Posted by April Scott on 6/1/2012 to
Feature of the Month
Memorial Day has come and gone, and that means that we're in the midst of dachshund racing season. Most of us will be able to find at least one local dachshund picnic that features races.
Last month, we told you that our little three-footed friend Holly (shown at the left) would be competing in the Cross Town Bark Around, sponsored by Mid West Dachshund Rescue. We touted her as being able to run like the wind and compete against dogs with a full complement of limbs.
(Holly was was running in a rescue event, but she was bred in Montana at the home of our good friends at 2 Dogs Long. Proving once again that breeding should be left to people – like Becky and Bill at 2 Dogs Long – who know what they're doing, Holly's life nearly ended before it began. She was a breech birth, stuck in the birth canal. They lost her foot, but they saved her life and gave the world this beautiful little dog.)
Holly won her life, but she didn't win her race.
She is fast, but we never said that she was focused. After a great start, she decided to wander off to the sidelines to visit with some dogs who caught her eye. And surely sociability is better than victory.
That's the great thing about dachshund races. Aside from a very small contingent of owners who take the competitions very seriously, everyone is out to have – and almost always does have – a good time. And if half the dogs out of the starting gate wander off in some direction other than the finish line, so what? They have fun, and they all get treats and hugs when they finally meander across the finish line. Or when they finally get chased down as they make a run for it.
If you're going to be attending a dachshund race with any youngsters this summer, you will want to prepare them by buying them a copy of a new book called Geenie and the Weenie Race by Amy Caetta and Karen Lomheim, with illustrations by Gabhor Utomo.
The story is appropriately simple. Geenie is brought home from a dachshund rescue adoption day, and, when she sees her new family, runs around the yard so quickly that they can barely catch her. Amazed that such short legs can carry her so quickly, Sydney and Sam, the children of her new family, take the advice of the rescue volunteer and enter her into the Dachshund Dash race. Beginning her training immediately for the quickly approaching race, they hone her skills and even supply her with a Team Geenie shirt to match theirs.
Race day arrives, Geenie is in the lead, but then … well, we don't do spoilers here. You'll have to get the book and see for yourself what happens.
The text moves along quickly, and the illustrations are charming. You'll love the first scene of Geenie greeting her new family with her packed suitcase and ball, the many dachshunds at the racing grounds, and the action-packed eye-level racing scenes.
Noting that the book is dedicated to "Presley, the real-life inspiration behind this story," we contacted Amy Caetta and chatted briefly. Yes, Presley (that's her in the photo below) is her dog, rescued three years ago along with her brother Elvis, and subsequently the winner of the 2009 Wienerschnitzel Wiener Nationals in Cypress, CA. It was quite a change of pace for Amy, who had previously owned golden retrievers. But all you long-and-low lovers out there know the truth of the old saying: Once you go dachs, you'll want to own flocks.
By the way, Geenie and the Weenie Race will be seen in the forthcoming – we don't know when – movie Wiener Dog Nationals. So will some of our Dachshund Delight products.
To get a copy of Geenie and the Weenie Race (or a flock of copies), click here to visit the book's order page on lulu.com.
With luck, we haven't seen the last of Amy's dachshund-inspired books.
Last month, we told you that our little three-footed friend Holly (shown at the left) would be competing in the Cross Town Bark Around, sponsored by Mid West Dachshund Rescue. We touted her as being able to run like the wind and compete against dogs with a full complement of limbs.
(Holly was was running in a rescue event, but she was bred in Montana at the home of our good friends at 2 Dogs Long. Proving once again that breeding should be left to people – like Becky and Bill at 2 Dogs Long – who know what they're doing, Holly's life nearly ended before it began. She was a breech birth, stuck in the birth canal. They lost her foot, but they saved her life and gave the world this beautiful little dog.)
Holly won her life, but she didn't win her race.
She is fast, but we never said that she was focused. After a great start, she decided to wander off to the sidelines to visit with some dogs who caught her eye. And surely sociability is better than victory.
That's the great thing about dachshund races. Aside from a very small contingent of owners who take the competitions very seriously, everyone is out to have – and almost always does have – a good time. And if half the dogs out of the starting gate wander off in some direction other than the finish line, so what? They have fun, and they all get treats and hugs when they finally meander across the finish line. Or when they finally get chased down as they make a run for it.
If you're going to be attending a dachshund race with any youngsters this summer, you will want to prepare them by buying them a copy of a new book called Geenie and the Weenie Race by Amy Caetta and Karen Lomheim, with illustrations by Gabhor Utomo.
The story is appropriately simple. Geenie is brought home from a dachshund rescue adoption day, and, when she sees her new family, runs around the yard so quickly that they can barely catch her. Amazed that such short legs can carry her so quickly, Sydney and Sam, the children of her new family, take the advice of the rescue volunteer and enter her into the Dachshund Dash race. Beginning her training immediately for the quickly approaching race, they hone her skills and even supply her with a Team Geenie shirt to match theirs.
Race day arrives, Geenie is in the lead, but then … well, we don't do spoilers here. You'll have to get the book and see for yourself what happens.
The text moves along quickly, and the illustrations are charming. You'll love the first scene of Geenie greeting her new family with her packed suitcase and ball, the many dachshunds at the racing grounds, and the action-packed eye-level racing scenes.
Noting that the book is dedicated to "Presley, the real-life inspiration behind this story," we contacted Amy Caetta and chatted briefly. Yes, Presley (that's her in the photo below) is her dog, rescued three years ago along with her brother Elvis, and subsequently the winner of the 2009 Wienerschnitzel Wiener Nationals in Cypress, CA. It was quite a change of pace for Amy, who had previously owned golden retrievers. But all you long-and-low lovers out there know the truth of the old saying: Once you go dachs, you'll want to own flocks.
By the way, Geenie and the Weenie Race will be seen in the forthcoming – we don't know when – movie Wiener Dog Nationals. So will some of our Dachshund Delight products.
To get a copy of Geenie and the Weenie Race (or a flock of copies), click here to visit the book's order page on lulu.com.
With luck, we haven't seen the last of Amy's dachshund-inspired books.