A Side of Mustard


Our household has apparently become the Home for Retired Dachshunds. When Pets Ahoy, the Sea World show my wife works at, decided that the time had come to retire one of their performing dachshunds, Mustard, all of Sarah's co-workers encouraged her to take him home to be a companion for our first dachshund, Smokey. I wasn't too keen on adding another animal to our menagerie at home, especially another needy dog that would require attention and to be taken out for walks several times a day. In addition to Smokey, we also have three cats: Monkey, Maccabee, and Moxie. Monkey, our very first pet, seemed to get a little grumpier each time we added a new animal to our menagerie, and I was worried what yet another furry family member would do to her temperament. Sarah suggested that we bring Mustard home on a "trial basis" to see how he adapted to living in a home and how he got along with our other dachshund, Smokey, and the cats. I agreed. Silly me. I should have known that once Mustard came into our home and our lives, he was never leaving. I instantly fell in love with Mustard. He is friendly and affectionate and sweet. He made himself right at home in our apartment and in our hearts. Mustard had come into our family to stay. And Smokey was delighted to have a canine companion! She and Mustard hit it off right away. They play together and sleep together and cuddle together. Seeing them together just makes our hearts melt!

Smokey is a mini-dachshund and Mustard is a standard, but he is small (Sarah has suggested that perhaps he is a "tweenie") and not much bigger than Smokey. He is more dense and heavier than Smokey though. He can easily be distinguished by his darker muzzle and, as Sarah calls it, his "eyeliner." Our cats, Moxie and Maccabee, could care less that Mustard has joined our family, and Mustard pays them no mind. But Mustard and Monkey have a very odd relationship. Mustard is obsessed with Monkey. He wants to know where she is at all times, can't take his eyes off of her, and he gets very excited and fidgety when she comes into the room. Monkey, who usually has no patience for any of our other pets, seems to tolerate Mustard. She'll let him get very close to her and sniff around her without any attitude. We find it quite mind-boggling, and we can't come up with any explanation why Mustard is so fascinated by Monkey but not by either of the other cats. So Mustard passed his "trial" period with flying colors, and I couldn't be happier to have him as part of our family. He has so wiggled his way into out hearts, it feels like there never was a time when he wasn't a part of our family. The longest weiner dog in the world!
Posted: 7/15/06