Behind the times

It's been way too long since I posted here. Hey, at least I got back to it before a year had gone by. Lots has happened. First, Bunny's mom got a new dog, Tillie. I suppose that makes her my cousin or something. Here she is just a few months old.

She came to visit in April. She was a nice enough person, and seemed to figure out that I wanted to be left alone most of the time. I did try to play with her, but it hurt my neck a lot. I guess I'm just getting old.

Then Bunny had to go and have a baby. It was ok while she was pregnant, because I still got all my usual attention. Here she is loving on me while she was 7 months pregnant.



But then she had the baby, and everything went to pot. For a few months I got almost no attention. I was lucky to get food and water! What kind of a way is that to treat someone who has always been there for her (except when binkies call, or bacon). And that baby is sure a noisy little thing. I've never heard such shrieking. It hurts my delicate ears! Sure, she smells interesting, but mostly I could do without.

Silly Songs

Bunny wrote these songs about me quite a while ago. The tunes were written for a recorder and are jig-like. She wrote the words to help her remember the melody, but I think the words are more memorable.

Wiener likes to eat the frogs in the grass.
Wiener drags around on her fuzzy ass!
Don't look now, or maybe you'll see
As she eats a froggy or three!

Lots of eating, lots of sleeping,
it's a wiener life!
There's a lot of loving, and there's
not a lot of strife.
First you squeeze it, then you cheese it;
give the dog a bone.
Clean the stinky binkies and it's
you that she will own.

Howl-O-Weenie

This past Saturday I took Bunny to the Howl-O-Weenie picnic, an annual fundraiser put on by the Dachshund Rescue, Education, Awareness, and Mentoring (DREAM) organization. There were sure a lot of dachshunds there! Bunny made me a great costume, although it could have done with a little more forethought - my "boots" kept slipping off. Maybe if she'd spent more than 20 minutes on it.... Still, you have to give her credit for trying.

There were a lot of other dogs there in costume, but the majority weren't. We watched some great contests - the howling contest was my favorite. I thought about entering the licking contest, but there were so many distractions, I just couldn't have focused. I didn't think I stood a chance in the races, but I did hear that next year they're going to have a contest just for wheelies. I guess next September I better start hitting the treadmill.

I got a lot of attention as one of the only dogs there in a wheelchair. One lady said something disparaging about my costume (she was a Falcons fan) and then felt bad when she realized she'd insulted a handicapped dog. Honestly, lady, I expected that kind of reaction in Atlanta, no offense taken.

Apologies to my loyal readers (all 1 of you) for being so bad about posting lately. Since the move, it's been harder for me to blog because Bunny's home all the time. I do enjoy having her to cater to my whims all day, though. It's much nicer than when she would leave all the time for something called "work," whatever that is.

It's nice to *sniff* meet you

We live in a new place that's not as hot and humid as Houston, or at least not for as long. As an example, right now it is 86 with a dewpoint of 70, making a heat index of 91. In Houston, on the other hand, it's currently 87 with a dewpoint of 74, making a heat index of 95. To be fair, I should really add a few degrees to the Houston weather because, in astronomical terms, the sun transits the meridian in Houston about 53 minutes after it does it here. Anyway, I keep hearing people complain about how hot and humid it gets here in the summer. Give me a break.



Humidity aside, Bunny took me to a very interesting party last Saturday. It was interesting because there were more dachshunds there than people. I love people, because I can usually manipulate them into petting me, but it's nice to see someone who smells like me once in a while, too. I was the only one in a wheelchair, but the other dogs were very supportive. Almost every dachshund has at least one family member with disc problems. I had a great time exploring the yard that the party was in. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Saying Goodbye

A few months ago, Bunny put me in the car and we drove for a long time. When we finally stopped, Bunny took me inside a house and informed me that this was our new home. I've been meaning to put a post up about that, and I still plan to, but this post is about something else.

Dachshunds are addictive. If you spend a week with one of us, you'll come to the realization that we're the best breed in the world: beautiful, loving, protective, and smart. When Bunny was growing up, her family had three dachshunds in succession, spanning most of her life. After that much exposure, Bunny naturally wanted a dachshund when it finally became possible for her to get a dog of her own. It never crossed her mind to get any other kind of dog.

Part of the reason for this loyalty was Gretel, who owned Bunny's parents starting in 1989. I got to know Gretel because Bunny frequently takes me with her when she visits her mom. Gretel and I got along great. We used to play-fight all over the living room, but after a few years Gretel got too old to be interested in that. We still liked to share binkies, though, and give each other the occasional lick.

Gretel passed away about 10 days ago. She was 17 1/2 and enjoyed life to the end. She died doing something dachshunds like most, which is lying in the sun. We will miss her.

It's a mystery

Bunny and Mr. T are often gone during the day, more than I'd like, but, hey, it gives me more time to surf the web. Anyway, Bunny wondered aloud the other day why she finds me sleeping in places other than my nice "spot" in the living room. I guess humans don't understand about the fairies?

Let me back up. I know humans can't see the fairies - it's common knowledge that our eyesight, hearing, and sense of smell are better than theirs. (And sometimes our sense of good taste, too. Hello! Have you seen some of those dresses on Dancing With The Stars? They look like they were designed by bats!) The fairies like to live around the electrical systems of homes, because it gives them power for their electric guitars, and it's also warm in the winter, cool in the summer. Fairies are avid players of electric guitars. Humans can't hear them because they play at high frequencies. Normally I don't mind it - fairy tunes are generally quite lyrical, although a bit atonal for my taste - but sometimes their music is downright grim. They like to jam in this style, and let me tell you, 50 grim fairies at once is 49 too many.

In a big jam session, the fairies will gather around an electrical socket because it's just not practical for them to draw that much current at other points of a typical house electrical system. Guess what? My little spot, which is cozy and comfortable and otherwise quite relaxing, is right next to an electrical outlet. (BTW, the outlet is up and to the side enough that I don't worry about accidentally sticking my tail in it.) Now, I know Bunny didn't knowingly put me in a noisy place. She's obviously never heard a fairy jam session, or she'd know better.

Some days are quiet - fairies can't jam all the time or they wouldn't get their editing work done. Ocassionally, though, they go at it, jamming on their guitars and sometimes even singing, and I just have to move away from the socket. Some days it's so loud I have to go to a completely different room! Since these sessions go on for hours, either Bunny or Mr. T will come home in the middle of one and find me not in my spot. Mystery solved.

Of all the indignitites...

Do humans have no shame? Look what Bunny did to me! Sure, I didn't really mind being in the box, but was the bubblewrap really necessary?