Madison Weaver & Riley and Molly

Who is in the photo at right?

My name is Madison, from the blog Color Me Madison and I am a student at the University of Texas. The two cuties with me are my dogs Riley (with brown fur) and Molly (with black and white fur). Both are female, longhaired, dapple dachshunds. Riley is about 5 and a half years old while Molly is 4 years old.

What's the occasion for Coffee with a Canine?

Since I’m leaving for my second year of college soon, I’m trying to spend as much time with my pups as I can! So if that means having a coffee date with them, then I’m game.

What's brewing?

Iced coffee from Starbucks with cream and sweetener. Since summer in Texas is miserably hot, the only way to drink coffee is with ice.

Any treats for you or your dogs on this occasion?

Sprinkles Cupcakes in Highland Park, Texas make adorable little doggie cupcakes. It also gives me an excuse to snag a few cupcakes of my own…

How did your dogs get their names? Any aliases?

I named Riley and my older sister named Molly. We got Riley first, and for some reason, the name Riley just stuck out to me… so not too much of a story there. My sister got to name Molly since I named Riley. It was only fair, right?

How were you and your dogs united?

Since I was a little girl, my family and I always went to a Pet Land near our house. We would go almost every weekend and hold way too many puppies. One night, my parents and I went and got dinner and made our way to Pet Land after, like we usually did. We walked in just to look at dogs for fun, but my dad immediately locked eyes with Riley and fell in love. Seriously, it was love at first sight, like you see slow motion in the movies. A couple of minutes later, we’re holding her and decide to take her home – no question. At the time, we were unaware of the horror of puppy mills and the part that Pet Land had in it. Now that we have Riley, we are so happy that we saved her from potentially going back to a puppy mill. After doing more research on puppy mills, from now on we decided that rescuing dogs is the best option. With Molly, my dad was set on getting another dachshund. He found her online and brought her home as just a baby. We have two perfect dogs, but we are more informed now and know that in the future we should rescue and give dogs a second chance at a home.

Squeaky-toy, ball, stick...?

All of the above. Give our dogs anything, and trust me, they’ll destroy it. We have yet to find anything that can survive over 24 hours under their care.

Squirrel, postman, cat....?

Definitely squirrel. Just saying the word squirrel gets them barking.

Who are your dogs' best pet-pals?

Each other! Having two dogs is so great because they have a buddy who is with them all the time.

What is each dog's best quality?

Riley is such a lover. She is our little cuddle buddy! She is always there to give kisses and love. With Molly, well, she’s just crazy. She’s fun to mess and play with. She loves to be active, play outside, and go on walks, so she always gets me moving.

If your dogs could change one thing about Texans, what would it be?

Like I said earlier, Texas is hot. So in the summer, Texans tend to stay inside with this awesome thing called air conditioning. So I guess they would change our tendency to stay inside since they love to be out in the fresh air running around and chasing squirrels, even though they get visibly hot as well. In the Texas summer, it’s important to be extra careful as to not let your dogs get overheated.

If Hollywood made a movie about your life in which your dogs could speak, which actors should do their voices?

It’s funny you ask this, because my dad loves coming up with voices for my dogs. But, since my dad isn’t a Hollywood actor, his voices won’t do. For Molly, I think of someone like Meryl Streep because I think Molly can sometimes be a bit pretentious. For Riley, I imagine Ellen DeGeneres because she is sweet and fun.

If your dogs could answer only one question in English, what would you ask them?

I would ask them what makes them happy. The most important thing to me is that they are happy and loving the life they have. So if that means more treats and more walks make them happy, then I’ll do it! They bring us so much joy and they deserve just as much. I remember reading a quote that said, “To you, dogs are just a part of your life. To them, you are their whole life”. I think that is so true and really puts into perspective how important it is to make them happy.

What advice would your dogs give if asked?

When the family is eating dinner, always sit by Madison or Dad because they are pushovers and will always slip you something to eat (and always whine for bacon, because bacon is awesome).

Visit the Color Me Madison blog.

--Marshal Zeringue