Why we have a little dachshund as one of our official greeters

keeping her warm

I've been telling this story to every guest who stays with us so thought I'd tell it with pictures for you today.

Madison joined our family in November of 2011. She was rescued in August from a puppy mill by our son Phillip and his then girlfriend now wife Christina. Christina was active in Tennessee's small animal rescue program and was called when fosters were going to be needed as a puppy mill was raided. Phillip convinced her that we was taking the small three week old dachshund that was there – as a gift for his mother. 

she was so tiny

It is my understanding that, to help this little critter who had already been separated from her mother, Phillip wore her inside his shirt until she could maintain her own body heat and was socialized. (I can believe that because all that first winter, every time I sat down, she climbed into my lap and under my sweatshirt, curled up and went to sleep.) When he first told me he had a puppy for me I told him I didn't want a small dog and his father wanted a husky Shepard mix. I didn't want a puppy because I didn't want to house break a puppy while running a bed and breakfast and I didn't want the dog to be teething on guest items. I didn't want a dog that would blend in with the wood floor in the entry because she would get squashed under someone's bag or foot. A N D if we got a dog it had to be a female and already spayed . ….. Well, she was female and already spayed, but that is the only part of the criteria he met. 

see how big she is getting?

He kept telling me how big she was getting, how some of her litter mates were growing too large to be show dogs even tho they were AKC mini dachshunds. Madison also is too tall to be a show dog, but at 3 years weighs in at 13 pounds, blends in with the wood flooring in the entry and I had to housebreak her. At least she didn't teethe on anything belonging to a guest. She has grown on us and the guests all threaten to take her home so I guess she is a good fit after all. 

I had been asked what I wanted to name her. I came up with Ginger or Nutmeg since we were a bed and BREAKFAST and a spice name would be appropriate (and previous dog was named Cinnamon.) He named her Madison. When I asked Christina how she came to be called Madison she told me that he was going to name the dog Madison or his first child Madison and she decided it was a GREAT name for the dog and I could always call her Maddy …...