Mary
Mary came into our life in May of 2014. Mary was rescued and taken in by "Central Texas Dachshund Rescue". Mary had lost her person and been dumped by that person's family at the Missouri City Animal Shelter. Mary was starving and weighed only 6.13 lbs, she had cataracts in both eyes and was mostly blind, she was 15-16 years old (best guess) and was almost hairless from fleas. Yes, CTDR stepped up to save a flawed senior in need. Volunteers both in Missouri City and Houston sprang into action and got Mary out of the shelter to a local Vet for shots and her first Dental. (Her mouth and teeth were so infected she could not eat.) After two days they got her up to Dallas for us to foster, and for her to boss. Mary soon started to recover, she gained almost three pounds and got both her coat and attitude back. Mary was a force in our household and became Queen of her domain. Her new name was "Mighty Mary". All of our dogs and foster dogs, deferred to her. None ever challenged her. Mary was our foster and ruled for the next nine months. Mary slept in the big bed. She also had her own private lounging day bed, given to her by a Secret Santa. She went on vacation to the beach and was a large part of our lives. So much so, we failed as fosters in March 2015. She let us adopt her and she became Mary Duncan. Two months later Mary was diagnosed with "Congested Heart Failure". She was put on medication, but it was not enough. Almost a year to the week that Mary came into our life, we had to let her go. May 30th, 2015 Mary left us, to go to the "Rainbow Bridge". I know her first person was waiting for her. I know that her first person, who must have loved her for most of her life is loving her now. Many animals have come into and left our life. But few have had a greater effect on or left a bigger hole in my heart. I will miss you "Mighty Mary Duncan". But you are now pain and cataracts free. Always know you are and always will be loved and remembered. Thank you "Central Texas Dachshund Rescue" for saving and bringing her to us. I will never forget and will be forever grateful. Bill and Lorie Duncan

Maggie
Maggie came into our lives in 2005. She had absolutely no gray, and was a beautiful shade of red. Maggie enjoyed playing with lap time, blankets, toys, digging and hunting. We never could explain to her that ants could not hear her barks! She was a wonderful companion, especially for me, and her rescue brothers. As the years marched on, she, like most elderly developed arthritis, allergies, congestive heart failure, and eventually lost her hearing. We were good parents, taking her to the vet constantly and keeping her medicated and maintaining her diet. She lived a good long life, and we although it broke our hearts, we had to make to hard decision to relieve her from pain and suffering. Maggie lived 15 good long years, even enjoying camping adventures in our travel trailer during the last two years of her life. Good bye to my best little friend who followed me everywhere, you are certainly missed! Dave and Pam Reinfelds

Tye
On June 8, 2015 CTDR got word that one of our senior boys, Tye had crossed over to Rainbow Bridge. Some thing are just meant to be. When Jackie first met Tye, it was love at first sight. She welcomed him into her life despite all of his medical issues and gave him a life that most dogs can only dream about. She took him on car trips, all the way to Galveston where he ran in the surf for the first time. She let him explore the wilds of the lake that was out the back door. More than anything, she loved him and took care of him to the end. In return, he ran the household, loved his dachshund companion, Rosie, and most of all, loved his Mom, Jackie with all his heart. Run free Tye!

Sofie Joy
On 9/09/2009 Sofie came into our lives. I drove to the Ikea Store in Round Rock, Texas and met her and her foster mom. What a little thing! She was 8 years old at the time. She and I drove to Fort Worth where I introduced Sofie to my wife and her new brother Taylor. At first Sofie would go to the back gate and say "Thanks for the visit but I think I will go back to Austin." But soon she had settled in. She loved her meals. She was my Sous chef. If I were in the kitchen, she was in the kitchen. At night she would sleep with either my wife or me, it did not matter. Three years ago we added a three legged Cocker, Annie Speckels. She and Sofie became fast friends. The slept butt to butt and both came to the kitchen to see what was being served. And they both looked up to their big brother, Taylor. He was our full sized Doxie. He took care of both girls. Life was as good as it could get. In June of 2014 Taylor got sick and died. And at the same time, the Vet told us that Sofie probably had Cushings disease. We had her tested and she did. You take blood tests and they give different doses of the medicine. We thought we were doing okay. But two days ago, she seemed a little different. Still not enough to worry us. Two nights ago, my wife told Sofie she loved her and I tucked her into her bed in the living room. At 4:40 A.M. March 7, 2015 I went to check on Sofie. But she had passed away peacefully but still she was gone. We live with terrible guilt now. We will never forget Sofie. We had her for 5 1/2 years. God knows, we will miss her every day.

Gretchen
After I losing my beloved old female dachshund, Binks, I started really paying attention to, and finding I had a weakness for, the older female dachshunds that came through our clinic from CDTR. I looked on CDTR's website one day and found the oldest female who needed a forever home and immediate emailed Teresa and asked if I could meet her. Teresa was kind enough to have her brought right in from Dallas. I took Gretchen home and knew immediately that she was a very special one a kind gal. Gretchen was 10++ years old, completely deaf, had a hunched back and funny gait. When choosing her name tag, a snowflake seemed appropriate because each snowflake is one of a kind. I also got her the 'blingiest' rhinestone collar I could find which suited her perfectly. Gretchen loved to eat and was very enthusiastic when getting treats - fingers beware! She also loved to sleep in her cave beds. She wasn't the brightest dog (said with affection) and she used to crack up us when she would try to get into her cave bed by shoving her head underneath while at the same time standing on top! She would turn around and around and sometimes actually get in on her own. Gretchen even had a cave bed in the bathroom since she like to hang out with me when I got ready for work in the morning. She moved pretty slow most of the time but once in a while she would get this wild hair and just start running around the house for no reason and do several laps. She reminded me of a ferret running around with her hunched back - she kind of seesawed around - it was quite a sight! Gretchen also loved to just sprawl out on my lap and boy could she snore! We were very surprised one day after Gretchen had one of her silly running bouts when she got into her bed and started to seizure. She had never had a seizure before to our knowledge and we knew it was not a good sign at her age. She never did come out of the seizure and we knew the right decision was to put her to sleep. We only had Gretchen for a little over a year but we miss her dearly and find that the house is just a little quieter and seems to have a void. We don't regret adopting her for a second and feel we gave her a good life her last year on earth and she certainly enriched our lives as well. Rest in peace Gretchen.