beautiful red smooth who hails just south of St. Louis, Missouri, who celebrated her 20th birthday on January 12th.  Happy Birthday Heidi!  Via STL Today:

Twenty years ago, Greg Navarro was looking for a dog.

He picked a cute little dachshund puppy and named her Heidi.

"I got her when she was six weeks old," said Navarro, a South County resident.

But she isn't the lively young pup she used to be.

"She has to warm up, like a car," Greg Navarro said. "But once she gets up she can move around."

She sleeps 18 hours a day, her coat has gone gray and she can't handle steps anymore, but Heidi still loves one thing.

"Food," Cathy Navarro said. "She's a great eater. If we didn't limit what she ate, she'd always eat more."

Last year, when Heidi turned 19, Cathy Navarro contacted the Guinness Book of World Records to see where her dachshund stood.
"They told me to contact them when she turned 20," Cathy Navarro said. "So last week I e-mailed them and submitted her information."
Wherever she ranks, the Navarro's are just glad to have her.
"Every day with Heidi is a blessing," Cathy Navarro said.

Read all about Heidi at STL Today.

Celebrity Dachshund Watch: At Home With Dita Von Teese and Eva

Dita and Eva via InStyle magazine, February, 2011

It's no secret that we worship at the altar of burlesque artist, model, and actress Dita Von Teese.  She's the complete package:  classic beauty, charm, impeccable vintage style and, oh yeah - Dachshundism.   Her red longhaired beauty goes by the name 'Eva.'

If you missed her on CSI last night, don't despair, pick up the February issue of the American InStyle magazine, available now at your local news stand, with photos of her at home.

Can we get a WOOF?! 

Keep up with Ms. Von Teese at her official website or her twitter feed.

Related:

Dita Von Teese Mourns the Loss of Her Beloved Greta

Dachshund Lovers Teach the ABCs

Dachshunds in Pop Culture: Dita Von Teese

Vintage Dachshund Funnies: Muggs and Skeeter

Comic Strip Mugs and Skeeter, by Wally Bishop, ran in newspapers from 1927 to 1974.  This one ran on January 28, 1970.  Image Source.

Dachshund Dearest

I never go outside unless I look like Joan Crawford the movie star.  If you want to see the girl next door, go next door.  ~Joan Crawford

Photo: January, 1940. 

Vintage Dachshund Pride

Well, aren't you proud of your Dachshund?

Vintage 1930s photo source unknown.

Dachshund Collector's Corner: You Light Up My Life

Wouldn't this be a great addition to your Dachshund-inspired décor?   Thanks so much to an anonymous Dachshundist for sending in photos of this little gem.  She writes:

Dear Joey and Maggie,

This Dachshund lamp was bought without a shade and was not working.  My husband redid the electrical part for me and I lucked out at a local flea market and found a shade that I felt was perfect.  The lamp cost a pretty penny when I bought it over 10 years ago.

Sweet.