Do we need another dog?

This is Ginger, a stray dachshund who showed up at our friend Susan’s house.

Dachshunds tend to be stand-offish and skittish, but Susan’s daughter Maggie made a friend of her and now she lives with Susan and Maggie and their two big black poodles and a female pitbull.

The poodles are high energy dogs who play rough and Susan is afraid little Ginger will get injured, so the idea was floated that she might come to our house – Ginger, that is. Not Susan.

My ex and her family had a dachshund named Ginger back in the 1960s. That Ginger hated me. She was the only dog I can recall that never warmed up to me.

Over the years, I’ve come to expect little in the way of affection from dachshunds, so you can imagine my surprise when this Ginger jumped up onto the couch and, after a few nervous minutes, snuggled me and invited me to pet her.

Our vet and dog food expenses are already a bit high for my comfort, but if Ginger comes to live with us, I guess I can deal with it.