BUDDY AND WILLY
By Lynn Niebur
Approximately 4 1/2 years ago while  working as a vet technician in Gresham, Oregon. I received a phone call from  club member Molly Jackson who is a vet technician for Multnomah County Animal  Control. Molly informed me that MCAC had just received a miniature b&t  smooth Dachshund that was in need of adoption. This little guy had been picked  up in the Jantzen Beach area of Portland. The information they had was that he  had been abandoned from a motor home passing through the area and then was hit  by a car and ended up with a broken leg before being rescued and taken to MCAC.  Molly had related over the phone to me that this little fellow had a wonderful  temperament, loved everyone that he had met so far and really needed to rescued  as soon as possible from MCAC.

Interestingly enough, Rita and John  Sporseen who live in Ocean Park, Washington in regards to a possible adoption  had just contacted me. I quickly called them back and gave them the basic  information on the little guy waiting at the animal shelter. Rita dropped  everything and drove 3 1/2 hours to Portland and met me where I worked in  Gresham and then we both drove to MCAC to see Molly and her new charge.

Upon entering the area where this little guy was being kept, we could  see him laying in a corner with a cast completely covering his right leg from  foot to thigh. When he saw us his tail began to wag and he immediately tried to  get up and limp over to us. I recall grabbing him up gently and saying “Hey,  buddy how are you?”. He was wonderful and snuggled right into my arms. I handed  him to Rita and that was all it took. She immediately decided that this little  fellow was for her family.

That was the easy part. Buddy then began  the process of rehabilitation and medical recovery. Molly was wonderful with him and Rita in the adoption process. We watched as per agreed when adopting a dog  from MCAC, Molly micro-chipped Buddy. Rita signed papers that Buddy would be  neutered within an agreed upon time set forth by the county. Buddy was also in  severe need of dental work and needed to be immediately updated with the  county’s current vaccine protocol. At the Sporseen’s expense, Buddy was  brought to the clinic where I worked at the time. He was neutered and given a  dentistry with a rescue discount given by the veterinarian in attendance. The  Sporseen’s paid for the balance of the medical/dental bills and all licensing  and adoption fees before Buddy could be taken home.

Buddy now lives with  the Sporseen Family in the beautiful coastal community of Ocean Beach,  Washington. He is loved and cherished and lives the life of a leisure, taking  daily walks on the beach, chasing seagulls and sleeping in front of the  fireplace in his cuddly bed, surrounded by lots of love and toys. At night,  Buddy can be found snuggled into bed with Rita and John. Buddy is now living the  life every Dachshund deserves.
Willy

In January of 2003, a very busy  time for Dachshund Rescue in the Greater Portland Dachshund Club, I received a  phone call from a retired couple in Aloha, Oregon. They called to ask for our  help in finding a home for a 14 year old miniature smooth red Dachshund named  Willy. They were currently taking care of him, to the best of their ability,  after the death of Willy’s owner a month or so before. They lived, in the same  community as had Willy’s deceased owner, in a manufactured home neighborhood.  Willy was staying in the empty home of his previous owner during the day by  himself and then they would bring him over to sleep in their home during the  night so that he had a chance at company. These folks already had a dog of their  own and as hard as they tried they were just not going to be able to continue to  care for Willy in this matter for much longer.

I told them I would do my  best to find Willy a suitable home, but warned them that very seldom are we able  to find willing folks to take on dogs of Willy’s age. They relayed that Willy  had a wonderful temperament, love to play ball, and as far as they knew had no  medical problems that needed immediate care. Willy had been neutered and was  just a happy-go-lucky little dog. He loved playing with their mini-Schnauzer and  got along very well with other people and children.

As luck would have  it, as soon as I got off the phone with these folks, Rita Sporseen called to  give me an update on Buddy. In the course of our conversation I mentioned my  previous call about Willy and the work I had ahead of me in finding this little  guy a new home. Not a half hour after hanging up with Rita, the phone rang and  she was calling back to tell me that they would love to adopt Willy too. WOW!  Now before I could assure her that this would be possible I needed to go and  visit Willy and see if everything his caretakers had described to me was true  about Willy. I made arrangements to stop by for a visit the next  morning.

The minute I walked into Willy’s foster home I could see what a  cute little thing he was. You would hardly know that he was 14 years old! Willy  did have cataracts in both eyes and was pretty deaf, but other then that I would  say that he was a kid at heart. After talking with Willy’s foster parents about  what they could expect would be happening with Willy’s future, they felt  satisfied. We gathered up Willy’s bed, toys and food and headed to the nearest  vet office to see if we could find Willy’s current medical/dental records.

I stopped first at Rock Creek Animal Clinic. Willy had a license tag on  him but half the number was rubbed off. They checked their records, but found  nothing. Feeling a bit dejected I started to leave and the gal at the front desk  offered to call the Companion Pet Clinic at the other end of the shopping center  and check and see if they might have any information. I waited for about 15  minutes and then the call came….the other clinic had all of Willy’s medical  records and after explaining the situation said they would be glad to release  them to me. Very excited, I jumped in the car with Willy, drove across the  parking lot and received everything I needed from them that would comfortably  let me release him for adoption to a new family. The clinic paperwork showed  that Willy was up-to-date with all of his vaccines, including his kennel cough  shot. WooHoo! Willy was all set to go to his new home on the Washington  Coast.

That night Dave and I bundled Willy and his accessories into the  car and met the Sporseen’s at the Mile Post 18 Restaurant on the way to the  Coast. We had a nice dinner together, exchanged information on Buddy and Willy  and then went out to the cars to introduce the two dogs to each other.

Both Dachshunds were brought out of their respective cars, touched noses  and did their business in the bushes. In the meantime we had transferred Willy’s  bed and belonging into the back seat of the Sporseen car. Willy was brought up  to the car, jumped in and proceeded to ensconce himself in Buddies bed, which  coincidently looked a lot like his own. Buddy then jumped in, sniffed Willy and  then made himself comfortable in Willy’s bed. Hugs were shared between us and  the Sporseen's, and then the two boys road off together with the Sporseen’s to  the coast as if they had known each all their lives.

Both boys now live  in what most would call a Dachshund paradise, sharing beds, laps and Sporseen  grandchildren, and going for their daily walks on the beach. Sure sounds like a  great life to me!