For The Love Of Sausage Dogs…

How a group of dachshund lovers set up a charitable organisation to help protect, rehome and educat people about these little dogs

- Katharine Wootton

From their cute, twitchy ears and characterful faces to the way their tiny paws pitter-patter, swishing along their long, funny belly, it’s pretty impossible not to fall in love with a sausage dog.

But one group of dog owners have taken their dachshund devotion to the next level by setting up a charitable organisation* dedicated to helping them after learning about some of the issues affecting this adorable – but often misunderstood – breed.

“It all started in January 2017, when I heard that a dachshund was being advertised on an online buying and selling site for a very cheap price and realised it was probably going to be sold to a puppy farmer,” says Vicky Wilson, one of the founders of the organisation. “At the time I was already part of a few Facebook groups of dachshund owners and, when this came to light, they started donating money to take the dog out of danger. As soon as we could, we arranged to buy and collect the dog and safely rehomed it.

“However, people had donated more money than we needed, so with that cash we set up The Red Foundation, a charitable organisation dedicated to helping dachshunds.”