Slinky
Our house had been so empty without barking and paw prints. Just before i turned 21 in 2003 i was determined to have a new canine companion. My dad was set against it, but against his wishes, I started to look for a Mini Dachshund I could call Slinky.
I started to look on the Friday & by Monday evening I was on my way to meet a girl puppy - she had been reserved but the family could no longer take her. When I arrived the breeder brought in a boy (just in case) & the girl. The boy was so excited to see me, wanted to play and give love. The girl had the look of “why have i been woken up to come to meet you? I was sleeping” & I literally fell in love with her. She hadn’t been named yet so her name became Slinky.
My dad was so angry, he actually threatened to throw me out but he saw Slinky sitting in her heart shaped bed, looking at him with those big puppy eyes & grumbled “She’s quite cute isn’t she”. He was Granddad from that night even though he continued to complain I had disobeyed him for years to come.
Her first night in her new home she didn't leave her bed, the second night I slept with my hand in her bed and by night three because I had a futon, she just climbed in. It was love at first sight for me but it was that moment for her our love was cemented. She is truly my first born.
Any dachshund human will know they are not the easiest breed to train & Slinky was more stubborn than most. It only made me love her more! I tell people that you don’t train a dachshund, you come to an arrangement. Slinky was a spoilt princess - she was my soul puppy. Our human child Alfie is so like his dad but Slinky was always like me. I always say that Alfie has turned out so well because all our bad parenting was on the dog who was a spoiled brat!
I had hoped Slinky & Alfie would be best friends and had adventures but it didn't quite work out like that. The night we brought Alfie home, Slinky barked at him while sat under his Moses basket for 3 hours! She was not impressed. She was more interested when he started to drop food. One of my favourite memories is being out to dinner at a Harvester, Alfie sat in a high chair dropped a chip on the floor & then became very confused that Slinky had not come to eat it.
As Alfie grew up he helped so much with Slinky, making her breakfast, putting her outside, giving cuddles and she softened towards him although she never listened to him, she clearly thought she was above him in the chain of command. They may not have been as close as i would have liked but they loved each other. She would have defended him to the end, he was her little human & if she wasn’t going to eat him then no one was going to hurt him.
I recently found out that Slinky definitely helped choose Tom. I had met Tom when my then boyfriend had worked with him on his Uni placement year and when they finished uni they and another friend moved into a shared house for a year. Me & Slinky spent a lot of time there and if Tom was the first one home he would bring Slinky up to his room to keep her company until i got home. They had a little friendship going on. When me and tom got together she accepted him as her daddy. We have a running joke that he was lucky she liked him otherwise we wouldn't have got married. One of her favourite things to do was to snuggle with her dad inside his dressing gown.
He was an amazing Dog Dad to Slinky- he loves her with his whole heart. He has done everything for her, he nursed her when she was ill, he stood out in the cold with her when she needed to go outside, he carried her when she wouldn’t walk any further, he protected her, he never questioned any money that needed to be spent when she needed treatment, he did everything in his power to keep her safe & well. I will be grateful to him till the end of time for how he took her to his heart.
She was the reason for me starting Love From Betty. I wanted a job that meant I got to spend time with her. Our customers have shown her so much love even though she never looked particularly impressed at having to say hello to you all. She was very happy just to sit in her bed in the shop and sleep while all the visiting pooches had a sniff.
She helped me through so much. I have always struggled with my mental health which only worsened during pregnancy & if I’m truly honest never really got better but she could calm me, she was always there, if i couldn’t face the world that day she would just snuggle with me. She truly was my little angel.
We are absolutely heartbroken that we have had to say goodbye just before her 17th birthday. I am so grateful that we had so much time with her as we could have lost her when she had IVDD- thanks to Supervet we had another 10 years with her.
She was ready & we were never going to be. A piece of my heart died the day she left us, it’s something that can never be fixed. I will miss her always & forever. No one could ever replace her but our home wouldn’t be complete without paw prints & we are so trained as dachshund humans. Even my dad says that there's a little dachshund out there who deserves the love we have for Slinky.
Thank You to our wonderful customers, brands, friends & family who helped us raise £1380 for two dachshund charities via Slinky's Birthday Raffle in 2020 in memory of our special little lady.
I will always yearn for one more cuddle, one more grumpy tantrum that her dinner wasn’t ready, one more barking session at the postman, one more chance to hear her snoring, to see her tail wag when i got home, to once more feel her snuggled into me. She will be in our hearts forever.
Kat x
