Elburn's 'Wiener Wednesday' brings dog lovers together this summer

ELBURN – Grab your wiener and get to Headwaters Dog Park.

Such an invitation comes from Elburn resident Cheryl Krauspe who is spearheading a weekly summer gathering of wiener dogs and their owners at the Headwaters Dog Park, which is situated within the 349-acre Headwaters Conservation Area in Elburn at 42W525 Beith Road.

Krauspe and her husband Duke were among those who visited on June 26 between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. for the first “Wiener Wednesday” of the summer.

The Krauspes have been passionate owners of dachshunds (aka wiener dogs) for a while now and currently have Fritz and Heidi, who were littermates. They were roaming around on Wednesday with a handful of other wiener dogs before an abrupt thunderstorm sent everyone home earlier than anticipated.

“There are no dues or anything, it’s just a get-together for people to bring their dog for Weenie Wednesdays,” Cheryl Krauspe said. “And that’s it. You come when you can make it and the dogs socialize, you get to talk to other people and everyone has a good time.”

The group got its start last year and had as many as 13 weenie dogs on a particular Wednesday last summer. The regular attendees are hopeful to continue to maintain or even gain more popularity so that more and more smooth-haired, wire-haired and long-haired dachshunds and their masters participate every Wednesday evening.

“One thing I can tell you that you may or may not already know is that these dogs are attention getters,” Geneva resident Mary Skaar said. “They’re chick magnets.”

The previous weekend, Skaar and her husband Jim, participated in a Weenie Walk at Geneva’s Island Park, with more than 100 other dachshunds.

“We got a huge kick out of that,” Mary Skaar said. “And when Jim walks our dogs and someone says ‘Cute,’ he says, ‘Thanks, I know,” like they’re talking about him.”

The Skaars added Annie and Lucy to their home about two years ago and the two canine sisters were also littermates with Fritz and Heidi so when the Krauspes and Skaars convene for Weenie Wednesdays it’s a little bit of a mini dog family reunion.

When two other wieners arrived at the most recent gathering, all the wieners that had been playing stopped what they were doing and ran up toward the entrance, leaning upright against a fence to get a peak at what new friends were arriving. It’s that kind of excitement, such an opportunity for the dogs to socialize with old and new buddies, that truly makes Weenie Wednesdays a special hour each week.

“I met a woman on Monday who has a dachshund and some other mix, I’m not sure what it is, but I don’t think it’s a Chiweenie (aka Mexican Hotdog and German Taco),” Mary Skaar said. “She lives in South Elgin but said she’s going to consider coming out here and checking it out. I think she’ll really like it.”

Hopefully, she does make the trip out to Elburn as the group is most definitely welcoming and always excited to meet new wieners.

“The smaller breed gets a bit intimidated by the bigger dogs so this gives them a chance to be off leash together,” Cheryl Krauspe said. “I need to make up a little card or something so that when we do meet someone I can just hand it to them. I started the Facebook page, but I’m really not good at designing my own page, but I’m working on it.”

You don’t need to mark your territory, just your calendar, for Wednesdays going forward from 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. to join in on the wiener fun in Elburn.