The lost art of supervision

From Bandit: So today, Staffer Mom came home and got me -- I knew it had to be important. She needed help. The folks were setting up the Savannah Wiener Race track and they needed guidance.
Boy, did they.
Only a real dachshund can show humans how to set up a decent race track.

Darn glad I was available. (Maggie wasn't allowed to go....and she would've been a pain in the butt anyway. A construction site is no place for a princess.)


So I ended up spending my afternoon on River Street in Savannah directing the construction of the race track for tomorrow 's wiener races. I really don't know what they were thinking -- they nearly forgot the whole finish-line fence, and they totally didn't remember to push the gates up so they wouldn't drag in the grass on the start.
But I reminded them, and it's pretty smooth now.

The photos are of the construction, and the last one is of me sitting in the middle of the track testing it for traction and quick paw release. It's a good track.

We're looking forward to a fast day!

A couple days....

The running of the wieners is only a few days away. We're really excited, and we're holding hope for a change of heart from the staff. They've told us we can't go, but we think they'll relent and take us.
The field is set late Friday -- gates, tables, tents, stage and the track. We really want to be able to go. What do you all think?

Race time's coming!

Today we learned it's time for the annual WIENER DOG RACES!
We invite all our buddies to bring it!

Your staffers can help -- they can design artwork to be used on the official T-shirts and logo. Here's the info on that. It's sponsored by the Savannah Morning News and savannahnow.com. We're really excited about all of this!

Preregistration starts after Labor Day, and we're hoping to get to go this year. Usually the staff volunteers (the money goes to Dachshund Rescue of North America and other animal assistance charities) and they can't take us and work, too. We're hoping they'll figure out how to do it all this year.

So, we're asking all of you to let them know if we should go. We need your support!

Great race gallery!

Here's a link to a huge photo gallery from Saturday's Savannah Wiener Dawg Races on River Street. It was done by the terrific Kim at carriagetradePR and posted on the Savannah Spotted site, which is really near and dear to Staffer Mom. The site helps us a lot because we can see what's going on in town when we can't get out.

We're attaching the link for the newspaper's coverage of the '08 event. It's got a link to more photos, too!
And, we also found out there were Small Dog Races later in the day at Grayson Stadium. The staff conveniently left that out, and it explains where they were yesterday afternoon. Here's a link to photos of that action by our photo friend, Randy.

In the collections, you'll be able to see all the fun stuff and all the people who came to honor wiener dogs.

Sunrise over the race track

Longfellow was back this year! Staffer Mom said he was happy and ready to defend his title. He did pretty well, but another dog won. Oh well.
There were 123 registered racing wieners this year, and plenty more came to cheer.
The staff got there early to set up, and the sun was coming up over the race course. Here's a picture of that, at right.

Quick race updates!

The staff has returned and they brought us goodies and fresh pictures.
We'll add video and photos as they post for you.
Here's a video from this morning.

Wiener race Saturday!

Tomorrow's the day!
It's the Savannah Wiener Dawg Races and we're rarin' to go!
But as of now, we can't go ....again. Our staff goes every year, and they work really hard. Staffer Mom gets to coordinate the Navy sailor race volunteers and Staffer Dad helps with registration and heat assignments. Tonight they went to a reception on the USS Arleigh Burke and had fun...without us. Again. Last we met the Navy wiener racing team from the USS Hawes. They were really fun, and we hope they are well.

But, we got to stay home with grandma and play! She drops stuff on the floor just for us. She rocks!

Tomorrow, we hope we'll get to go. If we don't we'll (sort of) understand. Bandit doesn't want to race, and he'll get tired. Maggie wants to race, but she knows the staff won't have time to put up with her antics if they are volunteering. We know that all the money raised goes to dachshund rescue and related pet charities, so it's ok if we have to stay home in that case.

So, come on down to the races. It'll be at the Waving Girl statue on River Street. It'll be fun. If you want to register to race, go to savannahdachshundclub.com!

We hope to see you there, but if we're not there, look for our staff!

P.S. We'll post pictures!

We're always right

OK. Remember what we said about how the staff would probably find reasons to blow the weekend. So far, we're right on.

They'd probably dispute that, but so far they spent Saturday WITH OTHER DACHSHUNDS at someone else's house talking about the plan for this year's Savannah Wiener Dawg Races. Then last night, they sat around laughing with some other folks from where we used to live and ate dinner and drank wine. Downside: We're a bit miffed about the minimal attention during all that. Upside: They dropped some decent stuff to eat in the kitchen.

Today, they managed to get a little done: Staffer Dad mowed the yard -- it's a lot easier to dig now. And, Staffer Mom fixed the toilet -- apparently a big deal since they refuse to pee outside. Have you ever wondered how much humans could save when they build a house if they'd just go outside for that stuff?
Then -- and we were right about this, too -- Staffer Dad and Buddy Gale watched the Cardinals lose to Houston. Staffer Mom's been focused on the internet and hurricane web sites. (We can understand that -- we don't like those storms either.)

They've promised us an evening watching the US Open. And that's what we've been waiting for. We're pulling for Andy Roddick and Venus -- she is a goddess!

Early alert! Games for us!

We've been waiting patiently since last October, and now it's coming!
Registration opens Aug. 30 for the annual Savannah Wiener Dawg Races!
This year it will be more fun than ever with more to do....It's a full schedule for the first weekend in October.

We've got the races on River Street, and then later there's entertainment and fun at Grayson Stadium, a masquerade ball for all wiener staffers, a Sunday morning Blessing of the Wieners and more. AND, there will be races for other small-dog breeds, too. So, we're inviting all our chihuahua friends to come visit.

Last year's gathering was wonderful and raised a lot of money for Dachshund Rescue. We hope to help lots of animal charities this year. If you aren't in the Savannah area, it's a great weekend to head this way.

Check out the Savannah Dachshund Club web site for new information and early details.
Click on the topic labels for our fun stories from last year and many, many photos!
And here's a video from last year's craziness.
Yay!!!

Maggie meets Gnate

The staff took us out to the Humane Society Doggie Carnival on Sunday. We saw lots and lots of our kind and many other members of the canine clan, too. We had a good time, but we found it to be really crowded and humans kept getting caught in leashes all over the place. We don't understand why they can't seem to figure our how to walk with them. They make us do it.

Anyway, we saw a few celebrities, including Gnate the Gnat from the Savannah Sand Gnats. They're having a dog's night out at the ball park soon, and we've decided we want to go. It's not free beer night, but the staff will probably want to go anyway. We'd like to invite all dachshunds to join us at Grayson Stadium. We'll post details soon!

Sunday in the park

From Bandit: Went to the park for the monthly Savannah Dachshund Club meet. I got to ride in the car with the top down and stick my nose right up in the air. And Mom took me to a drive-through at Sonic when it was over! She made me wear a seatbelt, but since she was wearing one, too, I guess it's ok.

I met some old friends and new ones today. Longfellow was there, and I got to meet Vinny Pie and Percy and Schlitz. There were two other long-haired dachshunds, but they didn't stay long enough for a good sniff. Oh well. Maybe next month.

Here is a link to pictures from the park and my new friends.

Maggie didn't get to come, so the day was complete!

We need a nap!

And boy did we earn it!
Today was the monthly gathering for the dachshund club in Forsyth Park, and the weather was wiener-dog perfect!
Lots of friends and their staffers showed up. We saw chocolate dapples, chocolate-and-cream dapples, a pretty longhair, a 12-week-old puppy, and many more. We met a young, happy friend in need of adoption. His name is Ethan, and he's a small black-and-tan like us. If you'd like to adopt him, or someone like him, click here.
We played so much that we ended up sleeping all the way home in the limo.
Here's a link to the pictures of the old and new friends we saw today.

Wow! Huge Day!

So, we've got a couple things for you today.
First of all, here's the link to photos from the Savannah Dachshund Club's February meet at the Forsyth fountain.
We had a pretty good crowd...Morgan, Oscar, Cooper, Skittles, Brody, and more...we're sorry we're bad with names. We're better with smells. We got to dig for a while before we went, and we are really tired now from all the playing.

The photo with this post is of staffer friends Ellen and Michelle with their foster dogs, Skittles, Oscar and Cooper. If you know of anyone who'd be a very good staffer for each of them, please let us know and we'll pass the info to Michelle and to Ellen, who works with Dachshund Rescue of North America.

Tonight, we're going to stay in and watch Puppy Bowl IV on Animal Planet. It's a terrific way to spend Super Bowl night. Who wants to watch football when you can watch a better drama? Our favorite puppy so far is Cody the chocolate lab. If you want to know more about Puppy Bowl, here's a story about it.

Gotta go!

Play in the park

We had a great day in the park today.
On the first Sunday each month, all Savannah dachshunds are invited to gather at Forsyth Park. What usually happens is our staffers hang out and talk while we all sniff and play. It's the best thing in the world.
Bandit wore his green harness, and Maggie wore her new pink T-shirt that says "Rock'n'Roll Princess" on it. We arrived in the limo.
Our dog friends hadn't seen us since before the races last month. Longfellow (in the picture) was there, along with some other cool dogs. He won the races a few weeks ago, and he's only got 3 legs. He works part-time as a therapy dog, but he's a full-time cool pup. We met 2 puppies who were really tiny -- one was blue and tan and one was a long-hair tan, and we met a wiener bigger than Bandit. We were really tired when we got home, and Staffer Dad took advantage of it to make us take a bath.
Not fair!

Wow! Big race day!

From Bandit: Mom and Dad just got home from the big race, and they said it was really great. When mom told us about how many people were there, I decided it was ok to be home.
As much as I like to go ride, it sounded like too many people for me.
On the other paw, Maggie says she would really have liked the attention she'd have gotten.

Here are some pictures -- Staffer Mom's camera had some problems, but she did bring us some shots. Mom says she'll help me post more photo links over the next few days from people she met and some on the pixels.savannahnow.com web site. And she's got a very strange video I've asked her to post later.

The boat picture is of Navy Wieners Skipper, Cricket and Pretzel arriving for the races. Maggie is so jealous: They had a huge staff, their very own photographer and an armed escort. That's so cool! Our mom never carries more than a pocket knife and pickup bags when we're out.
The person picture is the Navy Wieners' Staffer Mom, who takes care of the USS Hawes champs when the sailors are gone for a bit to work at sea. She was really nice and had t-shirts and hats made for the sailors and racing uniforms made for the wieners. Our Mom scored a USS Hawes Wiener Racing Team hat.
The group shot shows the Navy wieners enjoying an after-race beverage -- looks like Pretzel was hogging the brew. I'm so jealous. (Mom says she might let me have some of her Corona in a little while. Sometimes she tells me that, then forgets and drinks it all.)

The picture of 2 dogs in a stroller are Auburn grads -- or at least friends of Auburn grads.
(Go ahead and make your Auburn dog or stroller jokes here -- we already have. Did someone say "War Beagle"?) They were all really friendly, though.

The little chocolate doxie wearing a hula skirt and padded bra placed second in the costume contest. It's really a shame to be humiliated like that and only place second. It had a sibling in the same costume and their parents were wearing matching red UGA shirts.

Three cheers for three legs! (was that tacky?) Today's first-place winner is already a celebrity and champion: Longfellow. He's a 3-legged dog who placed 3rd a few years ago on four legs. We're sorry Mom didn't bring a better picture, because he's tops in our book. If you want to know more, read a good story in the paper about him. He's had a rough go, but we're thrilled to see how he's bounced back so well. He told mom his motivation to win was to get back to his favorite yellow squeaky toy.

And here's a strange thing Mom told me: After the races were over, people went over to the festival and ate big sausage dogs. That sounded a little tacky to me on Wiener Dog Race Day. But, I think if they offered me a bite, I'd probably take it.

Tomorrow's the day!

From Maggie: Wiener Dog Races start early tomorrow. Mom and Dad will leave early to help set up the track. Our friends Andres and Jennifer will be there, too. Andres said he'd make a video with me, but mom says we were too bad on Thursday to get that treat. I know that we'll get there yet. I'm way too cute to ignore, and Bandit's a good-looking guy.
We got to see the official race t-shirts today, and they are really great. If you want one sort of like it, you can buy them at the Savannah Dachshund Club web site. They don't cost much, and the money benefits Dachshund Rescue.

Countdown to race time

It's down to 6 days before the big race! It's going to be a big dachshund event, and we can't wait to go. We just know we'll be the stars, and we know we'll meet lots of fun friends. Bandit even hopes he'll get to have some beer at Oktoberfest.

We went to the big park!

From Maggie: Mom and Dad -- whom I'm now referring to as "my staff" -- took us to Forsyth Park today.
We took the limo, and then on leashes, we toured the fountain.
We got to meet other "wiener people" and we heard them planning the upcoming race day in October.
More importantly, we got to sniff at other dogs, including a big furry one, one with big eyes and no snout at all (how does he breathe?), and another one that had ears that actually stood up!
It was obvious that they were in awe of us.

One month! It's coming!

The best day of the year is coming soon. It's the Savannah Wiener Dawg Races -- the one day all year when people must bow to the dachshund world. Yay!

We got a preview of the new web site for it today, and there are pictures of lots of our friends there. You can see pictures from last year, see the rules for the games and order cool shirts and stuff. There's even a picture of dad when he volunteered last year.

If you decide to race your wiener, you can even register online early. That's a big deal, because you won't have to stand in a long line when you could be sniffing new buddies or checking out the cool giveaways. There will be a costume parade, too. We expect each of you to show up ready to race or just looking good.

You've got to come to the races!! It's too much fun!!!
(and for some of you: mom said to say "Yes, there will be beer.")

Woohoo! It's coming!

Every year something wonderful happens. Hundreds of us lowdogs gather for a magnificent time where all the world is focused only on us. (Granted, it should be that way all the time, but we all know it's not.)

We're talking about the annual Savannah Wiener Dawg Races. It's the greatest event in the world, and those silly Olympics things every few years pale in comparison. This year's event will be Oct. 6 on Savannah's River Street. Hundreds of us played together last year, and there will be more this year. Here's a link to a slideshow from the Savannah Morning News coverage in 2006. (When you open the page, click again on the slideshow link.) The pictures will give you some idea of the scene where all dachshunds are winners.

The event benefits Dachshund Rescue and helps other wonderful dog groups, too. If you love dogs like us, you can volunteer to help out at the races. Or if you've got a wiener dog, bring him or her to watch or race. There will be plenty of fun activities for humans and pups. We'll post more details before the races.
We can't wait!!!!