Hans Story Part V

The first dachshund in our family was Hans who came to live with us in 1964. In a very real sense, Hans is responsible for the existence of Distinctively Dachshund. He is the one who taught us the joys and challenges of living with a stubborn, creative, smart-ass dog. We've been dachshund people ever since. The following is Part V of a series of stories about Hans. Future installments will be posted here in the coming weeks. [Click Here for Part IV] So now for your enjoyment, here is . . .

The Story of Hans

The New Trailer

Part V: Hans on Wheels

Rollin, Rollin, Rollin in a shiny new travel trailer! It was an exciting new venture for all of us and Hans of course found his special place perched up on a cushion so he had a view of the whole world. He had as much fun traveling and camping as we did, especially at a lake resort. He loved to swim by now and insisted that the children take him along to the beach. If for some reason he was left behind, he found a way to get even. Usually he would pull the offending person's beach towel off into the sand and sit on it until the message was received. Of course, the resort required all dogs to be leashed, but Hans didn't consider himself a dog and he had never been on a leash. Oh, how humiliating! To be tied to the trailer step! Well, that was not to be. He chewed the rope and then sat beside the step and nosed the offending confiner just to say, "See, I'm here. I don't need to be tied up!"

As much as Hans loved the trailer he still had his limits, as we found out one winter evening. We had a large recreation room in our basement where Camp Fire Girls performed plays every so often. This particular evening, a large number of parents were coming and we didn't want the show to be interrupted. Hans visiting with the members of the audience would certainly cause a distraction.

It was a snowy December night, so we lit the heater and put Hans in the nice warm trailer. Imagine our surprise when we went to get him a couple of hours later and discovered that he had chewed up all of the upholstered cushions! He did usually let us know when he felt ill treated.

We never made that mistake again! Therefore, Hans was invited to our New Years Eve party. He had a wonderful time visiting all of the guests and he was a hit. He had a better time than we realized because he lapped up some spilled drinks and got drunk! Later our daughter woke up and complained of being cold. Han had hopped up into her bed and eaten a big hole in her blanket before going to sleep. Has anyone ever tried that as a cure for a hangover?

It's very hard to be angry with someone who has such big innocent brown eyes, although, as we all know, our Dachshunds let us know if their feelings are hurt.

Check back soon for the final installment of "The Story of Hans". As part of the new look of Distinctively Dachshund, we will be posting stories about dachshunds on a more-or-less regular basis. We have many stories about our own dachshunds that we plan on sharing, but we also want to hear from you! We all know dachshunds have a special knack for arranging and interacting with the world around them.

If you have a dachshund story you would like to share with the world, please send it to us and we'll try to post it on our site. Of course pictures are welcome, too.