Whoever Heard Of A Hungarian Called Murphy ?

Talk to any doggy person and they'll sing the praises of these wonderful animals. Utterly devoted to their master, they demand so little and yet give so much. I could write pages propounding the merits of the humble canine, I could explain why a heap of people prefer the company of a dog rather than another member of the human race or how a dog can replace a deceased loved one. But I'm not going to, instead my story is about one very special dog, my mate, Murphy.

We've had a pet dog around us throughout my life. We've had Greyhounds (Blackie and Bill Teal), a Great Dane (Toddy), a Bassett Hound (Bertie of course) and a Springer Spaniel (Bill). Each one left a massive void 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 getting a new puppy was raised in the household. Naturally everyone was enthusiastic about the idea, who can resist a puppy dog ?. My sister had a copy of a magazine with lots of information on just about every type 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 feelings about what type of dog I was looking for. Medium sized, neither small nor big. Short haired, I couldn't imagine having to groom my dog for an hour each day. Perhaps a gundog, not that I'm into hunting but I definitely prefer that style of dog to the herding or terrier type and I'm absolutely 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 amazing chestnut coloured breed 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 listed in the book and had a long chat, learning about the characteristics of the breed in general and their suitability as a family pet. The breeder was enthusiastic and mentioned that I might like to go along to a huge dog show to be held in Windsor in a couple of weeks time. It was a wonderful 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 a Vizsla was completely 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 just being talked about, so it was all down to snail mail or the telephone. All existing litters had been sold and several of the breeders seemed very loathe to let a puppy go as simply a pet dog. They seemed to prefer owners 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 their particular stud dogs and selling pet dogs wasn't on the agenda. The long wait began. There were plenty of Labradors, Spaniels and German Shepherds but my decision had been made, and my next dog was to be a Vizsla.

The breeder that I had originally talked to and had then met at the Windsor dog show was Peter Harper and his "Pitswarren" Vizslas had a tremendous record in the show ring. His champion dog, Pitswarren Levi, had won more awards than any other Vizsla in the UK. On one of my frequent calls to Peter, he told me that he and his wife had kept a bitch and a dog from the last litter for show dogs. Now that they were 4 months old they had decided to keep only one, so would I consider a 4 month old boy dog. I was in Hampshire as fast as 4 wheels could carry me. I took my first look at "Pitswarren Murphy Himself" and naturally he was sweet and lovely and soft and wonderful 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 to pick the pup up. In the following week the Harper's phoned a couple of times and there were another couple of 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 the pup wasn't going to be left alone all day in an empty house. We must have passed the test because exactly one week later we were able to pick up Murphy, our very own Vizsla puppy.

He's now 14 years old, and sadly he's coming to the end of his life 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 pray that we've given him as much love and affection as he has so willingly given to us.

Article Source: http://www.phalenes.org/articles

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 online uk pet insurance with online quotes and secure online payment.

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