MEET THE REAL SARGE THE DOXIE!

Granddawg Shadow with his human "sister" Annika

Those who know me already know that my granddawg Shadow (age 15) was my inspiration for writing THE DACHSHUND ESCAPADES books. So many zany things have happened in my family that I wanted to write about them, but I also wanted to include something about Shadow. Since I was always telling my family what Shadow was thinking (judging from his body language and facial expressions), they urged me to write a book from his viewpoint. The rest, as they say, is history.

Our daughter Holly and son-in-law Philip brought this eight-week-old black-and-tan puppy by our house one evening, and our family has never been the same since! He's their oldest "child" now, and big brother to the three grandchildren (ages six, ten, and twelve), three kitty brothers, and the newest addition to his family, Bruno the white boxer. 

Clark and I adopted our doxie Duke nine years ago from the same breeder (not to worry, she was AKC certified), and OUR home has never been the same since, either. Duke is introduced in I AM DACHSHUND, Book 2 of the series.

Duke: "You gonna eat that?"

Shadow cannot see or hear as well as he used to, but he's still got some spunk left--if Bruno is a bit too rambunctious, Shadow has no trouble telling the young whippersnapper to calm down! Bruno, by the way, is two years old.

Dachshunds . . . you gotta love 'em.

Bruno--look at that sweet face!

INTERVIEW WITH SARGE THE DOXIE: A SURPRISE IS COMING!

INTERVIEW WITH SARGE THE DOXIE:  A SURPRISE IS COMING!

Here's my interview of Sarge, the precocious dachshund author of THE DACHSHUND ESCAPADES books. We promised our readers that we would bring him back to answer some of their questions, so we are pleased to have him as our guest once again.

MDH: I hear that you have recently visited several dachshund rescue societies in various parts of the country. Would you like to share a little about those with our readers?

SARGE THE DOXIE: First of all, thank you for having me back. I never miss an opportunity to promote my books! My main thrust in visiting the dachshund rescue societies was to commend the staff for work well done. My doxie buddies, I've found, don't have much interest in books--seems they mostly seek treats--so I focused on putting paw prints on copies of my book for the staff. They are special people, and it is wonderful how they help my fellow wiener dogs find a new lease on life in loving "fur" ever homes.

MDH: Well, then . . . what did you find to be the most fascinating detail about these rescue societies?

SARGE THE DOXIE: As a dog myself, the most fascinating detail for ME in the societies was the dedication of the workers. Dachshunds of all colors, coats, ages, personalities, and health are accepted and loved. It is wonderful to see humans being so accepting of them. If humans want to adopt a dachshund, they should check out the rescue societies first.

MDH: Thank you for giving us insight on that. Now, let's get to our first reader question. This one comes from a dachshund owner named Patrick in Toledo, Ohio, who asks: "You have said in the past that Papa Duke was your favorite human character in your books. Is he still your favorite now in your latest book, A DACHSHUND'S TRIBUTE?  You also recently disclosed that he passed away before your books and you never really knew him personally.

BOOKWORM??

This picture brings new meaning to the term "bookworm," doesn't it?

Well, if Sarge the dachshund can write books, then it stands to reason that other doxies can read 'em!  Have you bought Sarge's books for your doxie yet?  They would be wonderful Christmas gifts, you know:).