MacLEdaux Miniature Dachshunds truly came into being the spring of 1996 with the purchase of a brother & sister pair: Minnie and Mickey Von Links. We had anxiously awaited the arrival of this litter with several members of the Florida Gulf Coast Dachshund Club.

I still remember seeing the litter for the first time at about 6 weeks of age. Minnie was identified with a white ribbon around her neck. All the puppies (5, to be exact) were clumped together in a sleeping mound of furry bodies. As they woke to greet their human visitors 2 pups moved to the left while the other 2 faced them on the right. Minnie advanced right down the middle with sure steps, bright eyes and level topline.

I was enthralled. I'd never dreamed that her breeder, Lucy Granowicz, would let her come home with me, but things have a way of working out.

Here we are — 8 years later. Minnie is the foundation of most of my smooths.

We got started in longs with the purchase of a black and tan bitch from Canada named Dachendell's Black Satin Doll ML. We showed her a few times for a couple of points, but we knew things were really looking up when the bitch we requested from the Ralines Kennels in the UK arrived. She was named Ralines Royal Envoy and we knew Ruth Lockett-Walters, her breeder, had allowed us something really special as soon as we got her from the airport.

To date, she has finished her championship and along with our English import male, CH Daxhaus Magnum Image at Ralines, she has produced three champion daughters and a lovely male we'll be showing soon. We're very excited about how well these two have produced together and how they have blended with our North American lines.