Terry Finck has owned Daschunds for twenty years and his latest is Rudi, a 10 pound, four year old miniature version of the breed. He likes them because they are a "Small dog, not a lot of hair."

Daschunds are already low to the ground and Rudi is even lower which makes easily seeing the gender just a little bit harder.

When you add the somewhat androgenous name Rudi, Finck finds that he must say, "like Rudi Huxtable on the Cosby show," which clarifies her as a female. It's just a "dog thing," Finck explained," Everyone thinks cats are female and dogs are male. "It took us awhile to come up with a name."

Rudi has not had pups, and she is spayed. "We're good responsible owners," he said.

Finck found Rudi at breeder in Belfair, near Gig Harbor.

When you are a tiny dog, low to the ground, it helps to have a loving disposition. "She loves everybody," said Finck, "Our neighbor has a one year old and she loves him. She's just a people and dog person." Finck explained that Rudi has a very outgoing personality. "She wants to meet everything and everyone," he said.

Her diet is interesting. Dogs normally eat meat and while Rudi gets some dry dog food she prefers fruit. "Cantaloupe, Honeydew, Strawberries. and carrots she gets every night for treats," Finck explained.

Rudi had back surgery in May and is still recovering but looking healthy and active. This is a fairly common surgery for the breed according to Finck, "I've got a fifteen year old at home that's had three back surgeries."

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