I thought it was only appropriate to introduce my dogs to you! My family got Lola and Diego in the summer of 2007, when I was about to be a sophomore in high school. Originally we were going to get one dog, a dachshund, but my brother and I wanted complete opposites. He wanted a boy, I wanted a girl. He wanted a more normal color and I wanted something unusual. I did some research online and found some articles suggesting having two dachshunds, because they bond and will do better when left alone. I pitched the idea to my mom and dad and they actually went for it!

Lola was born on April 22, 2007 in Louisiana. I found her on a breeder’s website and fell in love! She’s a blue and tan dachshund and has quite the personality. Since blue is a dilute coloring of black, it’s common for dachshunds of this color to have alopecia. Lola has this and it means she only grows her undercoat and is for the most part naked. I get asked all the time if I shave her! In 2010 we were approved to be an animal assisted therapy dog team with Therapy Dogs, Incorporated. We visit Illinois CancerCare whenever we can and try to make the patient’s days a little better. In July of this year we had one of the worst things that can happen to a dachshund owner: Lola went “down.” One in four dachshunds will have InterVertabral Disc Disease (IVDD) and Lola was one of the unlucky ones. She had surgery and we’re still recovering. She has improved quite a bit, far more than what the vets told us at first. She originally had a less than 10% chance of walking again and I was told I’d have to manually express her bladder. After months of acupuncture and physical therapy, Lola has shocked and amazed everyone involved! She’s now at a 50% chance of walking and walks (very drunkenly, but walking none-the-less) every day in spurts! For long walks or adventures, she uses her pink doggy wheelchair. She has no idea she’s any different than any other dog and is a huge inspiration.

Diego was born on April 30, 2007 here in Peoria, Illinois. We went over to look at the litter and fell in love with him! His whole litter was named after Dora the Explorer characters and we just decided to keep the name. It fit him well! He was a super lazy puppy, but after about a year he was a bundle of energy! He’s mellowed out now and spends most his time napping under a blanket or laying in the sun.  He’s not really big on toys, but does enjoy going for car rides and to the dog park. Once in a while, if he’s in the right mood, he’ll chase Michael around the house. Diego loves to wear clothes, which I find hilarious. He gets jealous  if I put sweaters on Lola and not him.

My family adopted Michael in May of 2013, when he was a little over a year old. We got him from Foster Pet Outreach and they said he was born in March 2012. I saw his picture on Facebook as I was scrolling through and knew we had to apply to adopt him! We applied before his paperwork was all the way through and arranged a visit. Our dogs didn’t quite know what to think at first, but Michael was so sweet! We were so happy when we were chosen as his family. Originally, he was named Mocha and Foster Pet Outreach received him when his former owners thought it was too much of a hassle to care for him. He had never, ever been to the vet and hadn’t received any of his vaccines. We got him all up to date and he’s been wonderful! He’s an attention whore and constantly wants to be next to you. He’s playful and has picked up ‘sit,’ ‘stay,’ and ‘down’ very fast! I can’t imagine someone thinking he was too much to handle, he’s been a great dog.

I adopted Kai in February of 2014. I saw him pop up on Facebook from the Midwest Dachshund Rescue and I just knew! I wanted to adopt Kai so Lola would have a doxie friend when I moved out and leave Diego and Michael with my parents. We drove up to Wisconsin to meet him with all three of our pups and he was very shy. I could tell he was just scared, but I don’t blame him with our other three in his face! He cuddled up in my lap the whole ride home and has fit in just fine. He’s super laid back and very sweet. He loves to chew on tennis balls and throw them around for himself. He’s slowly trying all the different foods we give our dogs, like bananas and vegetables. He didn’t quite know what to think the first time we gave him a banana! He loves to be outside and to go on car rides.