Please Welcome Your New 'Long and Short of it All' Co-Host!

Who, Me?

We're pleased to announce that the exhaustive search for your new 'Long and Short of it All' co-host is now over. Ladies and Gentlemen, please put your hands together and give a warm welcome to.....black and tan wirehaired 'Rowdy!' Yep, things are about to get a lot more "wirey" around here! And the search wasn't really that exhaustive - we weren't looking for a new Dachshund, but Hot Toddy (his foster name), appeared on our MidWest Dachshund Rescue facebook feed, and we immediately fell in love with his soulful little eyes. We can't thank MidWest Dachshund Rescue enough for all that they have done to bring some joy back in our lives after the loss of our beloved 'Maggie.'

Rowdy was born on May 2nd, so he is just over five months old. At the vets yesterday, he weighed in at 9.4 pounds, and the vet thinks that he will be about 16 pounds when fully grown. Rowdy came in through MWDR with 10 other puppies as a result of a few puppy mill/large breeding facilities which closed down in Missouri. He has been fostered for several weeks by a fantastic family near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Joey and Dad went to visit him a few weeks ago to see if he was a good match for us, and Joey took to him right away - they played some, and when Joey had enough, he let out a little growl, and Rowdy respected him and went and played with his toys. So, Joey does like to play some, and he will also teach Rowdy how to be a great dog.

He is doing well in his new home. Potty training is a work in progress, obviously, for a young pup whose world has just been turned upside down. But in almost 3 days, he has had just one accident in the house. He is distracted by the city noises when we go outside to take care of business, although he is less and less distracted as each day passes. He loves to play, he loves his toys, he loves to snuggle, and like any Dachshund, boy does he love his food! We're slowly switching him over to raw food, which he loves. He hasn't had any diarrhea or stomach upset, so the transition is going well. He is fascinated when Dad is in the kitchen - he'll just sit on the floor and watch in amazement at what goes on, and his eyes light up every time a cabinet door opens.

Naming him was a tough job, and it was down to Rowdy, Barney, Harry Callahan (call 'Cal'), Cowboy, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (call Henry), Iggy, Teddy,Wiley the Wirehair, and Murdoch (Murdach?) the Dachshund. Rowdy, after Rowdy Yates, the Clint Eastwood character in Rawhide was always near the top though, and it sounds a little like Toddy, and he was responding to it, so Rowdy he is, both in name and spirit. It probably didn't hurt that there was a photo of Clint Eastwood on the sidebar to your right when the decision was finally made.

And so, a new era has begun at The Long and Short of it All.