Thank goodness Oliver is so darn cute. In this world, cuteness excuses many defects. Oliver knows how to work this survival strategy with the best of dogs. It fills his dog bowl and keeps a bed next to my writing desk. He stands with the cutest of cute dogs.
Three years ago, no one found him cute at all. He was left behind as his brothers and sisters were whisked away in early Winter, 2019. His littermates all went at the height of their desirableness at appropriately 8 weeks of age. For some reason, Oliver was left behind. Too old to be one of the desirables, he spent his days playing in the farm, getting bigger and bigger. Not only was he aging out, he was sizing out. Mini- (under 12 lbs) and Tweenie (12-18 lbs.) dachshunds were the sizes most people want. Standard Dachshunds (18+ lbs.) are reserved for a different breed of folk. Oliver was twelve weeks and twelve pounds on the day we met.
Dachshunds come in many colors you may have never seen. Oliver is a Standard Cream Piebald Wire Haired Dachshund. If you Google that combination of descriptors, you will find pictures of those that look just like him. Standard is the problem. In the age of pocket puppies, a 25 pound, badger seeking tornado of a dog isn’t first on everyone’s list, and so, Oliver got left behind.
When we first met, he’d just experienced his first car trip at 4 months of age. Covered in bodily fluids of one kind or another, the breeder thrust him into my arms, where he settled right next to my heart. For the first three nights, we slept on the recliner, nestled in thick blankets. With no yard in VC, Oliver became a house dog. Later, he would become an even better RV dog, running the show at the various RV parks along the way.
VST found Oliver to be a worthy friend. Somehow, Oliver didn’t mind walks with VST, and VST was happy to control the little dare devil. Oliver loved VST’s big lap, and soon, they started communicating with winks. As I’ve said so many times before, Oliver was VST’s first and last dog. Their friendship was a huge success.
These days, Oliver would be the first to tell you he doesn’t like walks any more than I do. We’re matched in that way. His feet don’t like hot or cold concrete. He doesn’t like meeting up with strange dogs that whisper nasty little things to him long before we get close enough to say Hello. He’s just as happy to dig little holes in the back yard, or eat apricots, being very careful to spit out the pits in neat little piles. Questioning the box of water in which his Mom-Oh sits on occasion, he prefers to ignore it all together. He’d be the first to tell you that humans can be very odd and hard to understand.
At times, I’m quite sure that Oliver sees angels. In a knowing way, he communicates with them and then comes to nestle next to me. His translation is always, “Mom-oh, we have so many things for which to be grateful. We have our health, happiness, and home. We have each other.” So much wisdom in such a big-hearted little dog.
Tired of winter, Ollie is ready for the birds to come back. Being an only child, he loves having other animals to chase. He’s not so happy that the toads will surely return, but, he’ll keep their activity to a minimum. He is his own science project. No. It seems toads are not deadly if ingested by a badger hunting dachshund. The toads will just need to move on if they value their life.
This year, Oliver will be four years old on August 6th. Hard to believe this crazy puppy is a day over 6 months. As we work on manners, I see improvements in his ability to stop wiggling long enough to sit. The door bell can ring twice now without a total loss of control on his part. Some nights, he falls asleep at 5:30 and sleeps straight through eleven hours of puppy dreams. He’s learning patience and understanding more each day. Thank goodness he forgives me for mistakes I’ve made along our journey together. Dogs are far better at that than humans.
Two weeks ago, a new habit came to be. Not something that his Mom-oh is condoning. Oliver discovered a full box of Kleenex. Never had he felt something so tender between his tongue and teeth. So tasty and irresistible. Absolutely a new favorite of this little dog. I see him plotting from his bed on the floor as he looks atop my countertop to where the new box sits. I’m quite sure that if left alone to his own devices, that box would be his in a matter of minutes. Oliver is just that smart.
It’s a good thing that he has his cuteness to fall back on as his main survival strategy. Those sweet puppy eyes. That sweet puppy wiggle. Those little puppy kisses that tell me I’m his favorite Mom-Oh in the entire world. I guess I should stock up on the new Kleenex boxes now.
More tomorrow.