Meet the Beijing Olympic Babies... the mascots for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. From left to right: Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, and Nini (Beijing huanying ni - Beijing welcomes you).
However, in our opinion, they have nothing on Waldi, the Olympic mascot for the 1972 Germany Summer Olympics:
Thanks to Joey and Maggie at The Long and Short of It All for bringing this to our attention! They say: "A dachshund was chosen [as the Olympic mascot] because it represented the attributes required for athletes: resistance, tenacity, and agility." We all know that our wiener dog, Oliver, has got his share of issues, but Bob and I always knew he was Olympic quality! :)* * *
Speaking of dachshunds and Oliver, we're counting down the days until our reunion! It's been a year since we last saw him, and 16 months since he last lived with us. He's spent a great year with our family in Saskatchewan... first with Dawn, Dave, and our nieces and nephew, Victoria, Sarah Beth, and Mike... this arrangement lasted a month or two before he bit at least one of the teenage kids, which resulted in relocation to Lemberg... Oliver lived in bliss all winter, taking care of his very own old man, Grampa Fowler (who is 94)... this lasted until the summer, when Grampa put in his garden and Oliver, who loves to dig (it's a characteristic of the breed, and we've never discouraged him from doing it), soon created a field of landmines (holes big enough to pull a badger out of)... then Oliver finally moved to Bill and Marianne's to spend the summer following Bill and Jim everywhere they go. It's been a year full of adventure for everyone, Oliver included! We're really looking forward to seeing him again! Vancouver is a very dog-friendly city, with canines of all shapes and sizes walking their owners, swimming in the ocean, fetching on the beach... we've been spending a lot of time looking longingly at others' pooches, and can't wait to have our own little dog back by our side.
It will be a bit of an adjustment to go from a 3-pet family back down to only one... as I mentioned before, Bailey had to be put down last month after we all received the shocking news that he had intestinal cancer... and old Archie has been adopted by one of my sister's co-workers. So, after 5 years of sharing, Oliver has us all to himself once again... although it won't be the same without his buddies, we have a feeling that he'll be happy about being the "only dog" once again...Ciao for now!
Musique du jour: Ramblin' Jack Elliott - Salty Dog Blues
1 comment:
What a wonderful story about Oliver, thanks so much for sharing! We bet he can't wait to see you guys again. Sounds like he's had fun with different family members, but we're sure that his heart longs for you. And you mention that he'll be happy being an only dog...but you know dachshunds, they're like potato chips.....you can't have just one! So we'll see how long that lasts!
Be safe in your travels.
Joey and Maggie....
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