A tale that began last month with an act of abandonment now has a beautiful, happy ending. Two special Dachshunds dropped over the fence of a Salem, Oregon dog lover’s home have now been adopted together.
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Herbie is blind and his sis, Hilda, acts as his guide dog and body guard. The inseparable pups have found their forever home with a Doxie loving couple from Yakima, Washington.
A total of three Dachshunds were dumped in the yard of a Salem resident known to his community as a former rescuer of Doxies. He brought the trio of purebreds to the Marion County Dog Shelter who reached out to Diane Young of the local rescue group, Salem Dogs.
One of the dogs, a black long-haired male, was quickly adopted after passing his health and temperament tests with flying colors. The other two presented a more difficult case. Herbie, a smooth coated dapple Doxie was walking into walls at the rescue and was quickly determined to be vision impaired. Young told The Statesman Journal:
It’s not uncommon for dappled-colored dogs of any breed to have vision and hearing problems, and when I and the shelter staff saw Herbie walk into walls, it was obvious he couldn’t see much. We believe he sees some shadow and movement, but Hilda shepherds him around and protects him, and we knew immediately they needed to be adopted as a pair.
Herbie’s devoted sister Hilda is a long-haired black and tan piebald Dachshund. At some point in their unknown history, Hilda appointed herself to the position of Herbie’s seeing eye dog, and she had no intention of stepping down from her post! A very special adopter would have to be located so the pair could remain together, but that would be easier said than done.
Finding an adoptive home for a dog with a disability can be a challenge. Finding one for a bonded pair of dogs that includes a pup with a vision impairment is even more difficult. Luckily for Herbie and Hilda, fate had plans for them.
A lovely retired couple by the names John and Dorothy Sinnar had recently suffered the loss of their 16-year-old Dachshund, Annabelle, and were in search of another dog to love. John and Dorothy knew they wanted to adopt another rescue dog in honor of Annabelle, who was a puppy mill survivor. During a Google search, John came across Herbie and Hilda in Oregon. In his interview with The Statesman Journal, John said:
I told Dorothy that ‘I think these are our dogs’ and I knew immediately that we had to go see them.
It was love at first cuddle. At the end of the Sinnars’ 5-hour journey to Salem, Dorothy was eager to scoop up Herbie and get to know him. Hilda had other plans. She barked and danced around Mrs. Sinnar’s legs until she lowered Herbie for inspection. Once Hilda determined that her brother was safe and happy in Dorothy’s arms, she decided that the Sinnars were acceptable pawrents.
Although saying goodbye to this special pair caused a pang of sadness for Young and the crew at Salem Dogs, they were overjoyed to see them find such a spectacular home. The Sinnars plan to take Herbie and Hilda with them whenever they set off in their spotless new 2016 RV. But before they begin their family road-trip adventures, they will give the devoted Doxies plenty of time to settle in to their new home back in Yakima.
H/T to People Pets & The Statesman Journal
Featured Image via Molly J Smith/Statesman Journal
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