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Chat to any doggy person and they'll sing the praises of these amazing animals. Totally devoted to their owner, they ask so little and yet offer so much. I could write so much propounding the merits of the humble canine, I could advise why so many people prefer the company of a dog rather than another human being or how a dog can fill a gap left by a deceased loved one. But I'm not going to, instead I'm going to tell you about one very special dog, my mate, Murphy. We've had pet dogs in the family just about all of my life. There have been Greyhounds (Blackie and Bill Teal), a Bassett Hound (Bertie of course), a Great Dane (Toddy) and a Springer Spaniel (Bill). Every one left a huge hole at the time of their departing and each time we vowed never to have another one, saying goodbye was just too traumatic. The year was 1993, the pain of Bill the Springer Spaniel's death a year earlier had eased and the subject of looking for a new puppy was mooted amongst the family. Naturally everyone agreed, who can resist a puppy dog ?. My sister had a copy of a magazine with lots of information on just about every breed of dog available, their traits anf habits, their temperament etc plus a list of breeders. Even before looking through the book I had some strong opinions about what type of dog I was looking for. Medium sized, neither small nor big. Short haired, I had neither the time nor the inclination to groom my dog for an hour a day. Perhaps a gundog, not that I'm into shooting but I definitely prefer that style of dog to the terrier or herding type and I'm definitely not into the "my dog's harder than your dog" breeds such as Staffies and Rottweilers, so favoured by certain sections of our society. Browsing through the publication I came across this amazingly coloured dog that caught my eye. I'd never heard of the Hungarian Vizsla and wasn't aware if that the breed could be found here in the UK. I rang one of the breeders mentioned in the book and had an extended chat, enquiring about the suitability of the breed as a family pet and their general characteristics. The breeder confirmed that they made excellent pets and mentioned that I might like to go along to a huge dog show taking place in Windsor in a week or two's time. It was a tremendous show with dogs of every shape and size and there was a class just for Vizsla's. The rest, as they say, is history. I fell in love with the Hungarian Vizsla breed and wanted one !!. Wanting one was entirely different to actually being able to find one for sale. There was only a handful of breeders in the country, the web and email were only a glint in the eye of a bunch of geeks, so it was all down to the telephone or the postal service. All existing puppies had been sold and several of the breeders seemed unwilling to let a puppy go as purely a pet dog. They were looking for people who wanted to compete in working dog trials or dog shows with their puppies. I presume that they were trying to carve out a reputation for the dogs they had at stud and selling pups as pets wasn't part of the plan. The long wait began. There was no shortage of Labradors, Spaniels and German Shepherds but my mind was made up, and my next dog was to be a Vizsla. The man that I had originally contacted and had then met at the show in Windsor was Peter Harper and his "Pitswarren" Vizslas had an enviable reputation in the show ring. His champion dog, Pitswarren Levi, had won more best in breed prizes than any other Vizsla in the UK. During one of my frequent calls to Peter, he mentioned that he and his wife had kept a bitch and a dog from the last litter for show dogs. These pups were now 4 months old they had decided to only keep one, so would I be interested in a 4 month old boy dog. I was in Andover as quickly as 4 wheels could carry me. I took my first look at "Pitswarren Murphy Himself" and of course he was lovely and soft and wonderful and sweet and everything else that a puppy should be. It's a fairly standard practice for the breeder to tell you to come back in a weeks time and I could pick him up. During that week the Harper's phoned a couple of times and there were one or two silent calls. I'm positive that each one was just the breeders checking to make sure that we were who we said we were, and that their precious puppy wasn't about to be left on his own all day whilst everyone went to work. We must have passed that examination because exactly seven days later we were able to collect Murphy, our very own Vizsla puppy. He's now 14 years old, and sadly he's coming to the end of his time on Earth. He is, and has been, the best dog in the World. He is my very best friend and has been my constant companion and I really hope that we've given him as much love and affection as he has so willingly given to us.
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This article was created by Trevor Dace. He has many years of experience working as a claims adjuster with UK insurance companies. His website www.instant-online-insurance.co.uk offers pet insurance from petplan with online quotes and secure online payment.
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