Overachiever — a person who achieves success well above the standard, expected, or average level—often performing beyond what is typical for their age, experience, or measured aptitude.
Or a dog if that dog happens to be a dachshund.
Dachshund – Heart of a lion, Brain of a fox, Body of a sausage, Bark of a Doberman
One of the storytellers I heard this year at the Cave Run Storytellers Festival was Kevin Kling. I’d heard him in previous years. He always knows how to make a person laugh even while he’s sharing stories full of meanings and new ways to look at life. He was born with a disability of a crippled arm. He got by well, but then in the early 2000’s, he had a motorcycle accident that caused him to lose the use of his other arm. He confronted his disabilities with determination and also humor in some of the stories he tells. He knows how to bring a smile or a laugh.
While talking about his own challenges of living with disabled arms, he talked about how the want to sometimes didn’t match the can do. One thing he said was about how the dachshund was the perfect example of a dog that can accomplish mighty ambitions without having mighty natural capabilities. These weren’t his exact words as I didn’t write those down and now I’ve forgotten his exact words. But this short quote has the basic idea. When your legs are three inches long but your attitude is seven feet tall.
When I was looking online to see if I could come across what I’d heard him say in his performance, I didn’t find that, but I did find the following.
“I learned that when people see a dachshund, they have to yell, “A wiener dog!” Like “A rainbow!” “A Shriner!” “A shooting star!” “A clown!” “A nudist colony!” ―
And it’s true. We notice wiener dogs. They are just so cute with loads of personality.
I’ve never owned a dachshund myself, or as some dachshund owners might say, been owned by one, but my daughter and son-in-law inherited one from my son-in-law’s parents.
Sumo’s legs were crippled by arthritis and other problems when they got him, but he was a dog that never quit. And my daughter and her husband gave him plenty of chances to show his indomitable spirit. I can’t really say he was reading my book in the picture up at the top or that he’s really driving in the following picture, but he certainly looks capable.
My son-in-law had a stroller for Sumo and ran a few races pushing Sumo along with him My daughter carried him around in doggie bags on walks and visits to town. Sumo loved it and all the attention he got wherever they went.
Advice from a Dachshund
- Try to keep a low profile.
- Choose friends who are the most down to earth.
- He who barks and runs away lives to bark another day.
- It’s okay to hot dog your way through life.
- Why take the stairs when you can take the elevator.
- Always reach for the stars no matter how short your legs are.
- The long way is often the best way.
- Don’t worry, be yappy!
Here’s a famous description of being owned by a dachshund. My daughter certainly was and enjoyed most all the moments they had together.
“There is a book out called Dog Training Made Easy, and it was sent to me the other day by the publisher, who rightly guessed that it would catch my eye. I like to read books on dog training. Being the owner of dachshunds, to me a book on dog discipline becomes a volume of inspired humor. Every sentence is a riot. Some day, if I ever get a chance, I shall write a book, or warning, on the character and temperament of the Dachshund and why he can’t be trained and shouldn’t be. I would rather train a striped zebra to balance an Indian club than induce a dachshund to heed my slightest command. For a number of years past I have been agreeably encumbered by a very large and dissolute dachshund named Fred. Of all the dogs whom I have served I’ve never known one who understood so much of what I say or held it in such deep contempt. When I address Fred I never have to raise either my voice or my hopes. He even disobeys me when I instruct him in something that he wants to do. And when I answer his peremptory scratch at the door and hold the door open for him to walk through, he stops in the middle and lights a cigarette, just to hold me up.” ― E.B. White on Dogs
Hmm, he could have been writing about my dog, Frankie, even though Frankie is definitely not a wiener dog.
Have you ever known a dachshund? Or another dog that owned you as much as you owned him/her?