I was sitting on the train to South Harrow in London when I suddenly realised there was somebody sitting next to me. A dear little dachshund. Ever so quiet.
I got talking to the owner. How do you spell Dachshund? The name ends with h u n d, which is German for dog, like hound in English.
I asked, 'Why do you carry him in a bag? Is because he is tired?'
'It's convenient. I don't get a dog lead caught up in the train or other people. And he is very small, so people might step on him, accidentally. So I keep him on my lap.'
'Where are you taking him?'
She told me, 'We're going home. I take him to work. Not every day. Sometimes I work from home. So we have a rota at work. Who is going to take their dog to work. The management provides dog baskets. In every room. So I can keep him with me. So he is not alone. And he is a very calming presence.'
I asked her, 'Can you travel with him by plane, to Europe?'
'Yes. If you have a dog passport.'
'Rabies, and jabs?'
'Yes. Identity and medical history.'
'How old is he?'
'Middle aged for a dog.'
'So you have a few more years to enjoy his company.'
Later I looked up pet passports. They will record if the animal is micro-chipped, which is handy, so the animal can be linked up with you if it gets injured on the road, bites somebody, or simply gets lost. The passport will also be a record of rabies prevention, tapeworm treatment, complete history. A pet passport is, quite expensive, around a hundred pounds at the current rate, like a human passport. But which you can use multiple times which is cheaper than the alternative system of getting a vet report from every country for every journey.
I looked up Dachshunds in Wikipedia. The word Dachs is German for badger. Nouns have capital initial letters in German. They were bred that shape for tunneling to catch badgers. The long ears of the dog protect the ear canal from the dirty soil.
The dogs are also known as sausage dogs in the UK and Australia. Apparently dachshunds are not all docile. Some of them bark, bite and are disobedient, especially when in hot pursuit. However, on the train, my dear little dachshund was docile, a pleasure to meet.
Useful Websites
https://www.gov.uk/bring-pet-to-great-britain/pet-passport
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/pet-passports-uk-eu-brexit-b3078891.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dachshund
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