Albert Einstein. Albert was recently rescued from the Camarillo shelter. His owners faked "finding him stray" in order to dump him and walk away. Albert is down, but not out! If I support him, he can stand holding his own weight, but it will be many weeks before he will be able to do it on his own, if ever. He was so worth saving. His wonderful personality just bubbles from him. Don't let his forlorn look fool you, he was disappointed that there was not more food in his bowl. Albert is used to begging scraps from the table, and he's on a diet here. No scraps, no snacks, no goodies – just diet kibble. Your generous donation will go toward his medications and vet visits. Thank you so very much for all you do to help us help those who cannot speak. Update: I want to give you an update on Albert. He has finally lost a large amount of excess body fat and is making excellent progress. He has regained most of his bladder and bowel control and can raise himself up on his knees, wag his tail, and is trying very hard to stand. He still cannot feel his feet and has lost considerable muscle tone in his legs, but all that will come back with time and physical therapy. He is determined to walk again. Albert is one very special dachsie! Story submitted by Dena Delgado (see pics at left).

Goose. I knew of a 7 year old black and tan smooth female named Goose that needed immediate emergency vet care. This was truly a matter of life or death for this little Dachsie. The owners did not have the needed cash to get the Dachsie into the emergency vet over 4th of July holiday weekend. I contacted two other Board members and got their approval to front the first $500 to start emergency care. The vet had prepared the owners for the loss of their Dachsie, but Goose had the desire to live even though she could not even lift her little head. To make a long store shorter, just 10 days later Goose was almost back to her normal self. She is responding wonderfully to the meds and recovering from her surgery.

Baboo. I received a forwarded e-mail from one of our members about a Dachsie that needed emergency surgery. The owners had just gone through a major medical emergency of their own and were financially broke. BaBoo was in extreme pain was just going to die. We stepped in and paid for the needed surgery. BaBoo came through like a champ from the surgery. I and BaBoo's owners thank all of you for your generosity.

Another Story of Helping a Family. My pet shop owner made me aware of a family in Packwood, WA. They had three Dachshunds. The husband (37 year old Allen) was dying of cancer. He had been out of work for a long time. When the family wanted to be with him in the hospital, someone would have to stay at home with the dogs. They could not board them because they were not current on their shots or bordatella. Dachshund Outreach Group stepped in and got all three Dachsies current so they could be put in kennel care when needed. The family was all there by Allen's side when he passed away. I thank you for helping us do these wonderful things for others less fortunate than the rest of us.

Riley. Riley belonged to Bernie Elliott, the artist who donates a personalized portrait every year at the picnic. Riley had been sick for about a week before I found out. Bernie and his wife were out of work and just spent all they had on Riley's first vet visit. This visit did not discover the true problem. We did try to save Riley but were not able to save Riley. By the time the problem was discovered the damage had already been done. Unfortunately we do not always have a successful story to share. The main thing to remember is that we were able to try and help Riley because of your continued support.

Other Places Your Money Goes. We do send quite a bit of money to Dachshund rescuers to help them continue their work. We send money to Dena Delgado (see Albert's story above), Oregon Dachshund Rescue in Portland, OR, BearsHaven Dachshund Rescue in Northern Washington, and Coast-to-Coast Dachshund Rescue.