Life Is Better With A Dackel

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Over the years, my dackels have been my joy. I’ve had them since 1996 when I brought home my very first dackel, Shubi from Germany. Shubi was gentle and loving and she made me a lifelong convert to wire-haired dackels.

Picture from 2002 2003 058My darling Shubi, in her later years.

Shubi became quite ill when she was eight years old. She had a form of Encephalitis. So, we flew to Germany and brought Greta home. Greta was so much fun. She played well with Shubi and I truly believe that the two years that Shubi lived beyond what the Veterinarians told us, was due to having Greta as her baby.

Greta was a feisty girl, and we found her a nice German boy, and together they had two litters of pups. Greta’s parents were German Champions, and she sure was a beautiful girl.

July 9 09 Greta15Feisty Greta.

I never thought I could enjoy anything more with my dogs, but watching the puppies grow filled my world with wonder.

Greta lived a long life and passed at the age of fourteen and a half.

We kept two of her puppies. Arnie and Anneliese. Each one was so different from the others. Arnie was a real lover dog, you know he loved everyone and would have been comfortable in any home. I adored him, and when he left us at age fourteen and a half I was simply gutted. He was the very last to go of my Dackel Princess dogs.

568560659_ag4jH-XLArnie. Also known as Mr. Arnie Man!

His sister, Anneliese was quiet. She cuddled with me, and she loved me well, but she was not the most lovable of dogs with others. Perhaps she was shy.

DSC00358However, she and I traveled to Germany twice and there was a bond between us that I did not have with the others.

And now I have my Heidi. I had this feeling when I saw her pictures when she was born that she was special. She has been here with me since January of 2022 and my gosh, it’s as if God took the very best of each of my previous dackels and put it all into Heidi.

52320744939_9ed5e0d7ac_6kMy darling Heidi.

I have family and friends who avoid getting pets because it is too difficult when they die.

What I say to that is this. All the moments of all the years that we shared were worth the sadness at the end.

If you truly love and are truly loved, then the ending will be painful. But the joy! Yes, the joy and the love make it all worth it!

received_1226597837850617Savannah, Quinn, and baby Heidi.

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Heidi, Sweet Heidi!

Heidi is growing up by leaps and bounds. I have to say, she is a really wonderful dog and I am blessed to have her.

Now here is a little thing that she does that I find incredibly cute. When I am sitting in my recliner she comes up the steps and sits looking at me until I move my laptop, magazine, or writing table off my lap. Once that is done she hops between my knees and goes to sleep.

2022-03-14_05-57-11Isn’t she cute?

Over and over she lets me know that the space between my knees is just for her.

2022-03-09_07-11-47Heidi’s favorite spot!

It cracks me up and makes me smile every time. Once she gets into the spot, she goes right to sleep.

At almost 22 weeks she is, for the most part, house trained. She will go to the door and woof when the time is right!

You know, Heidi has got to be the sweetest little puppy ever. She is filling up my life and making me feel very loved. It is why I love this breed so very much. They are funny and warm and loving!

What more could a girl want?

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TBT: My Dackels & Me

You know, all my dackels have come to me by meticulous planning. Greta came from Rheden, Germany, and we planned a trip over just to bring her home.

helloMe with baby Greta!

The anticipation was great, as back in the day, I didn’t even have one picture of her, just the photos of her Mom and Dad, who were German Champions. And yet, Greta was amazing from day one.

Arnie and Anneliese were Greta’s children, and although I never intended to keep Arnie, magically he stayed and proved to be the dackel of my heart. I watched each of them take their first breaths. In fact, Anneliese was actually born squealing!

Jan. 29 Anneliese and Arnie 001Anneliese & Arnie.

There are times I still think Arnie is on the bed at night with me, and then I wake and remember…

The only dackel that wasn’t planned was Shubi. She was my very first. We’d gone to visit friends in Bavaria, and their dackel had been hit by a car and their house was now terribly quiet.

img333Shubi and me in the Munich Airport.

I sort of off handily said we should get puppies together. And before I knew it we were in Landshut, Germany adopting Shubi and bringing her home.

In some ways, Heidi’s adoption is really a love story close to that of Arnie and Anneliese. Although I did not see her born, there was just something about Heidi from day one, that let me know she should be my girl.

Babies Oct 23The little one with the red collar is Heidi!

The pictures of her little face and tiny body, well it’s hard to explain. I just knew.

I am so fortunate to have met a wonderful breeder, who has become a friend. I love how she is raising the puppies and how she has kept all of us new puppy parents updated.

received_1378044715965964Heidi and her Mama, Luna.

So, I am off tomorrow and I will be taking a lot of pictures and bringing Heidi home!

 

 

An Announcement!

Dog Pablo PicassoAn Announcement!

I guess that I can finally let you in on a little secret. I have been accepted as a future Mama for a 2-week old wirehaired dackel! She is currently living with her birth mother while she spends her days drinking and growing and sleeping. She will be coming home after Christmas to live here in the mountains of my State.

I had been toying around with different names for my wee lass, and I went back to my favorite girl’s name when I was a teenager. And so, when my little Miss comes home she will be called:

Heidi

I cannot tell you how lonely I have been since Arnie died. Lili is sweet, but she is not a cuddler and actually is Jack’s dog. So my arms and bed are empty and there is no one to go on my walks with me. I knew it was going to be hard saying goodbye to Arnie, but I did not expect it to be this bad.

I guess what they say is true, “Grief is the price you pay for love.”

Now Heidi is on her way. We will walk, go to class, and learn all that one must to be a proper puppy. Best of all, I get to have another lifetime to spend with a pup. I’ve already ordered a collar and leash. Next is a new Airline approved bag for her and away we go!

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TBT: Some Dog Pictures & Me!

This is a picture of me with Baby-Dog, the Beagle, and Lorelai, our German Shepherd. I’m thinking I was about 12 or 13 years old.

554338105_770db81a90_oBelow: This was Greta’s first litter. My favorite thing to do at that time in the pups life was to sit in the puppy room and let them crawl all over me! Both Arnie & Anneliese are in there, but I can’t see collar colors, so I’m not sure who is who. Good times!

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Jan. 20 Anneliese and ArnieAnneliese was such a little dog. Here she is next to Arnie who was already way ahead of her. It didn’t matter. They were devoted littermates.


Sept 6 040And here I am with Greta. She was an amazing dog and friend!

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For The Love Of My Dackels

Back in 1996 when I brought home my first wirehaired dackel, I didn’t realize how much these little creatures would change me and the world I lived in.

SHULOOKBaby Shubi.

Shubi was my first wirehaired dackel and honest to God, she changed my life. She was my little Army. When I listened to Jamie Reagan and Eddie Janko say their wedding vows on Blue Bloods, it made me think about Shubi and how she saved me from depression.

“I will always have your back. If you fall behind I will wait up.
I will earn your respect and pay you respect every day we have.
I’ll be your scout, your night watchman, your cavalry.
Your medic, your chaplain in our army of two.
No retreat, no surrender. You can count on me.”

Shubi came into my life at just the right time. I was quite lost after the death of my six-year-old daughter. I was going down and there was very little I cared about.

But when darling Shubi came she was just 3 months old. She needed to be fed several times a day, walked, and we even went to doggy school so she could train me.

MUNICH6Walking with Shubi and a friend in Bavaria.

After so much sadness, Shubi gave me a reason to get up each day, and soon I was not only working my way out of the depression, but I was starting to enjoy life once again.

Shubi was an only dackel-child for 8 years before Greta joined us. We flew to Germany and went to the breeder’s home and picked up our girl. I was sure that no dackel could be as wonderful as Shubi, but I was so wrong. Where Shubi was a Beaty Queen, Greta was fierce and unafraid. I still recall the Easter afternoon when Greta cornered a garter snake (not poisonous) and barked loudly to protect me from it. Remembering that moment still makes me laugh!

Sadly Shubi left us shortly after her tenth birthday. She had contracted a very rare illness  GME (granulomatous meningo-encephalomyelitis). That was a very difficult goodbye. Shubi was so special.

greta at sunsetMy darling, Greta.

I did not have time to grieve as Greta went to her first German Dog Show, was rated Excellent and a boyfriend was found for her who was from German stock. Ten months later, Greta gave birth to her first litter and my love grew with the addition of Arnie and Anneliese.

Jan. 20 Anneliese and Arnie
Baby Anneliese and Baby Arnie.

We were so lucky to have had Greta for 14 and a half years, Anneliese for 14 years and one month, and Arnie for 14 and three-quarter years.

April 02 10 010Anneliese and Arnie.

Right now I am alone. Well, I have Lili I know, but as sweet as she is, she isn’t a cuddler and she is very much a protector of the home and hearth. This is funny because there is not a mean bone in Lili’s body, yet when we did have that daytime break-in back in January of 2019, fierce Lili was the heroine of the day.

20210524_191751Lili.

But I was puttering around the house today and I had to go down to the basement and I said  “I’ll be right back Arnie” and then I realized he wasn’t here and I stopped and a sob caught in my throat.

I hope to find a new dackel-baby soon. I am just one of those people who has found the breed of dog that is perfect for them, and the wirehaired dackel is it for me!

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Thank You!

First I want to thank everyone who has written to me with their love and condolences after the passing of dear Arnie. His loss has taken the wind out of my sails and the sadness is rather great. Your love and care mean a great deal to me.

I woke in the night and discovered an empty bed. Always I would get up and return to a warm furry body waiting for me. Now the bed is empty and I am alone.

Lili and I got up at six o’clock and we both looked at each other and wondered how we would get through the day. Somehow we managed, but tomorrow I need to do a few things around here.

I need to wash Arnie’s bed and put it away. The little dackel steps need to be washed and also stored. For now, we have no small fur babies, and both Lili and I keep expecting to find Arnie sleeping in his bed.

One day, we will adopt a little wire-haired dackel. We will need all the little things that made my pups live and thrive in their home.

One day.

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The Weekend Wrap ~ August 9th

weekend wrap 1I’ve begun to think I should simply give up on having a quiet lazy weekend. No matter how I try, I seem to get caught up in things around the house, or out and about our little town, that is bursting at the seams with Tourists!

During my days, and the times spent alone in my car, I have thought about so many things. Mostly, happily, about my dogs!

I remember how naturally my first Dackel, Shubi walked with me. I did use a leash when walking her around our home in Florida, but when we took her back to Germany to visit her brother, Toni in the Munich area, I never used the leash. It seemed that Shubi was always happy to walk by my side.

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She would lay by my feet in restaurants and in parks when in Germany. It was as if she already knew the rules for little dogs in Germany.

I thought about my Greta. Another German girl. She was fierce and brave and loved being out in our yard running around. I recall one Easter morning when Greta found a snake in the yard. Forget about Easter Eggs, Greta had an Easter snake!

We were also camping with Greta when a young girl came over and asked about her. What type of dog? Where is she from? I said, “Oh she is from Germany” and the child asked, “Does she speak English?” The same girl said, as she turned to leave us, that she liked Greta’s bangs!

Feb 7 020Greta and her bangs.

Greta was also the best little doggy-mama ever. In fact, I remember her nursing the pups at 12 weeks of age, as the new owners were about to carry them away.

Oct 26 075Mama Greta and her five babies!

This brought to mind darling Fritz. He was a 78 pound White German Shepherd who I think thought Shubi was his Mama. He was so respectful of her and then Greta, Arnie, and Anneliese.

In fact, one day when Greta was outside with her first litter (this included babies Arnie and Anneliese), a stray dog came into the yard and was heading for the puppies.

Oct 22c 023Fritz.

Before I could react, I felt a brush of white fur against my leg, as Fritz sped by and broadsided that stray dog! He then made sure the stray dog left our yard. Yes. Fritz just knew that he was born an ugly dackel!

Which got me thinking about a trip we took to New Mexico in our motorcoach. We had yet another White German Shepherd, named Max and Shubi with us. Both were excellent riders and we really enjoyed the trip. We looked up an old Pan Am friend of Jack’s and parked the motorcoach at his home.

We were delighted to discover that they had four Corgis! So cute. Well, they wanted to play, but the story went like this: They sniffed and looked over both dogs, decided that dackel Shubi was close enough to be a Corgi, so they allowed her to play.

MAXSHUShubi and Max.

But dear, sweet, beautiful Max was not allowed to play any Corgi games! To watch the Corgis plus One, brought a smile to my face.

Anneliese was my quiet girl. We had wonderful adventures going to Germany to meet her boyfriend, and my little love was such a gentle soul. She never demanded attention but was just happy to be around us all. She loved traveling and made many new friends at the airports we were in and also in Germany.

UsAnneliese and me in Germany.

And then there is Lili.The niece of our darling Fritz. She has that same sweetness in her personality, but this dog goes from zero to sixty in mere seconds. She also is able to jump higher than any dog I have ever had. My beautiful Lili Marlene! She also saved me when I was home alone and there was a daytime break-in at my home. I do not want to think what could have happened if she had not been here!

20210524_191751Lili Marlene.

Last but by no means least is my Arnie. My precious, darling. When Greta gave birth to her first litter, most people wanted females. In this litter, there was one male. Handsome Arnie. He allowed his sisters to do whatever they wanted and he hung back. The term, I’m a lover, not a fighter could be said about my boy!

Arnie was sold to a Professor at Cornel University. She wanted to show him and have a companion dog.

The day she was due to pick him up, I got a call. She had lost her job, her husband had run off with a student and her daughter had moved out of their home. I told her she needed this pup, but she said no.

Over the weekend we went back and forth about this wonderful pup. He was sweet and gentle and loving and everyone who met him fell in love with him instantly!

Janets pics 099Anneliese peaking around her brother, darling Arnie! My twins!

On Monday morning we looked at our little dog family, Fritz, Greta, Anneliese and decided that Arnie was home. How difficult could it be to take care of four dogs?

And you know, in the nearly 15 years of Arnie’s life, I have never regretted the day we decided to add this marvelous boy to our pack!

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It amazes me when I recall each and every dog that I have had and the fun we shared. I have never looked at my doggies as anything but my fur children. Gently handled, greatly loved, and sorely missed when they leave me.

The memories of these splendid friends gave so much to me and to my life. Each, in their own way, saved me. Whether it was making me laugh when I was sad, or licking away my tears, or pressing their bodies close to mine when I felt down.

                      Max                  Anneliese              Fritz                       Greta

My dogs                         Arnie                               Shubi                                Lili

How lucky I have been!

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Happy 4th of July

Happy4thToday is Independence Day for my country. Many will celebrate with cook-outs, parties, and fireworks. I always enjoyed the 4th growing up because we would sit at the beach in Falmouth, Massachusetts, and watch the fireworks between us and Martha’s Vineyard.

One year when I was a young mother I was showing the girls how to hold a sparkler so that they didn’t get burnt. Well, guess what? Yup, I ended up with a burnt hand and a visit to the Emergency Room.

So, I have always had a healthy respect for fireworks, and quite honestly, I leave it to the pros.

Flash forward to last night. In years past our neighbors have shot off a few fireworks and although it shook up Lili, it wasn’t too bad. But last night was horrible.

Our neighbors were shooting off high-quality explosive fireworks. You know, the ones that shoot far into the sky and then blossom out in various colors.

Explosion after explosion found Lili near panic as she raced around the house, trying to find a safe place. I sat with her, but each explosion found her jumping away. After about 45 minutes Jack got up to see where the fireworks were coming from and unfortunately, they were coming from a house one street over and one house up. And worst than it being so close and upsetting Lili, the sparks were coming down in our yard. Thank God for rain, as we had had moderate rain all day long and the grass was still wet.

Jack opened the siders to see how far into our yard the sparks were landing. That’s when the unthinkable happened!

4th-of-july-pet-safety-minA panic-stricken Lili slipped by Jack and ran out the door! I pushed Jack aside and began hollering for Lili. I yelled for two reasons. I desperately wanted her to come back inside for her own safety, and I wanted my neighbor to understand that things had reached a dangerous level.

So, there I was running up the driveway in my nightgown and slippers. I was calling for my girl, and just as I was going into my garage to get the car, I saw my beautiful girl running down the driveway toward me. I quickly got her in the garage and closed the door.

Jack was on the phone with the Police. In this one instance when Jack was saying to me that this had to stop, a voice from the other yard say “F-off”! Not what anyone should say to deescalate a bad situation. In fact, I react badly when someone says that to me.

The Police arrived and we explained that the sparks from the fireworks were coming into our yard, which made us quite nervous, (Think propane tank close to where the fireworks were landing!) as well as poor Lili.

The Police Officer said that he did not believe that our neighbor had a permit for these high explosive fireworks and that he would go over and talk to them.

I sat up with both Jack and Lili (and by this time Arnie was freaking out) until I felt sure that the fireworks were over for the night, then went off to bed.

I am sure I will be looked upon as being the bad neighbor, but honestly, this time I feel completely justified for my actions.

Please remember that not only do some dogs fear the noise and sounds of fireworks, but combat Veterans with PTSD find them horrific, as they bring the war right back to them.

In most cases, it is best to leave fireworks to the professionals. They have them in places away from people’s homes and animals.

Sixteen Years

I noticed today that it is now sixteen years since I started to write Dackel Princess. Where has the time gone? I recall thinking that only three or four people would ever read me, and those people were all related to me.

Here is the LINK to the first entry I made all those years ago

However, over the years I have met so many great people as they found my blog. It really has been a thrill!

It all started with Shubi and then Greta and Fritz. My original three all those years ago.

Shubi Greta FritzShubi, Greta, & Fritz

Shubi was at the end of her time with us, and Greta and Fritz were puppies! Time sure does fly when one is having fun! And these three were so much fun!

Of course, soon Greta took a husband and she brought to us, Arnie & Anneliese. Fritz went to Rainbow Bridge and we got his niece, Lili.

Arnie Anneliese and LilArnie, Anneliese, & Lili

Of course, Anneliese left us in January, but there is still a lot of doggy love in this house!

During this time I also became an Oma! That is the best yet! Two beautiful and very special people named Savannah and Quinn came into my life. They are the loves of my life, along with my wonderful daughter, Mandy.

BeFunky-collage 2 (2)So in 16 years, so much has changed, but the love continues and the joy of sharing my life with my family, friends, and my pets continues. Each day presents an opportunity to find something new in life!

So Happy 16th Blogoversary to me!