The "Got Me" Stories of Milo and Dixie

Summer of 2005 I decided that in order to have a perfect complete family a dog was necessary. I did lots and lots of research and knew that a Dachshund was the perfect family pet. I was an idiot and went to a breeder for a dog, but would not change it as on September 21, 2005 little Milo came to live with us.

He was 800 grams and looked like a waterlogged rat. All the ideas of crate training left the moment he whimpered. Since that first night he has been snuggled in my bed, warming my feet at night.

As any dachshund owner can tell you, these are the most stubborn dogs when it comes to potty training, and we too had our troubles especially when it rained. Each day we had such fun training him commands, taking him to the dog park, going on walks, and learning what it meant to have a new dog in the family.

All in all we spent the next four years becoming a family who enjoyed this sweet little diva dog. Believe me, just like the addition of a child, all of our normal plans changed when we had to begin thinking about this four legged human with fur we brought into the house. And if we failed to forget him, he would let us know quickly.

Then came Summer 2009...

In June we received a call from a friend at the local vet hospital. This poor little dachshund had been found abandoned by its family. Apparently she had spent almost a week locked inside their now empty rental house in the middle of July. They had left her some food and water, but it had disappeared before anyone had found her. She was dehydrated, malnourished, and hoarse from barking non-stop trying to get her owners to come back.

The rental house owner found her and brought her to my friend's vet clinic. It was touch and go for the first couple days. They did not know her exact age, but she was several months old and weighed only 1 pound. It took several weeks of care for her to be ready for us to pick up.

All the time we were waiting on her, I was wondering if bringing this little dog home was a good idea. You see, Milo is a diva. He enjoys being the top dog, having no one to take up his lap space, share his bones with or his sleeping space. But we knew that this little girl deserved a good home with someone who would care for her.

So we brought her home August 2009.... yeah it was not fun. Milo couldn't stand her presence. She was skiddish of everything, did not like me at all, and was so sickly. She immediately bonded with Reed and would follow him everywhere. This was bad when school started and he was gone for long periods of time each day... she would whine constantly until he returned.

It took so much patience to train her. It took extra patience to get Milo used to sharing his space with her. Even to this day, he asserts himself as the alpha dog and will take anything she has taken a liking to. It makes for a noisy house of barking and whining, but they are getting along better.

On this day, Thanksgiving, when people are giving thanks for family and friends who make their lives special, we include these two little dogs who make our house a home.