
While talking with a friend on the phone in early October 2007, I told her Jason and I had gotten a dachshund puppy. "So you got a weiner dog?" she asked. "Yes, a long haired dachshund," I replied. "Seriously?" my friend queried, "you got a weiner dog? Like a hot dog dog?" I tried to talk to her about the breeds hunting and sporting history but there was no getting through the chortling that was growing into heaving laughter. In my friends defense, she is a sworn eternal Labrador and golden retriever owner and enthusiast. And, well, weiner dogs are really, really funny.
Wilhelm's fast moving, short legs make me smile everyday. His bark that is too big for his body is cartoon like in the way that he literally levitates all four paws off the floor when exuding his powerful voice. Then there's the burrowing: Wilhelm will dig his way under and through comforters, blankets, sheets pillows, pillow cases not to mention tall grass, shrubbery and hedges. And those giant floppy dachshund ears... we affectionately called Wilhelm "Dumbo" when he was a puppy. Although he grew into the elephant ears that I was certain he would use to fly when he was smaller, Wilhelm's ears are still so fun and expressive.
When giggling about adorable little Wilhelm, I think the best part is the irony of that hilarity. Almost everything Wilhelm does is amusing but he takes it all so seriously. If he is speeding those little legs with ease through anything a dog four times his size can do, barking louder than a German shepherd, winning an epic long tug-of-war, borrowing into a hedge on the trail of something or digging into a pillow to make a perfect circle for a nap, he does it all with such stern determination. Wilhelm isn't all work and no play, but even play is serious business. The thing our wonderful wee weiner dog Wilhelm takes most seriously of all is love. I am in awe everyday of how much empathy and affection that one tiny dog can pack into his fuzzy little body. |