Rufus, Emily & Lily | October 2013. Photo by: Johnny Ortez-Tibbels ©

We first met Lily on July 19; that was 12 weeks and 5 days ago today. I must admit keeping Lily was absolutely one of the best decisions we made as a family. I affectionately referred to her as our happy accident since she was not planned. We aspired to having a third dachshund some day, but didn’t know it would come so soon. After two months of crating training, I started to leave Lily out of her crate while I run short errands about town and gradually expanded the intervals of time, and she is doing awesome. I have not come home to any accidents or destruction. She has even learned to go to the door and bark when she needs to go outside to potty. I would say she was successfully housebroken by late August / early September. She is proving to be a very smart dachshund. When I had her weighed at our last vet visit (last week) she is holding steady at about 6 pounds. Next week she goes into for post-spay blood work and spay. We’re also going to have two baby teeth pulled (which is another reason why I recommend spaying and neutering around the 6 month mark); we want her smile to be perfect like her. The best news of all is that the pack is thriving. Everyone seems to be very content with one another, and all of them get along smashingly well. Rufus has a very special and sweet relationship with his girls on an individual basis, and my two girls are gaga for each other and Rufus. I’m truly bursting with pride. I’m one very proud dachshund papa.

Rufus, Emily & Lily | October 2013. Photo by: Johnny Ortez-Tibbels ©