She’s A Wiener!
It was coming down to only a few weeks left until Christmas and we still needed to get a gift for the kids. One morning I asked Brian if we needed to order a trampoline. You see, Ellie and Jackson have been asking for a puppy for quite a while, and a trampoline was our best answer to that request. I did state a firm “do not get me a puppy for a gift” after Kip was gone.
Little did we know God was working on our hearts this summer when we were on a group camping trip and showed us a glimpse of the happiness that a dog can bring. Ellie had took a liking to the little pup Daisy who was in our camp. She held that dog as much as she could and then was begging us for a dog when she wasn’t.
So when I posed the question to Brian of utilizing Prime to get a trampoline ordered and delivered in two days his direct answer was “it’s that or we get a puppy” …. WHAT!?! A PUPPY?
Decisions – Decisions
Trampoline or Puppy? Possible broken bones or 14+ years of everything Puppy? The question posed a bit of dilemma because secretly I was thinking about getting a puppy too — for the kids of course. After a few conversations in private, we decided a puppy for a gift, or at least the intent on getting a puppy, was the right answer — a smaller dog with minimal shedding would be key. As a fan of the hound group, a Dachshund seemed to be the right breed for us.
And literally the next day a friend had found a perfect pup at the Sioux Falls Humane Society but it just didn’t work out as she was pretty adorable and went home with someone else. But Brian must have had the itch to find a pup and in his googling he found a classified ad on Keloland.com that a breeder in Mitchell, SD had placed for a female dachshund pup.
SOCIAL BUTTERFLY Female Mini Doxie Dachshund
Location: Mitchell, SD
Purebred Mini Dachshund FEMALE Nicknamed Bobbies Red Wiggles Smitten PIPER (Piper for short). Ready to join new family: Just before Christmas (Will hold any reserved puppy until just before Christmas for delivery then) Santa may even be able to help us this year).
Appears to be Smooth haired. Dachshunds are definitely CURIOUS little ones. They are sweet, snuggle bugs that are all about the attention they get. They love to sleep with you under the covers as they get cool pretty easy. Often people will buy sweaters and such for winter potty time. This is something you want to start young so they are used to it. This little one is ready to leave right before Christmas and a deposit will reserve her with close to Christmas meeting.
They like to get into things more than some puppies and will need training. They are very intelligent so training is easy as long as you have time. They are not fragile in any way, are rough and very trainable, good with families, but as with all puppies must be socialized. They need training just as any other pet.
They are small enough to be a good lap dog or travel companion. Both parents are Mini’s and under 10 pounds so we expect this litter to mature about the same. Our children are very active and a part of their upbringing.. Our house can be Chaotic at times so it is doubtful yours would worry me.
We will have some questions for you… We want to know what the future has to hold and be sure this puppy is a good fit for your family.
From the ad above it was hard to resist calling right away. And a few short hours later we placed a deposit on “Piper”.
How to Gift Wrap a Puppy
Since we already had plans for Christmas we decided to go and pick up the puppy the day after, which meant we had to come up with some clever way of telling the kids we were getting a new puppy. So I found a few Dachshund related things and made them “We Love Lucy” t-shirts. (Ellie wanted to name Jackson Lucy if it was to be a girl and we’ve always joked that it would make a nice puppy name.) They like the gifts but had no clue there was more to come. Ellie even picked out a small dog hat and scarf for Puppy Girl to open which made my heart giggle.
Then came the final gift of Christmas Eve, which was awesome to see them open. A memory that will be with all of us forever. Ellie carried the photo frame with her the rest of the day and all of the next.
Our Next Little Adventure
So off we were on the day after Christmas to get this pup nick-named Piper, or Lucy, or Dash…..the list of possibilities went on. It was the longest four hour drive to Mitchell that Ellie has ever experienced but we finally made it to the Vet and collected the little puppy.
It hasn’t been quite a week and she is adjusting fairly well. There is a LOT of lap time that seems to help calm everyone down. We’re still working on the potty training as it seems winter finally decided to show up and it is hard to make her go outside in below zero temps. I’m hoping she will get the knack of going outside fairly quickly as soon as it warms up — soon? During the night time there seems to be some separation anxiety and Brian and I have to remind ourselves that this was the best idea we had — over a trampoline.
What’s Her Name?
Since we figured that Ellie would take more of a liking to actually having a puppy we thought it might be best to find a name that Jackson could relate with — other than Frosty (his top choice). So I searched for girl character names from his favorite movies and came up with Dottie, who is Dusty’s forklift mechanic in Planes. Everyone liked the name and we started calling her Dottie Dog. Some close runner-ups were: Lucy, Lilly, and Brownie (never met a Brownie I didn’t like).
The Newest Member of Our Family
If you have stuck it out and are still reading, you can see that she will be loved dearly and that you can expect to see more post including Dottie in the future. We are grateful for Eva Schroeder of Mitchell, who helped fulfill our wish with a wonderful little pup.
And what about that boy who didn’t want a dog but would get one because he knew “it would be good for Ellie, Jackson and myself”….
