Dachshund

UPDATE May 24: After spending five months in rescue, we're proud to announce that Dickens' adoption has been finalized! He'll be with us for a few more weeks as he completes his heartworm treatment, after which he will be neutered and microchipped. Dickens has been able to spend time with his new family and he's packed and ready to go HOME on June 9th. Dickens' new family are avid sports fans and Dickens already owns a Texas Tech t-shirt! He'll have a sibling dachshund and basset hound to play with, and lots of extended family and dog loving friends nearby. Congratulations, Dickens!

UPDATE April 28: A home has been selected for Dickens, but he will need to remain in rescue a while longer until he completes his heartworm treatment and is neutered. Thank you for your interest in and support of Dickens as he underwent his rehabilitation and lengthy stay in rescue. His adoptive family is counting the days until his arrival. We're glad that Dickens will have a loving family and will forevermore be safe from the abuse he's suffered.

UPDATE March 18: Dickens had his re-check at the vet and he's making progress. His jaw injury is still healing, so he'll continue to wear his external fixator for another four weeks. He is also slightly heartworm positive, so he began treatment today for that. Heartworms are killed by administering multiple doses of an arsenic (yes, arsenic!) based compound, which can be very taxing on a dog's organs. Dickens had a negative reaction to his treatment so the vet will wait longer than usual before giving Dickens his next dose. Dogs must have very limited physical activity for a month or more following treatment while the dead heartworms are absorbed by the body. We know that Dickens will NOT be happy about that! Once his heartworm treatment is complete, Dickens will be neutered. We estimate that he will be in tip-top shape some time in July.

UPDATE February 3: Dickens traveled out-of-town with his foster family and spent the weekend with them in a motel room. It appears this was his first encounter with a full length mirror. When Dickens got his first look at himself he leaped high in to the air, backed up, then returned to the mirror again and again to look at himself in a very curious way. Other than his skepticism with the mirror, Dickens enjoyed his stay and was an excellent traveller.

UPDATE 2/1: Dickens is certainly enjoying himself, making up for lost time. He races around like a puppy with unlimited energy. Even with the fixator on his jaw he is bouncing around, chasing his foster siblings, and trying to chase squirrels in the yard. He is always on the go, go, go! Eventually, he will settle down and curls up to sleep in one of the "kingly" wooden dog beds available throughout the house. Dickens loves people and will kiss anyone who picks him up. He's finally learning that life is good, and fun, and he doesn't want to miss a single minute.

UPDATE January 25: One of our kindhearted benefactors made Dickens his own fleece blanket and matching coat, embroidered with cute paw prints and his name "Little Dickens". Dickens loves his new coat, and it's really coming in handy with our recent cold weather. Dickens' foster Mom reports that he's doing great and doesn't even seem to notice the external fixator on his jaw. He really wants to wrestle and rough and tumble with one of his doxie foster siblings, so he's constantly being reminded to "take it easy" while he recovers. Dickens loves to doze off in the easy chair with his foster family, but panics if he's awakened suddenly. He's slowly learning that there's no longer anything to fear. Little Dickens is safe now, and he'll never suffer again.

Tiny little Dickens, weighing just 6 and 1/2 pounds, had his jaw broken by his former owner; who intentionally kicked him. Why would someone want to injure this precious little dog? Two Good Samaritans were instrumental in rescuing him from his former home; where he spent most of the time chained in the yard--winter or summer. Dickens has had surgery to stabilize his jaw, and he will be x-rayed again in 2 months to determine how the healing is progressing. Once the jaw is fully healed, he will be neutered. Since he has a retained testicle, this will be slightly more involved.

Despite his lifetime of abuse, Dickens is loving, friendly and playful. Hard to believe a dog could survive that and still love people--but he does. We anticipate him being ready for a new home towards the end of May or beginning of June; however this will depend on how he progresses in the healing of his jaw. Because of his tiny size and history of past in injuries, he will need a home with adults only, and if there are other dogs they will need to be under 15 pounds. This darling dog will add joy to someone's life! Will it be your life? Think it about.

Can you give Dickens a loving, permanent home with lots of attention? If so, read the rest of the information below and then contact us for an adoption application. Please be aware that our adoption applications are sent out by postal mail only, and are not sent by e-mail nor are they available on-line.

Before you contact us for an application, you must go to our group's website at: www.dfwdachshund.com/rescue and read *all* the FAQ's there. You will find information to most questions that you may have. In particular, please pay close attention to the information about the rescue dachshunds and housetraining. Dachshunds take extra time and patience to housetrain and it is important to know this before you apply to adopt.

Be aware that we do not have a public kennel facility for our dogs; our rescue dogs are fostered with individual families throughout the DFW Metroplex area. We do not permit visits to any of the rescue dogs until an interested household has filled out an application, and had a reference, vet and home check. Only screened and approved applicants may visit dogs available for adoption through our program. We will not hold dogs for homes that have not yet been approved by our rescue committee.

We rarely, if ever, have puppies available in our rescue program. If you are interested in a puppy, please contact us for the puppy referral packet to reputable breeders in our area.

In order to be considered for adoption through DFW Dachshund Rescue Foundation, you must:

Be over 21 years of age and have verifiable identification to that effect.

Be able to verify that you may have a pet where you live.

Live within the Dallas/Fort Worth area or no farther than a 50 mile drive from Dallas/Fort Worth to apply to adopt from us. We appreciate your understanding and hope that, if you live outside our service area, you will consider adopting a pet in your local area from a rescue group that services your part of the United States.

Be prepared to make a donation to our rescue efforts of $250.

Be willing to fill out an adoption application, the entire contents of which will be verified upon receipt.

Have a complete, secure, and safely fenced yard.

Be prepared to have a home visit from one of the rescue foundation members as part of the screening process to adopt this dog.

During the home visit, our representative will do a brief temperament evaluation of all current dogs in the household. We are unable to adopt to homes where any current dogs exhibit "people-aggressive" or "dog-aggressive" behaviors during the home visit. In addition, while we do not preclude adopters who currently own large breed dogs, due to size differential and a dachshund's predisposition to spinal injuries, we are also not able to adopt to homes when the board determines there may be potential for injury to the dachshund. This is to ensure a safe match for our rescued dachshunds.

Understand that DFW Dachshund Rescue Foundation has the right to deny *any* application for any reason. Reasons for the denial of any adoption application will *not* be discussed with the applicant.

While we do not preclude adopters who live in apartments or townhouses, be aware that most dachshunds bark a lot and generally do not make good apartment/townhouse dogs. We rarely have apartment/townhouse suitable dachshunds available for adoption. If you live in an apartment or townhouse and wish to apply, be aware that you may wait a year or more for a suitable dachshund from our program. In addition, for safety reasons, your apartment/townhouse must have ground floor access.

Our adoption application has been designed to evaluate potential adopters to ensure that each person who adopts a dachshund is not only aware of the responsibility that comes with adopting a dog, but also to address the suitability and permanence of each dachshund placed in a new home.

When considering a new home, our goal is to make the best possible match for each of our rescued Dachshunds. These special dogs deserve the stability of a permanent home where they will be loved, secure and safe for their rest of their lives.