Manner of death: fighting rattlesnakes
I've tried many times to write this page. It never seems come out like planned when I look back upon it. I guess there is still too much heartbreak yet, even though it's been 3 months.
So, what I plan to do for now is just list things as they come to me. List the things I loved most about Elvis and Maggie. I'm not going to try and tell their story because I'm no good at it right now. And, I want this to be good memories for our Elvis and Maggie and for us.
Elvis
Elvis was a careful dachshund. He'd hang back till he felt comfortable, then it was full speed ahead.
His whole life was devoted to pleasing me and Johnny.
Elvis loved to have his picture taken. He would always stand proud and look right into the camera. I know he did it for me and for the possibility that cheese might be involved.
Elvis was the champion ball player in our dachshund family. He would search till the ball was found. He was relentless. He liked the thin walled soccer balls that squeak when you barely touch them. He'd squeak, squeak, squeak till the squeaker was dead, then wanted to play ball with it. He wanted all squeakers dead. Every toy we have that he played with were de-squeaked. We buried him with his soccer ball and some de-squeaked toys he loved.
Elvis did the Dachshund Mind Meld. You know what I'm talking about if you've ever had a dachshund.
Elvis thought all toys belonged to him. He'd climb the strangest places to retrieve the toy. He was a great problem solver. It sure was aggravating, though.
Elvis loved to ride in the car. He wouldn't want to stick his head out the window until we reached the RR tracks. Like clockwork. Set your watch on it. I think that's when he smelled Home. Once he stepped on the Up button on the armrest and it closed on his snout. After that, I locked out the window buttons when he was in the car. It didn't hurt him, just scared him. He was leery of the window after that.
Elvis hated motorcycle riders and horses. I have no idea why. He would go crazy when he saw either one. Parked motorcycles didn't bother him.
Elvis also hated squirrels. But, after catching one once, he decided they weren't worth the bother. It took us 3 days to get his ear to stop bleeding. Squirrels and cats were on his "They Are Dead To Me" list.
Elvis was a hamburger fiend. He didn't get them very much, but he sure enjoyed them when he did. He tried to be polite waiting in the drive-thru line, but sometimes the smells got to him. He would pace and whine. He was fooled by other drive-thru lines -bank, pharmacy, etc. Or maybe it was false hope. He would take the dog biscuit, if offered, and when we drove away he would spit it out of his mouth. He was so very polite.
Elvis would never stoop to begging. But, he did sit upon his haunches to see better. No, it wasn't begging, hahahaha. I can still see his front paws dangling free. I called him T-Rex when he did that.
Elvis got his Canine Good Citizen Award when he was 4.
Elvis was a gentleman.
He was a Good Boy.
Elvis left us 1 boy before he died. Priscilla is the dam. We think Junior is going to have a lot of Elvis' traits. He was already turning his head to sounds when he was 6 weeks old. He is fearless, he sits on his haunches, he looks worried most of the time. He melts my heart.
We miss Elvis so much. We thought we had more than 7 years with him.
Maggie
You may think I've not said much about Maggie May. And, that is true. Maggie was simply Dachshund. Look up Dachshund behavior and that was Maggie May.
We tried to make Maggie something she wasn't. She told us in so many ways not to bother her with that. She didn't do well in obedience class because when she got tired of it, she would lie on her back and paw at the blue sky above. No amount of treats or coaxing would get her back to reality, because she was simply through with class that day. When we finally realized that, Maggie was much happier.
Maggie did learn to sit and walk on a leash.
Maggie was always the 1st to sit to get a treat.
Maggie was a hunter.
Elvis was her best hunting partner. They were like a well oiled machine when they hunted together.
Maggie didn't take any grief from any dog.
If you watched Maggie for any length of time, the word that would come to mind is "competent". She was very competent at being a dachshund.
Maggie was a lap dog. too. In fact, her first litter of puppies were practically raised on my lap. She was a very good dog-mom.
Maggie didn't like to be left alone. She would cry loudly for company, preferably another dog, when she was alone
Maggie was a beautiful black and tan. She was so well built and had just come into her stride at 3 years. But, she hardly ever had a good picture. She didn't like to be singled out and looked uncomfortable in almost every pic I took. I think I have 2 really good pictures of her out of a few hundred snapshots. The one on this page and the one on her dam page.
Maggie didn't care if she looked goofy with both ears pinned back. She liked her ears to get some air.
In the summer, she liked to spend the hot days on her back in front of the fan.
Maggie loved squeaky toys but never got to have many because of Elvis. She did have a gorilla that made gorilla sounds. She carried that thing around like it was a baby. She'd "kill it" every now and then to make it talk.
Maggie loved people. But, she loved Johnny and me more than anyone else.
The only dachshund Maggie didn't like was Priscilla. She was her nemesis. I think it was that both are alpha females. Plus, Priscilla is a thief. But, when I took them to the vet, they were best friends. They'd cuddle up together trying to flatten themselves so they could disappear into the wall. When we got back to the car, the hackle raising and growling would begin again.
Maggie gave us Dixie. Dixie has a lot of Maggie's traits in her makeup. The best thing she gave her was the patience to teach baby dachshunds how to be dachshunds. I think that's a good legacy. Maggie is helping me raise puppies still, thru Dixie.
Maggie, I feel we hardly knew ye. We miss you so much. Rest in peace beside your buddy, Elvis and your baby gorilla.