Bicontinental Dachshund

Stand Up For Yourself

2013-06-19T01:00:00.000-07:00

Rudy, Spanish Omelettes, and García Lorca

2013-06-17T00:30:00.000-07:00

During his recent wanderings in the Sierra Nevada region of Spain, Dachshund Daddy met Rudy, who was hanging out with his grandpa at Bar Restaurante Galvez in the mountain town of Lanjarón.

Rudy takes good care of his grandpa, who rescued him several years back.

Every time another dog walks by Bar Galvez, Rudy darts outside to ensure that his pee spots are accounted for.

Bar Restaurante Galvez makes great Spanish omelettes, Rudy reminds us. But be sure to ask for a tortilla de patatas, as they're called in Spain.

Rudy is also a big poetry fan, and reminds us that his home town of Lanjarón has many fountains with quotes from Federico García Lorca, Spain's greatest gift to 20th century poetry.

Struggling under the weight of the shade

a spring was singing:

Calm and gloomy,

I heard the songs of the water.

F. García Lorca

Rudy is not 100% positive about DD's translation; can anyone help?

DD meets a new friend

2013-06-16T04:03:00.000-07:00

Steven Gould and Anza-Borrego Desert

2013-06-14T08:34:00.000-07:00

Do you ever wish you could teleport? I do, and so does Jack...

especially when he's visiting parks where the range of permitted canine activities is restricted, like Anza-Borrego State Park in Southern California.

Recently, I've been reading all about teleportation in Steven Gould's fascinating novels: Jumper, Reflex, Impulse, and Jumper: Griffin's Story. Gould's characters are somehow able to jump, i.e., teleport to wherever they want, as long as they've been there before. Unfortunately, Jack and I aren't quite up to that.

In Jumper: Griffin's Story, the main character is haunted by a ruthless organization whose goal is to kill anyone who can jump. To stay safe, he moves to a cave in the middle of Anza-Borrego State Park. I wonder if he was the one who messed with the sign below.

Jack has only read the original Jumper, but plans to catch up.

Here's one place I'd love to jump to: the Palm Oasis at Anza-Borrego State Park. It's the third largest palm oasis in California, and for some reason dogs aren't welcome, but human teenagers are. Dear Park Authorities, ever heard of common sense?

Alto del Chorrillo

2013-06-13T00:00:00.000-07:00

Alto del Chorrillo is a scenic ridge in Spain's Sierra Nevada, towering at just under 9000 feet, or 2727 meters, above sea level.

Dachshund Daddy met Dora as he was riding his bike up the winding gravel road from the hamlet of Capileira...

while she and her parents were on their way to the Poqueira mountain hut.

Dora highly recommends the local specialty: jamón serrano, Spain's favorite dry-cured ham.

The Spanish ibex that hang out at Alto del Chorrillo are more into grass. They're also very shy, but they still let DD take a photo.

Madrid es mi casa

2013-06-12T08:15:00.000-07:00

Hi, my name is Piripiro and I live in Madrid, Spain. I like to hang out downtown between the Prado and Puerta del Sol. Would you like to practice your Spanish with me?

Country Living!

2013-06-10T00:00:00.000-07:00

Since flying from Switzerland to Idaho, I've been catching up with Truffle, which mostly involves air humping him. Oh yeah, aren't you jealous? Truffle loves it!

And I've been recovering from jet lag. Mom says, "Dratted, jet lag! I'm all flipped." Me, too. I'm up at 3am and falling asleep by 3pm.

And I've been hunting mice. I'm a mighty hunter! I caught my first mouse of the summer, but Mom wouldn't let me eat it. Grandpa pulled the little beastie by the tail out of my mouth while Mom screamed and ran into the back room. What a wimp.

Country living!

Dachshund on a Bookshelf

2013-06-09T00:00:00.000-07:00

Reunited in Idaho!

2013-06-07T13:52:00.000-07:00

Reunited with Truffle, and it feels so good!

Shoulder Walkies

2013-05-29T06:30:00.000-07:00

A Poster for My Friend Bouncing Bertie

2013-05-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

We see this sign on one of favorite walks along Lake Lugano in Switzerland.

It always makes us think of our friend Bouncing Bertie,

a wire-haired fox terrier who bounces.

Wag on over to visit Bouncing Bertie's blog.

Pick Up Your...

2013-05-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

A loose translation:

Leash your doggy.

Pick up your doggy s**t.

A Note from Jasmine: Cat Guest Post

2013-05-25T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today, I am sharing an email that I received from Jasmine.

My beautiful friend Jasmine.

Dear Tootsie,

I know you have worried about your mom’s coffee consumption, so I thought you might be interested in this article. Though it doesn’t justify unlimited amounts of the brew, and there are still some negative effects, it should make you feel a little more at ease when she imbibes.

I follow your life on your blog and find your travels and adventures quite interesting. Being a cat, travel with humans is not too enticing, though I did recently make an outing to the vet for my annual checkup. This was followed by sitting in my travel carrier for hours while my parents ran innumerable errands. I must admit, however, that the day was not as stressful as I had anticipated; I even enjoyed the ride just the tiniest bit (but don’t tell anyone!).

My parents look forward to seeing your parents again during your summer visit to Idaho.

Jasmine

P.s. Thank you for your return email. I enjoy corresponding with you, as I do so miss the companionship of a dog. Tramp was my best friend for years. He shared everything with me. Other cats are so boring and just represent competition for the affection of my humans.

Thank you, Jasmine, for your letter!

I had planned to post another coffee concerns plea, because Mom has been drinking a lot of coffee of late, as she has done before, but I'll wait while I consider the article.

Here's some information from the article Jasmine attached to her email:

In the Weill Cornell Medical Center "Women's Nutrition Connection" Newsletter (Volume 12G), Weill Cornell dietitian Carly Trueger, RD, says: "Research shows that coffee drinkers are healthier than people who don't drink coffee. However, it is difficult to determine, based on current research, if it's just the coffee that makes people healthier, since there are so many other dietary variables and other factors that cannot all be accounted for."

Still, Mom is ecstatic and plans to keep drinking coffee!

French Relatives

2013-05-23T04:04:00.000-07:00

During our recent trip to Provence, I enjoyed a ten-plus mile hike in the Saint Tropez peninsula. We started at Gigaro, followed the coast to Cap Lardier and Cap Taillat, and hiked back to Gigaro across the hills.

Not only did I enjoy wotten waven ocean views, but I was also lucky enough to run into my long lost French relatives. Meet Jean-Michel and Jean-Maurice on their Sunday walk on a forest road near Col de Collebasse.

Here they're discussing how many generations we'd have to go back to find our most recent common ancestors. I apologize I didn't pose with them. I was too busy looking for their pee spots, so I could pee over them.

And just as we were thinking the day couldn't possibly get any more wotten waven, we also met Coccolin, Bouncing Bertie's French cousin!

Kisses for Free

2013-05-22T00:00:00.000-07:00

I Believe I Can Fly

2013-05-21T02:49:00.000-07:00

Tootsie visits the coastline in Provence.

Urovision Song Contest

2013-05-20T00:00:00.001-07:00

I would like to thank all my friends who watched my live performance at this year's Urovision Song Contest, where dogs from all over (E)urope get to pee while singing. I chose to sing Dachshund Daddy's hit single "Be Like Yugi", which is why I had to pee like a boy.

Some of you also may have heard of a loosely related event called Eurovision Song Contest, the annual singing competition among representatives of European countries. Here are three fun facts about Eurovision that you may not have heard:

1. The very first edition of Eurovision was held right here in Lugano, Switzerland in 1956; it was also won by Switzerland.
2. The Swiss only managed to win a second time by hiring Céline Dion to sing their song in 1988.
3. The idea for a European singing contest was (of course) copied from Italy and her Sanremo Music Festival.

Walkies in Provence

2013-05-19T00:00:00.000-07:00

Thoughts by Tootsie

2013-05-18T04:45:00.000-07:00

HOUNDED by Matt Ziselman (Part II of II)

2013-05-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

Get ready to wag with Matt Ziselman's HOUNDED: The Lowdown on Life from Three Dachshunds. Everyone is going to want to be best friends FURever with the three wiener stars of this memoir.

You'll fall in love with their dad Matt Ziselman's wonderful, self-deprecating humor. He's floored by self doubt, but he also has dreams. And who helps him learn how to live better and how to pursue those dreams?

The lowdown fur folk: Baxter, Maya, and Molly. Way to go, hot dogs!

Ziselman learns and shares a series of lessons from his dachshunds. He translates the wisdom of horizontal dogs into a life philosophy. For example, Maya seems to have had a troubled past. Ziselman writes:

Maya "will never ask to go outside. When it's time to take out all of the dogs, Maya needs to be carried to the foyer where she will then inexplicably walk through the front door to the grass. And, yes, that's the same front door that she will not walk through to enter the house." Yet, he continues: "[Maya] is the sweetest, the gentlest, and -- with the exception of having us convey her from room to door to grass and back again -- the least demanding dog in the world."

From Maya comes "Dachshund Life Lesson #10":

"Even with a messy past, the present can still be pretty neat."

Ziselman glories in the stubborn, loving natures of the long and short. Mom kept nodding and laughing in recognition at the quirks we hot dogs exhibit and the lessons we teach.

We especially love "Dachshund Life Lesson #19":

"All you need are one or two good friends. Any species will do."

For fur lovers, and all those involved in the down low, we highly recommend Hounded.

Please wag on over to author Matt Ziselman's webpage for links to purchase the book from local, independent booksellers or online retailers. (And take a look at the video book trailer, which is super cute.)

HOUNDED by Matt Ziselman (Part I of II)

2013-05-15T03:35:00.000-07:00

Just released!

HOUNDED: The Lowdown on Life from Three Dachshunds

A Memoir by Matt Ziselman

Stay tuned for our upcoming book review of this wonderful memoir!

Kisses and Wags

2013-05-14T05:15:00.000-07:00

Meet my fur-friend Steetch, the Swiss Border Collie whose wagging tail provides the soundtrack to this video!

I'm a Cuteness Specialist

2013-05-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

For Goose's Mom, since she loves this photo.

Thank you, Goose and Goose's Mom!

They write the wonderful Gospel of Goose blog.

Love, Tootsie

Mother's Day

2013-05-12T00:00:00.000-07:00

Dear Mum,

You are missed. Truly and deeply. You said I would carry on. You said I would be okay. Even though I feel so blessed to have you as my mom, I have found it hard to carry on. Even though I feel so lucky to have you as my mom, I have found it hard to be okay. Yet with Tootsie, slowly, it has become easier to carry on. It has become easier to be okay. You were right, after all, Mum: "It's a blip. The physical form is a blip."

Susan Saxton D'Aoust with Truffle and Daisy

I am not so selfish to wish you were still here in pain. I wish you were here, out of pain, full of spark, and with us. In truth, I do not know how to live without you, but I am trying very hard to learn.

I remember your words: "Relax, Sweetheart. Life is too hard to be so serious all the time."

How I wish you could meet our Tootsie. Here she is with me on top of Mount Sassalto. I'm wearing your pink hat. I took it from your drawer.

I love you, Mom.

Love always,
Renee

Swiss Dachshund Club Week: Part V

2013-05-10T00:00:00.000-07:00

Swiss club member Dachshund Dino was recently voted "Sassiest Long-Haired Doxie" by Swiss female dachshunds.

Here's Dino sBARKling conversation with a firetruck dog:

I admire Dino's down low aplomb!