This south-Dublin Dachshund and his human bring sausage dog owners and lovers alike together all over Ireland.
You might recognise Bobby Dassler, the Dublin-based short haired Dachshund from his cameo in The Pillow Queens’ music video ‘The Favourite’, or from the Brown Thomas Christmas 2025 campaign, or maybe from simply seeing him busy about town as he plays host to the Sausage Dog Social.
With the first event in 2018 when Bobby was one, Bobby and his owner, 38-year-old Gillian Henderson bring together Dachshunds and their owners up and down the country with their monthly meet-up in Dublin. A way for both these quirky dogs to socialise as much as their humans, Gillian says that the club has changed her life for the better and continues to grow and create community as it enters its eighth year.
Firstly, tell us a little bit about yourself and Bobby
Life is full, in the best way. In 2017, I co-founded a creative practice called Jill & Gill. It started from a shared instinct to make work that felt bold, expressive and collaborative, and it gave me the space to explore ideas in a more open, instinctive way. That experience has really shaped how I approach creativity today, with a strong focus on confidence, colour and connection. That same year was a big one personally. I turned 30 that June, and by August, I welcomed a pocket rocket dachshund into my life, the now infamous Bobby Dassler.
When did you first decide to set up The Sausage Social, and what made you do it?
The Sausage Social started very organically. I set up an Instagram account for Bobby when he was about three months old, and through that, I began to notice a small but enthusiastic community of dachshund owners appearing in the comments and DMs. Around the same time, I had seen the sausage dog meet-ups happening in London and thought, why not here? It felt like something Dublin was missing. The first meet-up took place on 7th October 2018. It was a very casual call-out, with no expectations, just a hope that a few doxies might show up. What’s lovely now is that years later, you still see some of those same dogs and owners returning, and the dogs genuinely seem to recognise each other. There’s something very wholesome in that. There was never an intention to turn it into anything beyond that first gathering, but there was an immediate sense of community. The people who showed up, and who continue to show up and engage, are what made it grow. It’s always been shaped by them.
What has been the response since launching?
The response has been amazing and, at times, quite moving. There’s a real sense of openness and ease at the events. It’s not just about the dogs, it’s about the people too, swapping stories, making connections, and finding a sense of belonging through something quite simple. There’s no pressure, no agenda, just a shared love of these very particular little dogs, and that seems to be enough to bring people together in a really genuine way. It’s also been beautifully documented over the years. Photographer Taryn Barling has been capturing the uniqueness of the breed and the spirit of the meet-ups for over three years. Through her lens, you can really see the growth of the community, and the lives and families that have grown alongside it, much like our own.
What have been standout moments and opportunities that have come from the club?
There have been so many lovely moments over the years, but one real standout was in August 2019, when we had over 80 dachshunds and their owners on Dollymount Strand as part of RTÉ’s documentary One Day: Keeping Ireland Company. Seeing that many dachshunds sprinting across the beach together is surreal and hilarious. Bobby wore a GoPro on his harness, there were drones following the walk along the beach, and several of the owners were interviewed for the episode, which is still on the RTÉ Player. It felt like a real snapshot of the community and everyone got behind it.
Bobby has also had a few radio moments over the years, but barking at Claire Byrne on RTÉ Radio 1 is always up there as a highlight. We’ve also been able to use the platform in a more meaningful way by organising a couple of charity meet-ups each year, which has been really important, using something joyful to give something back will always be in part the purpose of the Sausage Social.
On a more personal note, Bobby has had his own standout moments too. He made a cameo in The Pillow Queens’ music video ‘The Favourite’, modelled jewellery for Irish brand Edge Only, and most recently featured in the Brown Thomas Christmas campaign for 2025. That was probably the biggest one. Bobby appeared across the full campaign, from print and social to in-store windows across Ireland, and Brown Thomas Dublin even hosted our Sausage Social Christmas meet-up, complete with puppuccinos. It was one of those slightly surreal, full-circle moments having our social doxies celebrating Bobby.
What hopes do you have for the future of Sausage Social?
We’ve been running Sausage Social for nearly eight years now, and Bobby turns nine this August, which feels mad to say out loud. I’d love to see it continue to grow, but in a way that stays true to what it has always been. Keeping that sense of openness, ease and community is the most important thing. Seeing people travel from all over to join us has really highlighted how much people are driven by their bond with their dogs. It’s shown me that there’s a real appetite for community-led events that celebrate that connection in a simple, accessible way. At its core, Sausage Social is about creating a space where people feel welcome, connected and part of something joyful. If that stays intact, then it’s doing exactly what it’s meant to do.
On a broader note, I do think Dublin has room to grow in how it accommodates dogs in public life, particularly when it comes to transport and shared spaces. If you make a city more accessible for dogs, you also make it easier for people to connect, and ultimately, that’s what this has always been about.
