TOBY THE DACHSHUND

a page in THE FOXFILES:

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Musings, Images and Annotated Webliographies

"If you've never owned dachshunds, no explanation is possible.
If you have owned dachshunds, no explanation is necessary."
-- Author Unknown --

I was born in Colorado but my first family (the Marshs) decided that they were not the right people to be owned by a dog like me. They needed to be rescued, so when I was just 1 year old I went by airplane, all by myself, to New York. (I was 9 years old on 07 May 2006). I have lived with Reverend Andrea ever since. She likes being owned by a very small Daschshund, and I like owning her, so we are a fine pair. Every week she has to write a sermon so people will practice what she preaches. I often offer my sage advice. Once in a while, she takes it.

My favorite thing to do is sleep. I especially like to sleep under the bed covers, in the very darkest part, at the foot of the bed. I like it where it is warm and dark. My second favorite thing to do as I begin my "older dogs years" is to sit on the window bench and watch the birds, the animals (especially the bunnies) and feel the sun as I snooze on the bolster pillow. I feel the warmth so much more as a mature adult, which at nine I am now, despite what my dog friend Chao Sing says! When I am not sleeping I have a number of excellent toys that once in a while I get really excited about and play so enthusiastically with, I tear the guts out of them! I have gone through several red dinosaurs with the name (you guessed it!) Dino! in this fashion ...The latest Dino has no arms and is now blind because I love him so much! I often take him outside and then forget him (by accident of course!) until someone sees him from a window and goes to rescue him!He also has a twin- Luther- named for Martin Luther- and he stays indoors a lot, but he is also "departing in pieces" as he is my other special buddy! A lot of my toys came from my good friend Nunno, who has now gone to heaven. I miss her a lot sometimes and curl in the blankie she left for me.

My other favorite thing is to see how much of a pest I can be, especially to my friend Chao Sing (the American Cocker Spaniel). I really want her to be my girlfriend, and I don't care that I have been neutered! But she is either a lesbian, or a nun, because she wants no part of it and gives me a mild growl when I get too rambunctious.

Ok -- here is something good for humans (not dogs!) to eat:

Toby Luffmuffin Cookies (Mildly Sweet Hazelnut-Graham Cookies)

1½ cups graham flour
1 cup hazelnuts
1 cup light brown sugar
¾ cup (6 tablespoons) salted butter
¾ cup white chocolate tollhouse morsels
½ cup all purpose white flour
¼ cup dried currents
3 tablespoons milk
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg

Pre-heat oven to 350° Fahrenheit with a rack placed at the upper 1/3 of the oven.
Divide 1 cup hazelnuts in half, coarsely grind ½ cup. Set other ½ cup aside.
Add tollhouse morsels and currents to the ground nuts, and set this mixture aside for a few moments.
Use an electric mixer at medium speed to combine softened butter & brown sugar. A rubber spatula is helpful. Add milk, vanilla and egg once the butter is workable.
When these ingredients have been thoroughly integrated, add graham flour, white flour, baking powder and baking soda. If the mixture is too dry, an additional tablespoon of milk can be added.
Fold in the nut mixture last.
The dough will be a bit granular, but should hold together nicely.
Use a teaspoon to scoop the dough and form small balls. Use your hands to flatten the balls between your palms and place on a well greased cookie sheet. They do not spread much in cooking, but should not be allowed to touch when placed.
Complete each cookie with a whole hazelnut gently pushed on top-center.
Bake cookies 10 - 12 minutes, they are finished when they are just beginning to brown on the outer edges.
This recipe will make 3 to 4 dozen cookies, depending on size. Smaller is better. On an 18” x 12” cookie sheet you should be able to fit 18 cookies.
Remove to cooking rack for an additional 10 minutes.

Reba says...
The story of the “Luffmuffin” is this: Toby is a miniature Dachshund (http://foxgull.com/canines/toby.html) that is mostly black with small spots of brown, and a bit of white just placed so sweetly here and there on his coat. He was rescued at about a year old and came to be the pet of Andrea, who soon recognized that he suffered from mild, occasional seizures. Not long after, both Andrea and Toby moved in with Reba and Chao Sing, the black with just a blaze of white at her throat, American Cocker Spaniel. Reba sometimes called Chao Sing her “cookie” because she reminded her of an Oreo, and she is so sweet! Well, it wasn’t long before Reba began making up a lot of very silly names for Toby until he had become: “Toby Beauregard Marsh Stoeckel (that’s his real name), Christopher (for the explorer -- Columbus), Gallagher Goose (as in: laid the golden egg), Filbert (like the nut)… and so on. Until finally, one day she proclaimed Toby to be her “Hazelnut (yes, like a Filbert) Love Muffin,” – an idea so appealing, she decided to invent the actual recipe. Hence, a cookie idea was born, taking 3 attempts to perfect -- each with minor modifications -- until a cookie that in many ways resembled the small dog who has not failed to win the heart of everyone he has ever met (except his original owners). Their loss! So, make some cookies, support your local dog rescue association, and learn how to care for your dog if she or he has any illnesses. Many conditions are manageable and illness is not a good reason for abandoning any living creature. (Reba says: Merry Christmas, 2004 from Liverpool, New York -- that way you know when and where she made me into a FAMOUS dog!).

So, I have been checking out this World Wide Web thing and found a few sites that I really like -- maybe you will too. But before we do that, Reba says I have to give you the opportunity to go back to the Foxfiles Main Index.
I call this part of my essay:

"Toby and His Kind: Dachsunds Galore-i-ous!"

Hey, BTW, my cousins are on display at: THE HOUNDS.

The Dachshund Rescue Web Page, Inc.: A Non-Profit Organization.
http://www.drwp.net/index.html
Linking Dachshunds in need with loving caretakers. I believe in the work these humans do, try to support them if you can.

Dachshunds A to Z
http://p078.ezboard.com/bdachshundsatoz
My Momma B found this site the summer of 2004 and wanted me to add it for you to find other doxie owners!

Dog Owner's Guide Profile: The Dachshund.
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/dachs.html
One of the good, old, reliable sites on dogs, contains some humor but has accurate information.

Dick Neville’s "All Dachshunds Are Weiners" page.
http://www-hsc.usc.edu/~rneville/doxilink.html
Many links to pages celebrating individual Dachsie-dogs. Also has information about rescue.

Official site of the Dachshund Club of America, Inc.
http://www.dachshund-dca.org
Includes FAQ, official standard for the breed and AKC information.

DORG: An Online Dachshund Magazine.
http://www.dachshund.org/ 
An educational and interactive site with an abundance of information for all dog and Dachsie lovers.

Dachshund.
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/dachshund.htm
Great descriptive information (and in a nice, large typeface) about good form and potential diseases. Has links to most major dog organizations worldwide. Some very nice photography, as well.

TEN REASONS YOU SHOULD HAVE A DACHSHUND.
http://www.dogsites.com.au/internet_library/tenreasons.html
This is a particular favorite of mine among Dachsie pages! What a hoot, I won’t spoil it for you.

for the love of DACHSIES.
http://www.dachsie.org/
Extensive and impressive collection of links, sorted by subjects, including health -- with an emphasis on holistic and the otherwise sensible.

Dachshundpages.Org.
http://www.dachshundpages.com/
Bulletin Board with "Picture of the Week" and a variety of interactive features.

Dachshund a/k/a Weiner Dogs a/k/a The Hotdog...
http://www.mollysmall.com/mollysworld/baby/hotdog.html You have to see it to believe it: "A baby in a bun!"

The personal Page of the Dachsie named Baby.
http://www.mollysmall.com/mollysworld/baby/dachshund.html
Very beautiful, with many wondrous links.

Page created 17 March 2001 by Rebekah Tanner
Most recent update: 13 July 2006.

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This site is © 1996-2006, Rebekah Tanner and Toby the Wonder Dachsund (wondering which way they went for the past 9 years.)