The Villages - September 2020 - 4

{ FOR THE

Love

OF PETS }

Rich and Paige Udell's
Hog-Riding Hoochie Mama
STORY BY RICA KEENUM | PHOTOS BY BRANDON AT WELL
The rumble of an engine gets her
tail going. With her spiked collar,
leather jacket and pierced ear, she
looks tough enough to take the
road. Small but mighty, Hoochie
Mama is a Harley-riding road
diva, always ready to roll. At 7
years old, the miniature pinscher
is an avid traveler, alongside her
human parents Rich and Paige
Udell, Village of Winifred residents.
From car show to car show, the couple haul their vintage models, collecting trophies and accolades. And while the
cars are impressive, it's mostly the little dog in
leather who garners the praise wherever they go.
"Everyone knows Hoochie Mama," Rich said. "We
take her everywhere."
Unfamiliar with the world of miniature dogs, the couple first discovered the breed when they spotted one at a
car show.
"I was just fascinated," Rich said. "All of our lives we'd
had golden retrievers and German shorthaired pointers
- superb hunting dogs. But when I saw one of these little dogs, I just fell in love."
Developed by breeding Dachshunds
with Italian Greyhounds, the compact
dogs are particularly rugged animals,
Rich notes. After connecting with a
breeder in Phoenix, Arizona, the Udell's
took home their first min pin - Hoochie
Mama. The quirky name is a product of
family fun.
"We lived on a lake in Idaho and our
two sons were national wake boarding
competitors," Rich said. "They made
all the magazines and did all this cool
stuff. One of the moves on a wakeboard
is called a Hoochie Glide. Somehow it
just rang with us. And, so we decided on
Hoochie Mama."
4

SEPTEMBER 2020

In her 17 years with the family, the
original Hoochie Mama logged more
than 150,000 miles on their Harley.
"She spent time in 32 states,"
Rich said.
Their second min pin, also
named Hoochie Mama, is a certified hearing dog.
"As a result of the military, I'm
severely hearing impaired," Rich
said. "She's trained to respond to
fire alarms, land lines, door bells and
noises I need to know about."
But more than a keen ear, Hoochie
Mama is an awesome sidekick, a rider of bicycles, jet skis, Segways, cat boats and more. Undaunted by
wildlife, weather or speed, she points her tiny face to the
wind and inhales the scent of a fresh adventure.
"She just hangs out," Rich said. "We took her on the
Maid of the Mist (Niagara Falls boat tour). They gave us
a plastic cloak to wear underneath the falls, and I cut a
little hole in it for her head. She was the hit of the tour."
In Cody, Wyoming, the couple met the grandson of
Harley-Davidson cofounder, Willie G.

The Villages - September 2020

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