Bunny the Dachshund - Chief Cuddle Officer
Some businesses have board meetings.
At Scatter Joyfulness Greetings, we have belly-up consultations with Bunny.
Bunny’s first day home - already convinced upside-down is the correct way to live.
Bunny is our cream long-haired dachshund and the official Chief Cuddle Officer.
True to her breed (shh, don’t tell her we know—and yes, even the American Kennel Club agrees), she comes with the full dachshund package — clever, stubborn, protective, playful, and very convinced she runs the household.
If you’ve ever known a dachshund, you already know this to be true.
Bunners is number three in our family and somehow the cuddliest of them all.
Before Bunny there were two other long-haired girls who trained us well.
The first was Sage, a fourteen-pound sable “miniature” who believed toilet paper was a snack and trash cans were treasure chests. She taught us valuable life skills like hiding garbage cans, pushing in chairs, and keeping the toilet paper safely on the counter.
A little glimpse into Sage’s story - paws first, always curious.
Then came Oona — our tiny seven-pound black-and-tan princess who pranced when she walked and adored bows and the doggy spa.
A prancie little dachshund princess proudly carrying her ‘treasure’ - equal parts mischief and joy in one tiny moment.
Oona had a mysterious fascination with electrical cords. One Christmas evening the tree lights quietly went dark while we were sitting right there in the room.
Mystery solved, she had chewed the cord. Remind you of any beloved Christmas movie?
As Oona grew older and began slowing down, we knew one thing for certain:
Our house was never meant to be dachshund-free.
So along came Bunny.
We thought we were getting another “miniature.”
Instead we got our biggest girl yet — a seventeen-pound cream beauty with a soft heart and a pretty pastel pink belly.
Why her name is Bunny
Her name started as a joke. I actually did giggle.
At the time my drive to work passed through a neighborhood full of wild rabbits. One morning I watched one hopping ahead and suddenly thought how funny it would be for a dachshund — a dog bred to hunt fierce badgers — to have the sweetest, fluffiest name imaginable.
Bunny.
A tiny oxymoron.
It made me laugh the whole drive.
My husband loved it too, and the name stayed.
The upside-down girl
Bunny has a special talent too.
She is rarely right-side up.
Instead she rolls onto her back to show what we call her pink bunny belly, wagging her tail like she’s just won a prize.
If attention is available, Bunny will take it.
If attention is not currently available, Bunny will simply roll over and wait with anticipation and a waggie tail.
Bunny’s favorite snacks
Bunny is also something of a food connoisseur.
Her favorite snack in the world is cold cherry tomatoes.
But she doesn’t eat them right away.
First she tosses them into the air.
Then she chases them across the floor.
Eventually she eats them.
Around here they are known as toy-matos.
In late summer our apple tree occasionally drops fruit into Bunny’s courtyard. Early in the season while they’re green, they’re toys. Then as they ripen and are still toys, they become happles, (Happy Apples) which she proudly carries inside and sometimes tries to share by wooing us to the floor and placing near our mouths. Kindness in action.
Another favorite?
Chicken.
Known whimsically as chick-yums.
Sunbeam collector
Bunny loves sunshine more than anyone in this house.
She follows warm patches of light across the floor like a tiny solar collector and happily tans outside on the hottest days. That may be where her doggie smile shines the brightest.
She’s what we affectionately call a hot dog. (I know, that’s not all that clever if you’re a dachshund lover :-p)
Protector of the household
Despite her sweetness, Bunny takes her job seriously.
Trash trucks.
Delivery drivers.
Suspicious neighborhood sounds.
All are greeted with her official dachshund warning bark.
And do you know what?
They always leave.
So clearly she’s doing excellent work. ThanX Bunners.
The real boss
Bunny has several little voices she uses to communicate with us. My favorite is her nighttime whisper — so soft you can barely hear it.
When deciding whose lap to join, she studies us carefully with her dachshund side-eye before making her selection. She looks at me, then dad, then me…
And although she insists she never begs…
she does occasionally position herself very nearby while pretending to be asleep.
Bunny joined our home while Oona (known to Bunny as Granny-Sister) was still with us, and that little burst of puppy energy gave our older girl almost three more happy years.
For that alone, she’ll always hold a special place in our hearts.
But mostly Bunny reminds us that joy is usually very simple.
Sometimes it looks like a wagging tail.
Sometimes it looks like a pink belly.
And sometimes it looks like a dachshund flipping a toy-mato across the floor.
Hugs & Smiles,
Joy & Bunny
