I sometimes write about my wife, my children and even my grandchildren, but what’s up with the dog in various photos that you see of me? Well, what’s up is “Neo,” my ten and a half-year old miniature dachshund. Neo is our youngest child and the one who never left home. She brings tremendous joy to our empty-nest household. Neo is our fourth mini-dachshund in forty years of marriage. Anita was into German Shepherds when we met but our apartment would only allow a small dog so we got a dachshund, staying with the German breed of course. As night follows day we kept getting dachshunds and just love these little wiener dogs. (Neo has a little outfit that is a hot dog bun with mustard on top of it that she wears in public when we really want to get a laugh. She asked for it one Halloween I understand, telling us she wanted to be a Hallo-wiener!)

Neo is by far the sweetest little doxie that we ever had. She loves Anita beyond belief. She loves me too, but not like she loves her “momma.” Anita decided to see if she could teach “an old weiner dog new tricks.” Neo proved to be the star and Anita was again shown to be a great trainer when she put her mind and energy into it. 

Plate of Food photo Anita decided to enter Neo in a local dog show in Carol Stream. Out of 26 dogs Neo finished second in a competition that required her to wait and eat food only on command. This poor little dog had to look at a plate of food for nearly a half hour while one dog after another caved in to this temptation and ate. Look at the selection of tasty treats on that plate. I mean I would have struggled to hold out for thirty minutes. Even the judge was impressed.

You see, dachshunds are notorious for not being able to resist any food they can see and smell. But this little girl of mine resisted and resisted and proved to be a real star. Even when she lost to the eventual champion the results were a bit tainted. (Yes, I am biased but Neo really won!)

Medal for Neo photo So Neo won second prize, as the photo will show. She proved that an old weiner dog can learn new tricks! And she made her momma very happy, even though it was a wet and chilly day in Carol Stream.  Can’t you tell how happy Anita was from this lovely little photo?

After the show was over Neo, and her cousin Latte (Stacy’s three-year old mini-dachshund) stuck around for a little of the post-show action. Neo passed a “Good Citizen” test and appropriately got a certificate for that too. This now allows her mom and dad to buy a bunch of dog stuff from a catalog. (What’s wrong with this picture?)

Mascot with Dogs photo After Neo’s full day at the park she then met the event mascot who was there to wish Neo, and her cousin Latte, a nice day! The little girls, by this time of the day, were ready for a stroller ride. After all, Neo had resisted a plate of food on a down/stay for more than a half hour. She had a stroller ride coming don’t you think?

So hooray for Neo and Anita. Good job girls. I’m proud of you both. You add a lot of real joy to all our lives, proving that God’s gracious gifts extend to many parts of his kingdom, human and animal.

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Comments

  1. laurie October 2, 2011 at 6:41 pm

    This was a super-cute post! Thanks for sharing your fun.

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