Shropshire Star

In pictures: Wiener wonderland as Shrewsbury goes barking mad for sausage dog social

Dozens of Daschunds took to the Quarry on Sunday for their quarterly Shrewsbury Sausage Social.

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Those enjoying a wintery walk through Shrewsbury's Quarry this weekend may have been stunned to see a swarm of sausage dogs adorned in festive attire.

The Shrewsbury Sausage Social, a mass-walkies for local Dachshund and their owners, has been taking place four times a year for around five years.

On Sunday, dozens of the four-legged friends and their two-legged owners filled the Quarry Park for their Christmas outing.

Gary and Claire Seale with their six dogs Peanut, Bertie, Olive, Ethel, Gladys and Mildred
This dog was disguised as The Grinch

Organiser, Paula Costin explained: "We meet at Halloween and Christmas and then once during spring and once in early summer.

"Halloween and Christmas are our most popular because some of the owners like to dress their dogs up.

"We have prizes for the best dressed - this year's went to a lovely dog whose mum had knitted her a green jumper and put baubles and flashing lights on it - she told me she'd started making that last year.

"We also had one dressed as a reindeer and pulling a small sleigh - some people do put a lot of effort into it."

Sausage dog Christmas walk around the Quarry, Shrewsbury

This year, the Shrewsbury group had teamed up with the Telford group, which meant around 80 dogs were in attendance.

For previous walks, the group has seen people travel from as far as Chester and Liverpool to join in.

Paula said: "I think a lot of people will travel in simply because Shrewsbury is a nice place. It's a very dog friendly town, most of the cafes allow dogs in and that's the advantage. If you come for the day you're always welcome in town."

Sausage dog Christmas walk around the Quarry, Shrewsbury
Organiser Paula Costin with her dog Daphne

In recent years, the dog breed has seen a resurgence in popularity. In 2020, dachshunds were named the fifth most popular dog breed by Money.co.uk.

Paula, whose family boasts three sausage dogs, said she thinks their size makes them an appealing pet.

"I think they're funny little dogs, they're quirky. But they're not the easiest. They're very single minded and they like making their own decisions, if they don't want to go one way the brakes go on.

"They're also barky - so it got quite noisy today. But they're very loyal and we love them."