Doxie Day--Hooray!

"Hot dog" day a "howling" success

Isabella and owner Roseanne Smith, the organizer of the day's event. All photos by Judy Keenan.

By Judy Keenan

What do William Randolph Hearst, E.B. White, Jack Ruby, Andy Warhol, Queen Victoria, Donald Rumsfeld and Pablo Picasso have in common? Surprise!  They were all owners of dachshunds.  The popularity of this breed, which is ranked seventh in registrations by the American Kennel Club, crosses all cultural stratas. 

Lump and Picasso.

A popular breed indeed

Affectionately called Doxies, wiener dogs, hot dogs and /or sausage dogs their unique shape has endeared them to artists from Picasso who painted his pet dachshund, Lump (pronounced Loomp which is German for rascal) onto dozens of his canvasses, to American photographer David Douglas Duncan whose photographs of Lump playing with the great artist/icon at Villa La Californie, Picasso’s hillside mansion in Cannes, circa  1957 became a coffee  table book , Picasso and Lump: A Dachshund’s Odyssey,  to Gary Larson who devoted a Far Side cartoon book, Wiener Dog Art, to the breed.

Roseanne & Isabella welcome you to Doxie Day

To celebrate the dachshund, Doxie Day (the second annual) was held at Chapin Beach in Dennis on Saturday September 26th.  Roseanne Smith, the owner of Isabella, a gentle black with brown long haired dachshund and also the owner of Prothesia’s, a charming boutique with great clothes and gifts for people and dogs, on Route 6A in Dennis, has owned dachshunds for collectively eighteen years and originated the first Doxie Day last year. Modeled after a similar event held in New York City’s Washington Square Park where Roseanne and her husband Ken lived previously, over two hundred dogs and their owners participated last year in what was deemed a “howling” success. 

The Blessing of the Dachshunds at Chapin Beach.

This year an even larger number came out on a gorgeous fall day armed with disposable poop bags, donations of food and toys for local shelters and genuine enthusiasm about the virtues of the small dog H.L Mencken once described thusly: "A dachshund is a half-dog high and a dog-and-a-half long."  Their lasting popularity according to Roseanne is attributable to “sweet natures and big personalities”.

"Breed" all about it

Dachshunds come in three sizes (standard, mini and tweenie), three coats (smooth, long haired and wire-haired) and multiple color combinations (brown with black, black with brown, fawn, dappled, double dappled, pie bald and blond).  All of these variations were represented on Saturday and the ever present barked greetings were made doubly daunting by the constant threat of being tripped up by friendly calf-high dogs eager to sniff others or ramble over the rocks on the beach straining on long leashes. 

Isabella made it through the tube, while Tootsie still had to think about it.

There was an agility course, a silent auction and multiple pet related charity organizations were present. One charity was DART, an acronym for Disaster Animal Response Team and members were happy to explain their genesis which came about after Hurricane Katrina made it so evident that animals and owners were often separated in natural disasters.  Cape Cod DART was formed and is ready to assist pet owners who must evacuate for a disaster to stay united with their pets.  So far they have secured the use of Nauset Regional High School, Oak Ridge Elementary School in Sandwich and the Dennis Yarmouth High School. 

Max and his owner Kathy.

Helping dogs who need good homes

The Animal Rescue League of Boston was there to promote adoption. Roseanne says her daughter, a veterinarian at Wignall Animal Hospital in Dracut tells of clients who have to decide in these difficult economic times between feeding their dogs or feeding their children.  Therefore, there are more and more pets up for adoption through agencies such as Coast to Coast Dachshund Rescue and The Animal Rescue League. 

Microchip imbedding for identity purposes was available for a fraction of the usual cost because Schering Plough Company donated their microchips. The fee was a suggested donation to benefit the animal rescue organizations and there was also an opportunity to verify that an already implanted chip was working.  A hand held scanner similar to those used in supermarkets is run over the upper neck area of the dog.  If there is a microchip, the scanner shows the identifying numbers and the rightful owner can be contacted.

Microchips are the size of a grain of rice and the implanting is an easy process.

On three....

In closing, the official Dachshund song was sung by very willing participants.  The lyrics are as follows:

Verse one- There’s no other dog like a dachshund, walking so close to the ground; they’re stubborn and sly as a fox and the happiest pet to be found.

Chorus- Dachsie mein dachsie, the best canine under the sun, call you wiener or sausage or hot dog, we know that you’re number one.

Verse two- Most kinds of dogs seem to either have shapes or proportions all wrong; they’re only one way or  the other, but dachshunds are both short and long.

Repeat Chorus. 

And repeat event next year.

Apollo and his owner Kim.

Lots of dachshunds at Chapin Beach in Dennis Saturday.

Dachshunds even have their own hot sauce!

Emma and her owner Jane.

Special delivery!