Rescue ~ Rehab ~ Rehome

Fran

Hi Haven-to-Home friends,

This is Abby here…I’m getting used to my new name which was changed from Fran.

First of all, I still can’t believe how my new family found me. So many things came together just right for this to happen…it just had to be more than coincidence! Zach, the boy I now spend lots of time with, met me at a campground that I was at for a few days with my very cool foster family, the Willoughbys. I was with the Willoughbys because the folks who were supposed to take care of me had too many dogs already, so they were holding me for a few days. Zach didn’t want to go camping because he wanted to stay home and check dog pounds for a dachshund but his parents convinced him to go anyway. They told him it could be months to find the “right” dog, never dreaming that they would find me on that vacation! Well, the night we met there was an outdoor movie at the camp and we ended up sharing a picnic table. Zach’s family almost didn’t come to the movie because Zach’s dad knew they saw it already and was thinking of staying by their campfire. Fortunately, Zach’s dad didn’t catch up to him or his mom to suggest the campfire and we were already getting acquainted. It was a beautiful night, in more ways than one.

Now let me tell you about my new home since Labor Day and what’s been going on.

My first challenge was to become housebroken. Being one year old, it’s not so easy to break old habits you know, especially when it’s rainy outside. I don’t know what I’m gonna do when the snow starts falling.

I’m the only dog in this house, which kinda good sometimes and not so good other times. The good thing is that I found that I don’t need to rush eating my meals ‘cause nobody is going to eat from my plate. This also helped me gain some of my weight back and get my nice figure back. There aren’t any other dogs to play with in the house but my owners play with me a lot and we chase each other around and play with some neat toys. I even get to go kayaking on a lake with them. I get to be the navigator…just point my nose in the direction I want to go and the captain paddles us there. There is a neat dog park nearby that they drive me to, so I get to play with lots of other dogs there. I like to show off how fast I am and hear everyone remark how surprised they are at my speed since I am a dachshund with shortish legs. I have to outwit some of the big dogs by faking them out and dodging. When that doesn’t work, I just stop short…then they stop… and then I take off again. My owners keep thinking I have had enough running and being chased but then I go instigate another round of tag with the big dogs. I don’t think they’ll ever get it.

Then there’s work. I’m in charge of being the squirrel/chipmunk police. Trust me, it’s a big job; they’re all over the place. Seems like they really let this situation get out of control before I got here.

Well gotta go now, time for bed and get ready for tomorrow.

Abby (Fran)