Port Macquarie dog owners celebrate World Dachshund Day on a walk with their canine pals

The Port Macquarie Dachshund Group (PMDG) gathered for a parade, walking from Hayward Street, along the foreshore and arriving at Drury Lane Eatery at The Garrison.

Group leader Jean Ballands said that this was the biggest number of people the group had gathered.

"What we've found is that they love their own kind so they almost become like friends and they behave better when they are together," she said.

"Today is to celebrate that, and our love for our dogs".

PMDG meets regularly on Thursdays with a larger walk once a month attracting members from across the region.

Alyke Norris has been a dachshund owner for 35 years and travelled from Nambucca to attend the parade with her dogs Bella and Misty. Her ex-husband Keith travelled from Coffs Harbor with his dog, Katie.

"We really do like our dogs and we like being active with them." she said.

"It's nice. Not everyone likes football, we like dachshunds. Football people get together too."

Nerralyn Single has been a dachshund owner for 20 years and attended the parade with her dog Pippa-Rose who she adopted through re-homing.

"We love our dachshunds. We try and rehome rather than purchase very expensive dogs when there are dogs that already need homes" she said.

Re-homing for dachshunds has been a problem since COVID-19 according to Dachshund Rescue Australia Treasurer Ruth Salminen.

She said that a lot of dachshunds were bought during the pandemic, but have since been given up for adoption.

"We've always been a busy rescue but since COVID-19 we are finding there are many, many dogs coming in.

"It used to be maybe one or two a week but now we're getting one or two every day."

Dachshund Rescue Australia encourages the day of celebration, as a way to raise awareness of the breed and to encourage potential owners to do their research before adopting.

"Everyone thinks that it's a small dog and it's going to be easy, but they're actually not an easy dog. They're very needy."

The PMDG is well aware of the breeds' specific needs but at the parade it was all smiles from both owners and by-standers.

"When we're walking through town, we create laughs and smiles," Mrs Ballands said.

"We let the magic happen."