Dachshund

UPDATE 7/31/07: A slimmer and trimmer Gabriel went to his forever home last week. He's promised to continue watching his weight, and has a doggie sibling "exercise buddy". Gabe's new family knows how important it is to maintain proper weight, and we have no doubt that they will find plenty of ways to spoil Gabe without overloading him on "treats". Congratulations, Gabe, on your weight loss, and on finding a fabulous "forever home"!

Gabriel is a 2 year old black and tan smooth male standard dachshund. He was surrendered by his owner, who was experiencing health problems. His owner had two dachshunds, and did not feel she could continue to care for both of them. She was willing to keep the older female, and surrendered Gabriel to us.

Gabriel is a sweet, easy going, personable fellow. He is not at all demanding, and is a perfect gentleman to all who visit his foster home. A reputable local dachshund breeder, who is an excellent judge of dachshund character, gave Gabe an "A+". You won't find a more pleasant dachshund to add to your family. (In fact, if you are interested in adopting two dachshunds, Gabe and Sarge would make great companions - both have similar personalities and would be very easy to live with.)

Gabriel is content relaxing on the couch with his foster family. He definitely enjoys his "couch time" so it's important that his adopters consider him part of the family and share their couch with him. He currently sleeps quietly in his crate in the bedroom, but would also enjoy sleeping in the "Big Bed" with his adopters.

Gabriel is in good health; however, he has one BIG problem--he is morbidly obese. He weighs 24 pounds and ideally he should weight about 16 pounds. His former owner loved him dearly, but like some other dachshund owners we see, had no idea of what an appropriate weight was for her dachshund. The guidelines for feeding amounts on most bags of dog food are way beyond what a dachshund should eat; just like the servings in restaurants are way out of line for what people should eat as one serving. The extra weight slows Gabriel down, and is straining his heart, lungs and joints. Fortunately, all of this is reversible. He is on a strict diet with steady, short walks daily.

For details and weekly updates of Gabe's diet and exercise plan, click here.

We will update his photos as he progresses and soon you should see the "real" Gabriel--healthy and slim! He will need to lose most of his excess weight before going to his new home. Gabe will need new owners who understand weight management in dogs and who do not have a history of allowing their current dogs (of any breed) to become overnight. We will be able to give very specific instructions about Gabe's care when he is ready to go, so the new owners will have lots of support from our organization.

Can you give Gabriel 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.

Be willing to fill out an adoption application, the entire contents of which will be verified upon receipt. Be prepared to have a home visit from one of the rescue foundation members as part of the screening process to adopt this dog.

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

You must 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.

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.

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.