Meet the Hounds of Harmony Meet our hounds and hear each one's story and how they arrived here at Harmony.
Our first hound came to us more than 8 years ago from a breeder who did not want to keep her for breeding. Her name is Gretchen. She is an 8 1/2 yr. red piebald Dachshund smoothy and a very special friend. Gretchen suffers from many fears/anxieties she has not been able to fully over come. She was diagnosed 3 years ago with moderate to severe seperation anxiety and OCD behaviors. She takes medication when her own nerves become too much for her to settle down. Gretchen's outlet became her ball and the "hunt". She is obsessed to the point of not sleeping or eating and will insist on chasing and retreiveing the ball for hours without a break if you let her. If you stop she gets frusterated and destroys the ball. For this reason we limit her ball activity and put the ball up when we want her to be done. Gretchen also loves to hunt critters. She will dig until you can barely see her and then she will not stop until her prey is caught! Gretchen initially was terrified of people and would hide if anyone came over. She also hated Harmony Dad and would growl and snap constantly. With much patience and understanding today Gretchen loves her Daddy and welcomes people in her home with a smile. Of course you MUST throw the ball for her... We adore Gretchen and Gretchen adores us. She loves to spend her evenings cuddled in her Daddy's arms and stares at him adoringly. She is sooooo happy when in my arms and I sing silly songs to her to let her know I love her.
Gretchen has many human associated fears but do not underestimate the tanacity of this little fireball when it comes to the other canines. She is Alpha Queen all the way and no one steps on her tiny toes.
Next came Frankfurt Hans. AKA Frank the Tank or Papa Dox. Frank is a 4 yr. old red smooth standard Doxie. He came to us from a person who had adopted him as a 6 week old puppy for her 1 & 3 yr. old toddler boys. As you can imagine this was not working well at all. Frank became sick at the tender age of 13 weeks. His owner could not handle all this and asked us to give him a home. We took him to the vet to find that he only had a bad case of untreated tape worms. We got him cleared up and he has been a loving and loyal member of our home ever since. Frank is large and in charge! He is 27 pounds of muscle and strength of character. He is Papa to all who come here. No one but no one messes with Papa Dox. He is kind but stern and helps us with all the incoming hounds and keeps HIS bunch in line. I always thought the others were mine but apparantly I was wrong. They are HIS but I am allowed to play with them and feed them. (him first of course) All joking aside he is the perfect example of a superior Alpha male. We love our Frank and do not know what we would do without him.
Next came Otto Sabastian. Otto is a mini smooth black and tan dapple Dachshund and the clown of the group and our resident sissy boy. He is nick names are Do Do Bird cause he gets so wiggly and hyper he does very silly things. Another is Otto Bug (just cause??) This boy was a purposeful adoption from a person whom I knew bred really nice Dachshunds. I wanted a healthy buddy for Frank since at this point Gretchen's only love was the ball or myself. I had put in a request for a dapple from this breeder in CA and then sat back on her waiting list. One day I got a call that there had been a cancellation on the adoption of a dapple male. I was excited and asked why did they not want him? As it turns out Otto is not perfect. He has a kink in his tail. A little bend at the end which made him undesireable to someone. I could care less and rushed to see him and fell in love in an instant. Otto is funny, silly and very loving. He wiggles his little body so hard he about falls over when he greets you. You can't help but love this precious baby. Otto is 3 years old and his birthday is January 29th. We feel Otto would feel more at home in a home with fewer Dachshunds and more one on one time for him.
(Otto is available to the right home)
Next came Sadie Ann. Sadie is a dark red smooth mini. Sadie came from the same place as Otto but only after tradgedy struck. A partnership fell to pieces and also a kennel with over 40 doxies. The owner shockingly abandoned the dogs and left them in incapable hands. When all was said and done the majority of the Doxies were rescued and placed but sadly several died from neglect. Sadie was the last Doxie to make it out. She was just 10 weeks old and suffered from malnutrition and was mostly feral from lack of human contact. She was so tiny and today is our smallest Doxie at just 8 pounds. Harmony Daddy fell to pieces over this little one and she has stayed glued to his side ever since. Sadie is the fiestiest Dachshund we have. She is a true survivor and would take on a bear if allowed. Sadie's rule #1: NO ONE gets near her Daddy unless Sadie AKA Tater Tot says it's OK. Daddy spoils her rotten and she loves it! Tater knows just when to put on the "cute" face and she gets whatever she wants. Tater has trained her human well. : ) Sadie is 2yrs. old and Her and her Daddy celebrate their birthdays just 8 days apart.
Next came Sara Gabriella. Sara is a red smooth tweenie Dachshund. Sara's story is simple. I got a call from our local shelter that there was a Doxie in need. I went down to find one of the staff with the cutest little red Doxie puppy. She was 4 months old and had been purchased as a gift for someone who resides in a "no pet" apt complex. OK, we won't even go there.... They asked if I could help place her and I had to really think about it.... NOT! I brought her home and her and Sadie Ann who was just one month to the day older became fast friends. We at Harmony are opposed to breaking up bonded pairs so Sara joined the team.
Sara is the sweetest litle girl and has soooo many kisses to give. She is the resident groomer and will groom the others for hours. Including us! She is a typical Doxie and takes no bunk from anyone and is our little "Tom Boy" if you will. She beats up her dapple brothers every chance she gets and enjoys showing them "their place" in the pack.
Next came Noel Hope. Noel is our mini double dapple long haired special needs Doxie. You can read Noel's story on the special events page. Noel is 1 yr now as of 11/1/05. Noel is a never ending miracle. She is blind and deaf but has totally adapted and lives a happy and normal life. We adore our little miracle and embrace her life with joy. Noel loves the other dogs. She depends on them. They understand her special needs and help her all they can. Noel loves to run fast and far and will run with her head in the air, nose going strong to keep up with the scent of the other hounds. She does remarkably well. Noel loves to swim in our pond and has no problem finding her way around. During free time If she ever loses the scent and gets too far from the pack she makes a high pitched squeal and a pack member will run to her and bump her to redirect her. They are an amazing team. Noel will someday become a certified Therapy dog and make a difference with her precious life.
Next came Oliver Levi. He is a smooth small standard blue dapple Dachshund. Oliver came to us from a friend and breeder needing to reduce her stock. Ollie is drop dead gorgeous but was too big for her females so she made the decison to let him go as a pet. How happy we were to take in this very sweet boy. We helped the breeder place 6 males but could not part with Ollie. Ollie was shy at first and so unsure. Harmony Mom just kept loving him and reassuring him he would be alright. He loves for me to sing my silly songs to him about his blue pajamas he appears to wear. Ollie is 2 yr. old and a big huge baby. Ollie is the most Beta Doxie we have ever met. Frank says he is a whimp and needs work but Mom says he is just right and loves her Jammy Boy. A wonderful thing happened while we were working with Ollie to see if he could fit in our pack. Ollie and Otto became the best friends you could ever ask for. They are constant pals and are NEVER far apart. They sleep together, eat together, fish together and play for hours as happy as two buddies can be. They make us smile all the time. We are so happy that Ollie is with us and Otto has a friend for life.
Oliver Levi Bryant 5/27/09 - 6/06/09 Rest in peace my dear Ollie
Next came Lakota who is from Texas. He was bred there and made a blind/deaf puppy. : (
I offered to buy Lakota so that would not happen again. I did not know for sure if I would keep him but he is so sweet and has really bonded with Oliver so he has remained with us and is very happy.
Next came Jonah. He is a LH red male who was found at a local dumpster site. He was just 9 weeks old. He was taken in by a good samaritan and kept for a month in hopes the owners would turn up. When they didn't the kind woman who found him called rescue. We took him in and got him vetted and cared for and he has never left us. He has turned 2 by now and has become a bonded partner with Noel our blind/deaf dog. His special person is Katelyn and he is with her constantly. Jonah is a treasure that someone sadly threw away.
Next came the guardians of Harmony Ranch.
Meet Dylan who was being given away at a local gas station. He is the product of an unwanted litter when someone did not spay and neuter their dogs. He is half Pitbull and half blue tick coon hound. Big and goofy but mega lovable Dylan helps to guard our home and property from unwanted intruders who may harm our small dogs, horses and or chicken flock. He is wonderful with the Doxies and likes to lay on the floor and let them pile all over him.
Next came Dorie. She came from our local kill shelter along with her sisters. Her sisters have now been rehomed and we have retained Dorie as a playmate for Dylan. While Dylan is wonderful with the Doxies he cannot really paly with them as he is just too big. Dorie is a perfect play partner and as sweet as they come. We welcome our new little princess with open arms.
This is the whole 10 pack of Harmony Hounds- Our home and our hearts are full and happy : )
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