Note: The original article first appeared in the Mar/April 2016 edition of Pet Connection Magazine. This version contains minor edits. “I gave $2,000 to Motley Zoo Animal Rescue in 2015 to help save animals” I never thought I would be saying that. I never had that much money at my disposal and, honestly, was more likely to give to environmental and humanitarian groups. In 2012, I was a … [Read more...]
Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Going in 2017
Each year I like to reflect on what happened the previous year with the blog, and in our lives, and think about where we hope to go. You can read the end-of-year post I wrote last year HERE. Our friends over at Go Pet Friendly remind me ever year to take this time to think about my achievements and goals. They put forth a number of thought-provoking questions to the blogging community. Many … [Read more...]
Six Years Into the Blog, I Embrace Change
Today is a big day for me at You Did What With Your Wiener? Why? Well, for two reasons. One, today marks 6 years since I published my first blog post. Yes, 6 whole years! I take this blog very seriously and, for the last 6 years, I’ve written 99.9% of the articles myself. I won’t go into details but it means I’ve spent an average of 20-30 hours a week on this “labor of love” since it first … [Read more...]
How a 10-lb Rescue Dog Changed My Life
There is the article you write and then the article you want to write. The story of how Gretel changed my life and allowed me to help needy animals recently appeared in Pet Connection Magazine, a local pet-focused publication. I waited excitedly for the issue with my story to come out. I'm very critical of myself though and mostly saw the several glaring things I would change when I read … [Read more...]
Pet Blogger Challenge 2015: A Year in Review
Welcome to our blog! Maybe it's your first time visiting or maybe you've been visiting for a while but don't know that much about us. Who we are today is a "travel and outdoor lifestyle blog that focuses being active with your small dog". Our back-story is so much more than that though. I had been hiking and traveling through life with Chester for 8 years. I could almost predict the shocked … [Read more...]
2014 Pet Blogger Challenge
Today is the day of the 2014 Pet Blogger Challenge hosted by GoPetFriendly and Will My Dog Hate Me It’s the time pet bloggers answer some questions to see how far we've come and make some plans for where we’re going. It's also a chance for our readers to learn a little more about our blog. Without further adieu, here are my answers: 1. How long have you been blogging? Please tell us why you … [Read more...]
This is Where We Drop Off the Face of the Earth
Some of our blogger friends may have noticed that we haven't been commenting on their blogs much in the last week. I have been SUPER busy in other areas of my life. I have been working frantically all summer to get my Grandparent's house on the market. I spent all summer cleaning the place out and had to scramble these past couple of days. I am happy to report that the house went on the market … [Read more...]
Gretel’s Sordid Past
As most of you know, we rescued Gretel in November of 2010. We can't believe how lucky we were to find her at a rescue. She has grown in confidence since we brought her into our home and she has grown to be quite the little clown. She will always lean towards the shy side but we are proud of what she has become. She had quite the terrible start to live so we are glad she found us and gave us … [Read more...]
Pet Blogger Challenge – Get to Know Us Better
Hello friends. We are first-timers to the Pet Blogger Challenge. We were in existence when the last time it happened but we were too busy learning how this bloggy thing worked to look into what the challenge hubbub was all about. Our world has expanded a lot over this last year. Will My Dog Hate me and Go Pet Friendly are the homes of some of our favorite people and dogs. My fingers perked up … [Read more...]
Breaking Stereotypes about Small Dogs
I must have been meant to read the book Following Atticus. I write about adventurous small dogs all of the time so it immediately called out to me from the bookstore table when I saw it. Then I won a copy from Life with Dogs. I managed to devour the book in two days…which says a lot if the two years worth of books stacking up on my table is any indication. The story of Atticus was inspiring … [Read more...]
We’ve Come a Long Way Baby
Today marks six months since we started this blog. My, how time has flown. This was our first blog ever and we didn't really know what we were doing when we started. Our vision was just to share our hiking stories with the world. People are always surprised to see our weiner dogs, with their little legs, out on the trail. We aren't just talking about a casual stroll in the woods either. … [Read more...]
It Gets Deeper
Yesterday I told you that Gretel was a victim of puppy “flipping”, or trafficking, and that is what lead her to our family. A local woman was busted for purchasing cheap puppies online, falsifying vaccination and spay/neuter papers (even forging a veterinarian’s signature) and reselling them for a profit. Initially, the woman denied any wrongdoing but has not had a change of heart and got honest … [Read more...]
Gretel, Hookers and Blow
Gretel’s past was a little fuzzy when we adopted her. We were told that the people who bought her got way more than they expected and couldn’t handle her. The issues of anxiety and aggression towards men were mentioned. The couple decided to surrender her to Motley Zoo Animal Rescue saying that the situation they took her from was “sketchy” and they didn’t want to take her back there. When we … [Read more...]
Where Gretel Came From (Hint…Not a Stork)
We have said how lucky we feel we are to have found Gretel. We wanted to share a little about the people who brought her to us, Motley Zoo Animal Rescue, because we think they are great. As a young, fresh organization they are already revolutionizing the rescue scene. They go beyond everything a traditional rescue does. Besides saving the lives of animals in need and fixing them up, they also … [Read more...]
Meet Gretel
Gretel's first hike was 4 miles uphill in the snow. She was a little unsure but she quickly followed Chester's lead and was go, go, go after that. She again proved that humans hike slower that weiner dogs. Gretel is the newest addition to our adventurous family. She is a 10-month rescue dog that we adopted from Motley Zoo Animal Rescue last week. We are honored to give this sweet girl a loving … [Read more...]
Meet Chester
Chester can out hike his humans for at least 4 miles. His biggest hiking adventure covered 15 miles and a mountain pass in one, 7-hour day. When Chester is not out hiking you will find him going for runs around Greenlake, socializing at the dog park, going for car trips, lounging on the couch or otherwise resting up for his next adventure. Chester learned to be an adventurer from an early … [Read more...]
What We’re About
Weiner dogs get no glory. They are lumped into the "cute but you can't do a lot with them" category with other small dogs. Part of this notion is due to their propensity for back injury. Most of what I have read says that a dachshunds tendency to develop back problems in mostly influenced by genetics. People are afraid to let their dogs be too active in fear that it will increase the chance of … [Read more...]
