Pets and Peeps: Two Dachshunds

The people: Paul and Trish Allen of the Clairemont neighborhood in Decatur.

Pets' names, nicknames, breed and ages: Panzer, brown Dachshund, 9 years. He is named for the Panzer tank from WWII. Paul said if we're going to have a small dog, he's going to have a big dog name. He's our German tank. Panzer is also called Scooter. Mr. Darcy, black Dachshund, approximately 8 years. When he was turned into the Dachshund rescue group the foster was mother was watching Pride and Prejudice and she named him for the handsome leading man.  I thought Darcy had been through enough, so we didn't change his name. Mr. Darcy is also called Doodlebug and Trouble.

How I met my pets:  Panzer was actually a reward for rescuing his father. Paul was driving to work on a dark rainy morning and picked up a dog in the road on Clairemont.  As it turned out, he was a Dachshund named Rory who had been left with friends while his humans were out of town.  Rory had sired a litter of puppies and when the puppies were born, we got pick of the litter.  Our pick was Panzer! We adopted Mr. Darcy through DREAM Dachshund rescue. He was found abandoned at GA 400 and Abernathy Road. He was thought to be about 10 months old at the time. Amazing that Darcy survived the traffic.

I love it when my pets do this: Burrow under the covers with us on a cold night.

I wish my pets would stop doing this: Ringing the bell at 3:30 in the morning to go out. Luckily that doesn't happen very often.

What people say about my pets: They have the life! (yes, they're pretty spoiled)

What my pets eat: Kibble and anything that hits the ground. They love to chew on bully sticks best of all.

Most exciting moment with my pets: When they came to live with us.

How my pets have enriched our lives: We went from knowing just our immediate neighbors to most of Decatur when we adopted our first dog Panzer, and started walking him. We enjoy walking both boys for the social interaction and exercise for all of us.

If my pets could talk they might say this: Panzer would say, "Please pet me." Darcy would say, "Is it time for bed yet?"

Patch would like to know about your dog, cat, snake, lizard, monkey, llama -- whatever kind of pet you have. If you're interested in being profiled in Pets and Peeps, email Ralph.Ellis@Patch.com.

You can also read other Decatur Patch pet stories at the Pets Topic Page.