Those Special Dachshunds: Eva's Story

We are honored to post this tale of beautiful red smooth dappled 'Eva' - honestly we were taken aback with the kind words that Adam Gross wrote for his beloved girl. Thanks so much to Adam for writing in and sharing such fine prose and photos. Without any further ado:

Dear Joey and Maggie,

Seems like there has been a lot of bad Dachshund news lately so I felt compelled to share the tale of my brown-eyed girl, something upbeat and positive. I've only had my little girl for about a year and half but here is her story so far.

The tale begins in May of 2009 when I was going through a divorce. Two years prior I had bought a black and tan Dachshund, that we named Oscar, for my wife. Although he had been a gift for her he quickly became my dog. In a very tricky maneuver during the split-up phase she wound up taking Oscar with her. Feeling my best course of action at the time was to remain calm and let the court sort it out, I did just that. They determined that since he had been a gift he would stay with her, treating him like a piece of property, and I was devastated. My grief immediately changed from missing my wife and wondering where our marriage went wrong to missing my dog. It was then I realized I was a Dachshundist, as you put it. I had to fill a void in my life that could only be filled by the perfect addition to any family, a Dachshund. I had decided I wanted to rescue and that, if possible, I'd like either a red or dapple short hair. Hard to believe as it may be, during that timeframe, I wasn't able to locate a Dachshund at any of the rescues within a 4 hour drive from where I live. I was crushed. A good friend recommended I take a look out on craigslist, so I did.

I went into the pets section for Cincinnati and within the first 4 or 5 posts saw something that made me feel the best I had in a long long time. Someone had a short hair red dapple mix only about 30 minutes from home. I called to ask about her and they said her rehoming fee was $150 and that one other person was interested in her -- a breeder. They didn't want her to go to a breeder, but badly needed the money and pretty much told me to get there first and it wouldn't be an issue. I leapt from my desk and told my boss I had something important I had to go do and left immediately to get my girl and save her from the breeder. They weren't too pleased with her going through her chewing phase. haha I can relate. A dining room suit, a coffee table, a TV stand, a camcorder I really liked, and a few pieces of wood trim down the line, I finally got her out of that stage. She was pretty darn expensive there for awhile but I think she's worth it. Patience, patience, patience, right? In the end she is well aware of the rules and I don't even have to crate her now. That particularly made me happy so she can play and run while I'm at work. I simply had no choice but to crate her for awhile and I felt guilty every single day.

I walked into their home to see her for the first time and she was such a sweet girl. She ran over to meet this new guy and give him plenty of puppy kisses. It was love at first sight, mutually of course. Her birth date is January 1st, 2009 and she moved into her forever home on June 17th, 2009. Now she's my spoiled little brown eyed girl and we do everything together. She loves going for rides in the car, meeting and playing with other dogs at the dog park, taking long walks in the woods, rolling in the grass, her every Friday new toy play-a-thon, her every other Saturday trip to the puppy salon, and Dachshund events (that aren't taking place while I'm at work... ARGH!). She participated in the Running of the Wieners this year and had never seen so many Dachshunds in one place and was just beside herself. She's an extremely sweet girl that's always happy when friends stop by to visit her. Also, everything that's mine is hers. haha I recently got a new desk chair that, before I had sat in it for the first time, she had laid claim to. She also loves her sleeping bag when daddy is at work. One odd thing about her... she thinks the vacuum is a game, which is pretty entertaining. She also thinks the blow dryer at the puppy salon is the same game, so they just towel dry her. haha She refuses to have her scarf from the salon taken off any sooner than three days after her visit. She loves getting her Greenie's every day to keep her teeth clean and always sits pretty for them. As I've learned is pretty common with Dachshunds, she sleeps in the bed, under the covers, with me every night. She's also a great watchdog. The only time she barks is when she hears something outside she wants to let me know about, or when we're playing fetch. I can never seem to throw the toy again fast enough. haha Above all, she is oh so sweet and the most important part of my life. She LOVES the Dachshund video set to Don't Stop Me Now.

Sorry for the long e-mail, but believe me, that's the short version of my little girl's story. Thank you so much for your blog. I've been able to find some great things for my girl here, keep up on what's happening in the Dachshund world, and find plenty of places to throw a few bucks and help out. I'm also very very very happy that Joey was able to make a good recovery. When things were kind of touch and go, believe me I felt your pain. The thought of having to see my baby in pain and the thoughts that would go through your head at a time like that... I honestly don't know what I would do. I've started a routine where I'll be taking Eva to the clinic once a month just to get a check-up and try to be as far ahead of any health problems she may encounter as possible. Prior to reading about Joey's ordeal I figured I would take her the once or twice a year I take myself to my doctor to get checked out. I probably need to start taking better care of myself too. Any old way, thank you both Joey and Maggie. I religiously read the blog and I'm a huge fan.