Our two dachshunds, Roxie and Banana just had their 17th and 16th birthdays (respectively) back in January, and it goes without saying that after having my pups this long, they have become my everrrryyyyything and their birthdays are the biggest cause for celebration around here.

Despite their old age, worsening vision and hearing, and their tiny legs that get all the attention when we’re in public, our dachshunds have kept up with us on many wild adventures in the recent years. In fact, in the summer of 2020, our dachshunds completed a 13-mile hike with us, the longest day hike they have ever done. Then, a few short months later in the fall of 2020, they did a shorter, but very tough, 6.5-mile hike. That beautiful hike turned out to be our last major hike we’ve done with both the dachs.

While it might not be their last hiking adventure with us, Roxie has slowed down quite a bit in the past year and drags like a slug on trails; as such, we end up needing to carry her to get moving, which wouldn’t be a problem at all, except that she throws a queen-sized temper tantrum about being held.

Banana, on the other hand, if it weren’t for early stages of heart failure that popped up in the late summer of 2021, would still be hoofing it as much as she had in her younger years. In July 2021, we did an 8-mile mommy-doggie hike where she was the star of the trail in her pine tree-themed bandana!

The past year has been a challenging one, as we have suddenly dealt with many more senior doggie moments than we ever had in the past, including many falls, temper tantrums, potty accidents, and bouts of doggie dementia; but no doubt the most stressful ordeal was this past spring with our older dach, Roxie, who we thought had wandered out of yard without her collar on while hubby was doing yard work. We never worry about the dachs escaping or running away because they have never been a flight risk and are used to having freedom to wander during our camping trips, but in Roxie’s old age, she has developed a bit of dementia and often forgets where she is and what she was doing while she is out exploring and sniffing around, causing her to mindlessly wander even farther, usually in the wrong direction.

Hubby and I immediately panicked when we couldn’t find her and our minds went to the worst thought possible that she had wandered across the busy street one block over. We split up to cover the most ground possible and walked, ran, bicycled, and drove around the neighborhood frantically searching for over an hour, while I also posted on social media platforms and called my nearest and dearest friend and petsitter in tears to come help… all to find out that our little ole’ granny dach was upstairs and sleeping peacefully the entire damn time, burrowed deep in her bedding. The dachshunds normally follow me around everywhere in the house so I wasn’t expecting Roxie to be anywhere else but downstairs with me that day, and although I had indeed looked upstairs before beginning our frantic search, apparently I didn’t look closely enough.

So this birthday post is for the two dachshunds we love so much that we will send out an entire search party the VERY moment we think they are gone; and for our dachshunds, who likewise will go looking for us when we’ve left the room for more than 30 seconds. Happy Birthday Roxie and Banana!