"Tad"
( 7/27/80 - 7/13/97)
Ch. Duchwood's Tad of Doxdane
MS, C.D.X., T.D., C.G.
(Wildwood Li'l Buckeroo MS x Doxdane'es Wee
Lorelei MS)
"Taddles" - our first dachshund and our foundation
sire - euthanized at age 17 (acute kidney failure) - had back surgery at
age 10
"Chip" (11/28/89
- 7/20/05)
Dual Ch. Duchwood's Microchip
MS
(Ch. Poohdach's Own Tristan MS x Duchwood's
Garnet Glitter MS)
Chippy was our first dual champion - euthanized
at age 15 years, 8 months due to acute kidney failure (never sick a day
in his life before then)
"Webster" ( 02/09/92 - 11/19/07)
Duchwood's Webster MS
(Duchwood's Tornado Patch MS x Duchwood's Hallelujah MS)
"Web-Mans" was euthanized at age 15 years, 9 months due to a probable
pancreatic tumor and unrelenting pancreatitis. Webster had developed
SARDS at age 9 and went totally blind almost overnight. It never
slowed him down.
"Hazel"
(1/16/07-6/1/09)
Duchwood's Hazy Recollection
MS
(Ch. Lisego Nosa Vitamin Yu x Duchwood's
Lady Ellen MS (ch. pts.))
Sadly, Hazel passed away in her sleep at the
age of 2 1/2 years. She suffered a massive aneurysm in her chest
and died peacefully. She had been perfectly healthy prior to this.
It was a great shock.
"Noah"
(12/2/94 - 6/21/09)
Ch. Duchwood's No Way Noah MS
(Ch. Duchwood's Flintstone MS, C.D. x Duchwood's
Willow MS)
Noah "The Boo" was euthanized due to acute
kidney failure and congestive heart failure. He was 14 1/2.
Duchwood's Pebblestone MS (in a pet home - bacterial cardiomyopathy
at age 8 due to incompetent veterinary dental care)
"Pebbles"
Duchwood's Tornado Patch MS (in a pet home - bacterial cardiomyopathy
at age 8 - in pet home where they neglected his teeth).
"Tory"
Dachshunds are notorious for getting dirty teeth
and gingivitis. The bacteria gets in their bloodstream and causes
heart damage. Brush your dog's teeth several times a week and get
a thorough dental cleaning done by your vet at least once a year after
age 5. Feeding raw, not cooked, bones like beef rib and knuckle bones
and raw chicken thighs at least once a week will help keep those big back
molars clean and save on vet dental bills.
Duchwood's Dewdrop MS - 11/23/92 - 05/25/96 (botched C-section
- idiot country vet twisted her intestines when she sewed her up)
Duchwood's Little Belle (autoimmune hemolytic anemia or something similar
at age 10 following yearly vaccinations - was in a pet home)
"Belle"
DO NOT vaccinate your dachshund with the DHL+P
vaccine past the age of 2 - over-vaccination is leading to autoimmune disorders
and death in dogs!
"One crowded hour of glorious life, is worth an age without a name". Alexander Pope
I know that you humans lead busy lives. Some have to work, some have children to raise. It always seems like you are running here and there, often much too fast, often never noticing the truly grand things in life.
Look down at me now, while you sit there at your computer. See the way
my dark brown eyes look at yours? They are slightly cloudy now.
That comes with age. The gray hairs are beginning to ring my soft muzzle.
You smile at me; I see love in your eyes. What do you see in mine?
Do you see a spirit? A soul inside, who loves you as no other could in
the world? A spirit that would forgive all trespasses of prior wrong
doing for just a simple moment of your time?
That is all I ask. To slow down, if even for a few minutes to be with me. So many times you have been saddened by the words you read on that screen, of others of my kind, passing. Sometimes we die young and oh so quickly, sometimes so suddenly it wrenches your heart out of your throat.
Sometimes, we age so slowly before your eyes that you may not even seem
to know until the very end, when we look at you with grizzled muzzles and
cataract clouded eyes. Still the love is always there, even when we must
take that long sleep, to run free in a distant land.
I may not be here tomorrow; I may not be here next week. Someday
you will shed the water from your eyes, that humans have when deep grief
fills their souls, and you will be angry at yourself that you did
not have just "One more day" with me. Because I love you so, your sorrow
touches my spirit and grieves me.
We have NOW, together. So come, sit down here next to me on the floor,
and look deep into my eyes. What do you see? If you look hard and deep
enough we will talk, you and I, heart to heart. Come to me not as "alpha"
or as "trainer" or even "Mom or Dad," come to me as a living soul and stroke
my fur and let us look deep into one another's eyes, and talk.
I may tell you something about the fun of chasing a tennis ball, or
I may tell you something profound about myself, or even about life in general.
You decided to have me in your life because you wanted a soul to share
such things with. Someone very different from you, and here I am.
I am a dog, but I am alive. I feel emotion, I feel physical senses,
and I can revel in the differences of our spirits and souls. I do not think
of you as a "Dog on two feet" -- I know what you are. You are human, in
all your quirkiness, and I love you still.
Now, come sit with me, on the floor. Enter my world, and let
time slow down if only for 15 minutes. Look deep into my eyes, and
whisper to my ears. Speak with your heart, with your joy and I will
know your true self.
We may not have tomorrow, and life is oh so very short.
Love, (on behalf of canines everywhere)
Author Unknown