Talk to any doggy person and they'll praise the virtues of these amazing animals. Utterly devoted to their owner, they demand so little and yet give so much. I could write pages about the merits of the humble canine, I could explain why a heap of people prefer the company of a dog rather than another human being or how a dog can fill a gap left by a lost loved one. But I'm not going to, instead my story is about one very special dog, my dog, Murphy.
We've had pet dogs in the family throughout my life. There have been a Great Dane (Toddy), Greyhounds (Blackie and Bill Teal), a Bassett Hound (Bertie of course) and a Springer Spaniel (Bill). Each one left a huge hole at the time of their departing and each time we vowed never to have another dog, it was just too traumatic to say goodbye.
The year was 1993, the pain of Bill the Springer Spaniel's death some 12 months previously had eased and the possibility of getting a new puppy was raised amongst the family. Of course everyone was in agreement, who can resist a puppy dog ?. My sister had a book detailing just about every breed of dog available, their traits anf habits, their temperament etc complete with a list of breeders. I already had some strong feelings about what type of dog I wanted to look at. Medium sized, neither small nor big. Short haired, I couldn't imagine having to groom my dog for an hour a day. Maybe a gundog, not that I'm into shooting but I definitely prefer that type of dog to the herding or terrier 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. Leafing through the publication I came across this amazing chestnut coloured dog that attracted my attention. I'd never heard of the Hungarian Vizsla and wasn't sure that the breed could be found here in England. I rang one of the breeders listed in the book and had an extended chat, enquiring 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 all shapes and sizes 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 UK, 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 sell a puppy as simply a pet dog. They seemed to prefer owners who wanted to compete in dog shows or working dog trials with their Vizslas. I presume that they were trying to carve out a reputation for the dogs they had at stud and selling pet dogs wasn't part of the plan. The long wait began. There were plenty of Labradors, Spaniels and German Shepherds but my mind was made up, and my next dog was to be a Hungarian Vizsla.
The breeder that I had originally talked to 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 had ever won in this country. On one of my regular calls to Peter, he mentioned that he and his wife had kept a dog and a bitch from the last litter for show dogs. Now that they were 4 months old they had decided to only keep one, so would I consider a 4 month old boy dog. I was in Hampshire as quickly as 4 wheels could take me. I took my first look at "Pitswarren Murphy Himself" and naturally he was lovely and sweet and soft and wonderful and everything else that a puppy should be. As is normal with most reputable breeders, I was told to come back in a weeks time and I could pick him up. In the following week the Harper's phoned twice and there were another couple of silent calls. I'm convinced that each time it 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 on his own all day in an empty house. 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 fourteen 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 pray that we've given him as much love and affection as he has so freely given to us.
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