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!

Dackel Footer 1

One thought on “For The Love Of My Dackels”

  1. A couple of questions arose to me. Do dackels have a good temperament? A friend has one short haired and one miniature and they both did. Are purebred, especially popular breeds, expensive in the US? For some popular, not rare, breeds here, you can pay thousands of dollars.

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