This is going to be an odd post, and a little rambling perhaps...I apologise in advance. On Friday 30th November I lost another friend this year. Only this one had four legs, a cold nose and a wagging tail. Jimmy. August/September 2013 I met my wife 5 years ago. We began dating and I soon came over for dinner and to meet my future mother-in-law. I was a little apprehensive, knowing that I can be abrasive and uncultured at times, and walking up to the door I was presented by a sound that had set my heart racing for a long time. The baying of hounds. Big, deep barks. I spent my younger years terrified of dogs, and uneasy around them as I got older. At the opening of the door, I looked for two Great Danes or German Shepherds and was instead greeted by Jimmy and Manny. Two full-size, wire-haired Dachshunds. Their bark is that of a much larger dog, and I soon discovered their personality was far larger than their stature sugg...