Dachshund, Wirehaired

Scrappy is a name that best suits my little Wirehaired. He's got an attitude and isn't afraid to show it. It's not an aggressive attitude but a 'too tough to die' attitude. Got into a scrape with a car about a year ago and picked himself up and ran home with barely a scratch. He's also been kicked by our horse at least twice and he continues to fearlessly go face-to-hoof with him. He's just learned to be a little quicker in getting out of the way.

I think that Scrappy enjoys living dangerously and flaunts his ability to escape by the skin of his teeth most of the time. I've tried telling him that he'd better beware, however, for one day a swift kick will send his teeth flying. Resilient and persnickety are other adjectives that also describe Scrappy. When he was born, he was the runt of the litter and rapidly became very sick. He caught pneumonia and it didn't look like he would live to be even a month old. But he hung in there and sure enough rebounded to be a strong and scrappy little dog.

Now some may argue that Scrappy puts himself in situations that force him to get tough, or else. And that he's just not that smart for doing so. I could argue all day in favor of his intelligence. Still, not many dogs can come through so many close calls, unscathed, the way that Scrappy does, regardless of how he got there.