Dusty the Dachshund (while that is very nice alliteration, that wasn’t our intention when we named Dusty – we actually name all of our pets after their fur colors) is our three year old dog (more alliteration – Dusty, the Dachshund dog) that my husband and I gave to our 11 year old son (let’s call him K for anonymity) in 2020.
K, who has autism and ADHD, has a profound passion for animals, and while Dusty is his first pet, “all his own”, they have a very strong bond! At times, it is actually like they can read each others’ minds, and they are so very protective of the other (which is actually a problem for my hearing, considering Dusty is a very yelpy, barky dog when anyone competes with her for K’s attention).
Dusty has all the common traits of a Dachshund: she is energetic, playful, protective, stubborn, clever – she has all the qualities that make us love her (enormously) but also feel annoyed with her at times, and often at the same moment (for example: “Dusty, you are so cute when you bring your bowl to me for food,” then one minute later, “seriously, Dusty, where did you put that bowl? It’s all the way under the couch….. of course it is!”).
Most importantly though, she is K’s best friend, and seeing their relationship and the good she does for him, and he for her, is enough to withstand any difficulty we face with her strong personality. We often think that getting Dusty is the best thing we’ve ever done for K, and we look forward to all the future adventures they will have together!
