Fritz's Story!

We recently adopted a 10 year old male dachshund named "Fritz." I thought it would be hard to find a homeless dachshund. After all, we never saw one at the pound (because I since found out they usually call the dachshund rescue people first and they usually take them and find them homes). Plus, I thought who would want to get rid of a dachshund? They steal your heart after you are around them. After getting in touch with the dachshund rescue, my heart broke after I heard about the number of dachshunds needing homes and the stories behind them.

When we first heard about Fritz, I wondered if it would be hard to take in an older dog. I really prepared for a challenge. But it turned out to be the easiest thing in the world. Fritz had never been neutered, and apparently it had caused some enlargement of his prostate. He also had some very rotten teeth. We met him two days after being neutered and having 15 teeth pulled. His enlarged prostate had caused his back to hump up and he walked very gingerly. His coat was dull and dry. We were also warned he wasn't the prettiest dog either. But we had learned a long time ago in life, beauty is skin deep, as they say. We fell in love with Fritz right away.

He was very cautious of us. He warmed up to our other dogs right away. But we were another story. It seemed like Fritz did not have a lot of love in his 10 years of life. He didn't understand what kisses were. He would not kiss us back when we kissed him, he only looked at us like "what are you doing"? Ron, my husband, showed him "tummy rubs" and he immediately loved that. He couldn't believe it. The look on his face was like "WOW," "YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE HOW GOOD THIS FEELS." Now every time Ron approaches Fritz, Fritz automatically flips on his back for his tummy rub.

He would not wag his tail for days. It seemed like he didn't want to get attached to us because he might get rejected again. But now, after only a few weeks of love, attention kisses and tummy rubs, Fritz is a new "puppy." Everytime he sees us, his tail wags. He likes to join in on the "barkfest" with the other dogs when we come home from work. His prostate is shrinking and his back is straightening out. He now has a happy little bounce in his step. He eats like a pig, even with a limited amount of teeth. His coat is smooth and shiny now. He learned the doggie door very quickly. But the most wonderful thing was the day he kissed me back. It brought tears to my eyes, when he gave me one of those patented wet sloppy dachshund kisses. I kind of took that as a sign that he was happy at last and now he knows, hopefully, what it feels like after 10 years to finally be truly loved.

Fritz just had a checkup with our vet and she said he has a lot of years left in him, and probably since he has a good home now, he will have even more years added to his life. I know that the rest of Fritz's life will be happy, carefree, peaceful and if he knows nothing else, he will live the rest of his life knowing what is feels like to be loved and cared for. For that reason alone, to us, is the best reason to share your love and home with an older dachshund.

Ron & Patty Wright