Living La Pucci Vida
They are lovable, loud and have strong personalities, but in reality Helen Flanagan wonders if many seriously on-trend Dachshunds – aka Wieners – have short dog syndrome.
Traced back to the 15th century in Germany, Dachshunds have appeared in ancient Egyptian and Mexican art, were exported to Great Britain with Prince Albert and also became popular in America throughout the 19th century.
Miniature Dachshunds were used in lieu of ferrets to get rabbits out of their warrens, and during World War I, the breed lost popularity but once again the long-backed, short-legged, intelligent looking dog of diminutive height, has become a favourite family pooch.
Dachshunds have also been living the high life with celebrity owners and it seems they cannot get enough of them – from Jack Black, Kirsten Dunst, Adele, Clint Eastwood, David Bowie, Sharon Stone, Fergie and David Hasselhoff! Who would have thought?
Named after the founder of the famous Italian high-end luxury fashion house, Noosa’s very own ‘Gucci’ is a cute miniature long-haired dachshund with dark eyes, wet black nose, shiny coat and heaps of cuddle power, but on arrival into the Gerrard household, was quite shy. Not surprising given she was rescued at 4.5 months from a breeder being shut down because of catastrophic conditions.
Lyndall, who was brought up with three dachshunds brought her home and it was love at first sight for her children Anika, Indi, Luca and Kahn; Brian aka King Kelpie smothered her with kisses; cat Kiki eventually joined in by cleaning-by-licking her pawsome new mate; but husband James was the least impressed, especially with the name. He eventually succumbed seeing the kids dressing her up with bows, bandanas and a tiny Gucci handbag.
Apart from enjoying Royal Canin Dachshund dry food which keeps her coat soft and shiny, and treats of ham and barbeque chicken, Lyndall says she has a naughty-side: “She will destroy a stuffed toy in minutes, so it is only supervised plays with her Gucci bag and other ‘valuables’. I am sure she tries to blame the carnage on Brian but as a destroyer of cushions, we blame him for teaching her bad habits!”
There’s no denying Gucci loves the good life ‘driving’ the car to school drop-off, popping her head out the window watching all the kids; adventures at Rainbow Beach digging in the sand and being totally social; walking along the Noosa River accepting “pretty dog” compliments and stopping for treats at the Big Pelican.
Her first-ever outing was on a boat, and now it is a favourite pastime – sitting upfront in a couture life jacket with the wind blowing through her long hair and watching the kids reel in fish.
With a penchant for being in the limelight and such a famous name, could Gucci could destined for stardom modelling the latest fourpaws fashion on the dogwalk? Watch this space.
