Why We Do What We Do

Some days I wonder if it's all worth it: All the traveling, the packing and unpacking, the loading and unloading, the setting up and tearing down when your feet are screaming for a break, the constant faucet of sweat on a hot & humid day, or taking a week to dry out everything from the rain that just wouldn't stop.

Then there is the customer who just can't make a decision on color or fabric … and has to try on nearly every harness in her dog's size … but I digress …

I admit there have been days over the last 10 years that have made me stop and ask WHY? One such day was at the Midwest Dachshund Festival last month in Danville, Illinois. I contemplated the question not because of the event itself or the organizers (both have been great to us), but because of the temperamental weather. In 2007, the event was a literal wash-out – as in I thought we should have brought life jackets for the dogs (and perhaps ourselves). In 2008, there was considerable reason to believe this year's event would be the same … only with the winds of Hurricane Ike's last gasps. So the organizers made the right decision to find an indoor location, and we landed at the Danville High School Field House. Great! Shelter from impending rain! Protection from gusts of wind! No worries about mud or sloshing water! No wet and whining dogs (well, OK, there would still be whining).

All of the above proved true. However, it wasn't because of shelter that our product and our dogs remained dry – it was because the 80% chance of thunderstorms forecast of the last several days produced NOT ONE RAINDROP. In fact, for part of the day, there was sunshine. The wind was the only tell-tale sign of the forecast of doom.

If you read the above paragraph closely enough, you note that I did not mention that people remained dry. That would be because the 80% chance of rain transposed into 80% humidity. And the Danville Field House, while being a great host, was not at all ventilated or air conditioned. So, many of us (especially those of us women of a certain age bracket) were nearly as wet as we were in the 2007 downpour.

But there was one moment during the Midwest Dachshund Fest that made it all worthwhile – and served as a reminder as to why we continue to do what we do.

A couple members of the Midwest Dachshund Rescue group came up to us and asked if we had any harnesses we could donate to their foster dogs in attendance. We have donated harnesses before so they know that we come prepared. I asked them to bring the dogs to us one or two at a time and we would fit them.

MWDR members Bonnie Snelten and Melissa Krysiak brought two tiny smooth black & tan dachshunds, which were snuggled together in a soft carrier: a male and a female. Their story was this: Approximately two years old, a breeding pair dumped by the breeder at the local humane society, the female had a docked tail to make "access" easier for breeding and whelping (giving birth). MWDR took custody of them from the shelter. Even with approximately eight weeks of special care and attention given to them by their foster mom (Melissa Krysiak) and family, the pair showed signs of having been puppy mill dogs, including malnutrition and lack of socialization.

I fitted each of the trembling dogs with a new Hug-A-Dog Harness® and Melissa tucked them back into their carry bag. She and Bonnie thanked me, and I wished them well in their rehabilitation endeavor.

Sometime later in the afternoon as I was fitting another dog with a harness, Melissa came up to our table and exclaimed, "APRIL! YOU HAVE GOT TO SEE THIS! YOU HAVE GOT TO SEE WHAT YOUR HARNESS HAS DONE FOR HER!"

I looked past my customer and to the floor. There was the little girl dachshund – no longer trembling in the carry bag, but prancing on the floor in her new harness. Melissa quickly explained to me that they had not been able to get the little dog to walk on a leash at all. Now, with her Hug-A-Dog Harness®, she was walking – not just walking – she was prancing next to Melissa. I watched as Melissa made her way to the exit with the now more confident little dachshund walking next to her without hesitation.

Melissa came to me again before the end of the festival to thank us for the donation of harnesses and to once again remark on the change in the dog's behavior.

I told her she was certainly welcome … and I reminded myself that that little dog was one of the hundreds of reasons why we do what we do.