Up until now I have never been an advocate for a specific dog breed. And, while I know that there are a lot of good breeds and plain old mutts out there, I have to toot the horn a little bit for the Dachshund.

Annie came to live at my house back in June, when she was barely two months old. What a character! She is smart, tough, and just ain’t afraid of nothing. You ought to see her bow up when the cows get too close to the yard fence. And, back during the summer, before I got the fence fixed, she took off for four days and was lost out in the large pastures that border my place. Four days with the coyotes, rattlesnakes, and other critters that eat or kill puppies. She came home none the worse for wear, although, now, she keeps me in sight at all times.

Just to maintain the West Texas image, and to make her less appealing to thieves, I had the vet freeze-brand her while she was conked out getting spayed. As you can see, the freeze brand is just about haired out. I thought about swallow-forking an ear, or at least getting a yellow ear tag, but decided that would be a bit too much.

In her immediate future will be some sessions to teach her a few tricks and also break her to gunfire. I suspect she has just the right attitude to make a great little rabbit hound. One thing’s for sure, Dachshunds are as good in the field as they are in the house being companions.

Annie is my Merry Christmas present to myself. Oh, and by the way, I sure hope that you folks all have a Merry Christmas and a bang-up New Year!