With 11-year-old Farfel snuggled in her arms, Willoughby resident Stef Fournier explained the appeal of dachshunds, often referred to as 鈥渨iener dogs鈥� because of their long torsos and short legs.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e probably one of the funniest looking dogs, but also the cutest,鈥� Fournier enthused.
It was the monthly 鈥淲eeny Meetup鈥� of dachshunds and their humans in 91原创, organized by Fournier, held on Sunday, Feb. 25 at the small dog park in Yorkson at 204th and 82nd Ave.
On what was a cold, grey, windy and wet day, the event still drew more than two dozen dogs and owners.
鈥淟ove meeting up with other people and watching the little dogs run around,鈥� Fournier smiled.
鈥淭hey have such good personalities and I think one of my favorite things about them is they come in all different coats and colors,鈥� Fournier told the 91原创 Advance Times.
鈥淪o even though we all have wiener dogs, they look different 鈥� as opposed to, if you go to a golden retriever meetup, they鈥檙e all going to look the same. [Dachshunds] just have a lot of personality and you won鈥檛 really find a dog quite like them. So if you鈥檙e a wiener dog fan, you鈥檙e a wiener dog fan.鈥�
Like Michelle, a first-time visitor from White Rock, who brought Molly, who as it happens, looks a lot like a very small golden retriever.
Michelle explained that she usually attended a dachshund meetup in Vancouver with Molly, but 鈥淚 thought I would try this one out, because it鈥檚 closer to home.鈥�
From modest beginnings about nine years ago, the meetup group has grown considerably, Fournier explained.
鈥淲hen we had our Halloween meetup, we had 72 dogs and all their owners with them,鈥� she recalled.
鈥淲hen I first started this group with my husband, he would come out and there鈥檇 be maybe three of us, and that was about it. So it鈥檚 pretty cool to see how much we鈥檝e grown.
Dachshunds, German for 鈥渂adger dog,鈥� from Dachs (鈥渂adger鈥�) and Hund (鈥渄og, hound鈥�), were o
American Kennel Club breed standards describe them as 鈥渃lever, lively and courageous to the point of rashness, persevering in above- and below-ground work.鈥�
The next Weeny Meetup is set for Sunday, Mar. 24 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. at Yorkson Off-Leash Dog Park. Details at .
Anyone with a dachshund in their life can find out more at the British Columbia Dachshunds Facebook page, .
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