Dachshunds rescued: The long and short of waiting for a home

Almost three dozen dachshunds are available for adoption, the result of a rescue effort by Rescue the Animals in Abilene.

The dachshunds come from Mesquite, where law enforcement officials found 87 in a house when they responded to a call after a man died in his home three weeks ago.

The dogs were taken to a shelter in Mesquite, which sent out a notice Monday that it would have to begin euthanizing the remaining 57 dogs that hadn't been adopted. Rescue the Animals sent a truck to Mesquite on Monday and brought back 35 dachshunds.









"It really was a step of faith on our part," said Paul Washburn, director of Rescue the Animals. "This is the worst time of year to try to adopt out pets because people are going on vacation. We're hoping the word gets out and people respond."

The dogs are all adults under age 5. Washburn said the shelter at Rescue the Animals is at capacity, so 15 of the dachshunds were sent to the Abilene Animal Control Center, which will handle the adoptions.

"We're contracting the adoption through the city because we couldn't handle this many," he said.

The fee for adopting the animals will be $60, which will include the first round of shots. A mail-in rebate of $20 is available when the dog is neutered. If the dog is already neutered, the fee is $35 instead of $60, with no rebate.

Washburn said dachshunds make good pets.

"They're good with children and when they become acclimated to the weather, they make good inside-outside dogs," he said. "They're great dogs and they're popular. We usually get them for a whole bunch of places west of here but we generally get them one or two at a time."

Almost all of the dogs that arrived here Monday night appeared to be well fed and in good health. Most allowed themselves to be petted, which Washburn said was a smart move on their part.

"If you're on death row, you better be smiling at the people," he said.

Washburn said the fact that the dogs were fairly calm despite the upheaval in their lives during the past month spoke well of their general health.

"The stress on these animals has been tremendous," he said.

Washburn added that it was an advantage for people to adopt a young adult dog rather than a puppy.

"There's a huge, huge advantage in adopting a young adult, because you can see what their personality is," he said. "People think they can get a puppy and mold it into exactly what they want, but if they have children, they should know better."

For that reason, Washburn said Rescue the Animals rarely accepts puppies, although he said Daphne, the one-eyed pirate dachshund, recently had a litter of seven that should be ready for adoption soon.

As for the newcomers, Washburn hopes to adopt the majority of them during the next two or three weeks to alleviate some of the overcrowding. He said people who are willing to take one or two as foster dogs would be screened and considered.

"At least we bought them some more time," Washburn said.

Washburn said a hotline has been set up to answer questions about the dachshunds at 677-7722.

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