JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — With eager tails wagging, curious noses sniffing, and their signature short legs, dachshunds drew a crowd at Animal Care and Protective Services in Riverside, as if Black Friday had arrived early.

Several dedicated individuals camped overnight for the chance to adopt one of the 19 dachshunds available at no cost.

“Oh my goodness,” exclaimed Alyssa Hickman as she embraced her new furry friend, Winnie, for the first time. “Hi. So sweet.”

After spending 13 hours in a lawn chair, her patience was finally rewarded with this heartwarming encounter.

“I actually rescued one a year ago today and she really needs – she’s better with other dogs,” said Hickman. “We saw the opportunity to rescue another one and we figured, ‘Why not try?’”

It’s Clear the Cages November, so Winnie was free for Hickman to take home after a $20 licensing fee.

Even after spending all that time in line, Hickman and her dad were still feeling generous.

“I had a $100 bill and I was like, it’s $20, so I figured I might as well cover as many as I could,” said Mark Asselin, Hickman’s father. “Glad to help.”

The crowd in line found out about the dogs on social media, with the chance to adopt them for free when they typically can go for thousands from a breeder.

The division chief for Jacksonville ACPS explained where the hot dog palooza came from.

“We have a new position, it’s a specialty investigator division,” said Michael Bricker. “Their whole role is to work with breeders and pet shops. While working with one of the breeders, she came to us and told us she was in over her head.”

Bricker says that breeder had a death in the family that made caring for all the dogs overwhelming.

“We thought there was only 10 or 15 dogs there, but then we found out there was closer to 80 dogs there,” said Bricker. 

Way more than 19 people spent the night in line, including a couple who said they drove four hours from Boca Raton and missed the cut-off, but Bricker says they may not be totally out of luck.

“We do have a couple in foster,” said Bricker. “We’re going to let the people in line who didn’t get one, we’re going to email them when those puppies are available.”

Other folks decided to pivot, and adopted one of the other dogs at the shelter instead.

Hickman was one of the 19 lucky ones who walked out with a schnitzel with legs.

 “I was just so excited,” said Hickman. “I’m so happy this is happening.”

Fortunately for the dachshunds, they got adopted just before Thanksgiving and Christmas, so there will surely be plenty of treats available.

Brickman mentioned some of the dachshunds were brought to DARE rescue, based out of Tampa, for additional care. They will list them for adoption when they’re ready.