According to an old saying, every dog has its day. And for dachshunds in Key West, that “day” is New Year’s Eve.
Sure, throughout the year the island city’s canines can be spotted as passengers on scooters or in bicycle baskets, meeting pals at the waterfront dog park or playing “fetch the coconut” on their own beach (really!) next to a popular bar and restaurant.
Costumed canines proceed down Duval Street in a life raft during the 2016 Key West Dachshund Walk. (Photo by Rob O’Neal, Florida Keys News Bureau)
But for dachshunds, nothing eclipses New Year’s Eve — because that’s the day of the annual Key West Dachshund Walk, a short stroll for long dogs that has become a beloved holiday tradition.
This might surprise you, but a stunningly large number of the small critters either live in the Florida Keys or visit during the holidays. Last year the wacky walk drew nearly 200 dachshunds, many of them sporting whimsical costumes or accessories as they trotted around Key West’s historic downtown area.
(In case you’re doing the math, at four cute stubby legs per dog, that’s almost 800 legs — not counting the longer limbs of the canines’ human companions.)
“People in Key West embrace these crazy things,” said island resident Ruth Reiter, who founded the walk with her husband Dan Metzler after learning about group dachshund events in other locales.
For the first several years, Ruth and Dan’s standard wirehaired dachshund Schumann was among the leaders of the pack. While Schumann is gone now, other dogs have stepped up to provide a touch of four-legged flair.
According to Ruth — who continues to help out, though she turned the walk’s “leash of leadership” over to Key Wester Les Steele — participants traditionally include a wide variety of dachshunds from miniature to standard and longhaired. And there are always a few dogs bearing a suspicious resemblance to other breeds.
“We don’t check pedigrees here,” Ruth stressed, which means even dachshund “wannabes” are allowed to strut their stuff.
Stephanie and Tony Difolco, and their dog Charlie, dressed as “Star Wars” characters during the 2016 Key West Dachshund Walk. (Photo by Rob O’Neal, Florida Keys News Bureau)
Dan Metzler recalls one past participant, clearly far too tall to represent the walk’s namesake breed, who wore a t-shirt that proudly proclaimed, “My Best Friend is a Dachshund.”
Thousands of dog-loving spectators watch the annual parade of pooches, which provides an informal, family-friendly prelude to the rowdier nighttime revelry planned to welcome each new year.
The walking route, deliberately kept brief to cater to the dachshunds’ short legs, typically encompasses the 400 block of Fleming Street, most of the 500 block of legendary Duval Street, and the entire one-block length of Appelrouth Lane. Old or sedentary participants can ride along in wagons or strollers.
A supply wagon generally accompanies the dachshund delegation, carrying plastic bags for quick cleanup of any accidents and water for pooches that get parched.
Not surprisingly, once the dogs embark (sorry!), the quirky procession draws nonstop grins and applause from crowds along the route.
Prominent pooches in past years’ events have included a dachshund garbed as a “Star Wars” hero and accompanied by a woman dressed as Princess Leia, the iconic character portrayed by the late Carrie Fisher.
Other memorable dogs have been costumed as wieners in buns, peace-nik pups riding a “flower power” wagon, a mobile piñata, a “horse” carrying a tiny jockey figure, diminutive “dinosaurs,” a walking Tootsie roll and a wire-haired “hombre” in a serape and sombrero.
No registration or fee is required to participate, but donations of dog and cat food are requested for the community pet-food pantry.
“This is all about crazy people taking their dogs for a walk,” said Ruth. “When you see one dachshund, they make you smile — so when you see many, they’re really funny.”
