Mango Minster 2012: Adventure Animals Category!

Dear Mango Minster Judges and Kindred Hearts:

I, Tootsie, am a Bicontinental Adventure Dachshund.

Thank you for the opportunity to enter the 2012 contest. I am an adventurer who lives and travels on both the European and American continents and logs countless hours hiking in the Alps and the American West.

I travel by plane,

by train,

by gondola,

and by many other methods of transport, including automobiles, buses, cogwheel trains, funicolari, and ferries.

Fur Disclosure: I’ve never ridden a chairlift because I don’t think it’s safe.

As part of my residence in southern Switzerland, for which I obtained a Swiss Pet Passport, I'm required to embark on another sort of adventure. As a middle-aged doxie, I am learning to understand one of Switzerland's four national languages, Italian: "Seduta, Bassottina. Brava!" ("Sit, little Dachshund. Good girl!")

I love hiking. I’ve hiked all over Switzerland: Canton Fribourg in the west,

the Greina Plateau in south-central Switzerland,

Canton Appenzell in the northeast,

and in many other places.

I’ve hiked in the Austrian Alps,

in the French Alps,

and in the Italian Alps.

Once, I encountered a viper on a trail near Passo Vivione in the Italian Alps. There's no picture, because, duh, we're not going to hang around with a deadly viper on the trail, but here’s a link to what the viper looked like. Freaky!

I’ve also hiked in the Appennines in Tuscany

and regrouped in a Tuscan hilltown.

Though naturalized Swiss, I'm a proud United States citizen by birth (though the U.S. doesn't issue legal pet passports).

I love hiking in the American West, especially in my home state of Idaho.



I also like to hike in Montana.

Before Christmas, I met Santa Claws in downtown Bozeman.

The whole schnaa of being bicontinental means I’m a super lucky little dog. I get to go sailing in the San Juan Islands in Washington State,

explore the rocky shores of Puget Sound,

and walk along the sandy beaches of Tuscany,

where I filmed this movie.

I’m a fit little dog, but I wasn’t always this lucky. Before my forever parents adopted me, I was a very sick little dog. It was not clear if I would be well enough to live this life.

My special vet Dr. Ward of Pet Mobile saved my life. Dr. Ward performed surgery to remove huge bladder stones. Just a month later, I had three abscessed teeth pulled at one time. Ouch.

Yet after each surgery, I woke up wagging. My special vet assistant Brenda says that I always wag! My previous caregivers Clara, Sarah, Sadie, and Sophie, who found help for me with special vet Dr. Ward, confirm that I have always wagged. It’s true. Wagging is the leitmotif of my life.

Even before my renaissance and all my current travels, I believe I have always been an “Adventure Dachshund.” Why?

Because, to me, real adventure begins in my heart. Real adventure is reflected in my wagging tail. When I wake up every morning, I wag. I wag because life is sacred, and I'm grateful for mine.

Thank you for your time and consideration of my entry in the 2012 Mango Minster contest.

Keep on wagging!
Love,
Tootsie

P.s. Now I'm going to take a nap!