On Nov 12, 1997 an ad in the local paper listed a 1 1/2 yr old male Vizsla up for adoption to good home. I called and the last thing they cared about was a good home. They just wanted a person to take the dog. The woman told me to "just go get him out of her yard" without her being home.
When I arrived, her daughter showed me to the yard. I knew the dog was coming home with me. He was not allowed in the house, had no toys, bones or shelter, the yard had not been
picked up in weeks, and the dog was starving. He is a 23-24 inch tall Vizsla and weighed 39 lbs, he should be 55-60 lbs. You could see every bone in his body.
The story was that they bought the dog for their 4 year old and he had "lost interest" in the dog. When I asked the woman what the the dog's name was, she could not even recall and had to look at his name tag!!!!
We spent a sleepless night, the first night, with our 2yr old Vizsla Damian trying to "make babies" and our puppy Romeo wanting to play. It is clear that this dog was often hit on the rump and he was very protective snipping at our dogs and adopting a spot on the couch next to my husband. After spending the night in separate bedrooms, the dogs met the next morning and played some games, with our rescue actually wagging his tail.
He came with the name Sparky but did not respond to that name, so we renamed him Talus. In greek mythology Talus was the last man left of the ancient bronze race, a creature made all of bronze except one ankle, alone, where he was vulnerable. Talus has two lighter, almost cream patches behind his front feet just slight above his pads. So we felt the name fit perfectly.
We posted the information about our rescue to the Vizsla list and several people were interested in adopting him. The person that impressed us the most, was Fred in California. Fred really wanted a dog to make his life complete, but felt that he may be ignored by many as he is in a wheelchair. He had done his homework on the breed and had family support to help with the dog, and a motorized chair that would accommodate runs in the park.
Talus spent about two weeks with us, gained lots of weight, got house trained and socialized. After many phone calls and discussions Talus boarded a plane to California, to become Fred's new owner.
Fred reported that the first few weeks Talus did not like the motorized wheelchair ramp on the van. However, Talus now loves to ride on the ramp and run beside Fred's motorized wheelchair on their daily romps through the neighborhood and local park. Fred told me that he has met more of his neighbors, since November, than he ever met in his 10+ years of living in the same house. And, of course everyone wants to meet Talus.
Talus loves baby carrots and the skin off grilled Salmon. He has grown an inch taller and now weighs 55 lbs. Fred's wife, Barbara, also adores Talus. Her dog, a maltese, tolerates Talus, but she lets him know who is house queen.
Fred also has a motor home and plans to take a tour in, the near future, to Arizona and southern California. Talus already has a bed in the home and in the van, and goes everywhere with them.
Fred says that Talus has been more than he ever expected in a companion. He says that Talus is very sensitive to him. If he does not feel well on a particular day, Talus will lay quietly
beside him and "cuddle" for the day. But, on days when Fred does feel well, which is most every day now that Talus is around,
Talus makes sure that he gets his run and fun.
Thanks Fred for taking wonderful care of our first rescue, Talus, and for moving him from a life of misery and isolation into the ranks of a pampered pet for life.
Submitted by Rebecca D. from the Vizsla List Thankyou, Rebecca :)
BLIND DOG A HERO
On August 5, 1996, a 15 year old girl and her 12 year old brother, from Battle Ground,
Washington, were swimming in the Necanicum River in Seaside, Oregon, where the river
meets the ocean. The water was shallow at low tide. As the tide came in, the water
became deeper and pushed the kids further, harder and faster up the river. Both kids
started to yell for help, and the boy managed to swim to shore. The girl, however, kept
getting carried upstream, screaming for help as she went.
The kids' parents could see the them, but couldn't tell that they were in trouble. Nearby,
walking on the beach with her mother, 20 month old son and her 4 year old Yellow
Labrador Retriever, Norman, a Seaside resident, also heard the kids, but didn't realize that
anything was wrong.
Norman, who is blind, seemed to know. He took off like a shot toward the river, not at
all heeding the frantic calls of his owner. He dove into the water and swam to the girl,
who immediately grabbed onto him. Besides towing her to shallow water, he took away
the girl's panic.
Norman was adopted from an animal shelter 3 years ago, when he was 9 months old. He
suffers from glaucoma and has been blind for the last year. Now, the girl's family, and
others who have heard about Norman, want to repay the dog by having his sight restored.
Pending examination by a veterinary ophthalmologist, surgery may be able to restore
Norman's vision. Until then, however, Norman has returned to being just a typical dog,
not knowing or caring that he is a hero.
UPDATE!
Having been examined by a veterinary ophthalmologist, it was found that Norman's condition is genetic and not curable. But, the vet says it is not painful and Norman's quality of life is great. It doesn't seem to have slowed Norman down in the least.
ANOTHER UPDATE!!
On Tuesday, September 24, 1997, Norman was recognized with an honorary animal hero award at the annual dinner and awards ceremony for the Vancouver Humane Society, in Vancouver, Washington.
The February 1997 issue of Dog Fancy contains a feature on Norman - including picture.
A NEW "NICE DOG STORY" Spud's Quiet Way
The following is a short little account as told by Jenny, who lives in New Zealand. It is quoted, as it was taken directly as she wrote it to the Vizsla list.
"Last week I had Spud in our local shopping Mall
with the SPCA raising money for the shelter. Spud happily wandered up to
people (complete strangers) and sat beautifully and lifted her front paw for
her stomach to be patted. She allowed babies and small children to pat,
poke, prod etc. without turning a hair. She trotted around with a set of
saddle bags getting people to put money in them and giving face licks as
rewards.
And the highlight for me was when a friend brought her 3 year old daugther
in. This girl had been bitten by one of their dogs - a Foxie. The Foxie had
been put down but the daughter was left with a fear of their remaining dog
and other dogs. At the mall Spud went up to her very quietly (all off lead),
sat down beside her quietly until my friend's daughter eventually reached
out and gave a cautious pat. After a little while she actually got brave
enough to put an arm around Spud and after this had been there for about 30
seconds Spud very gently reached over and gave a sweet gentle little lick to
her face.
Apparently my friend's daughter gave their other dog its first cuddle in
about 5 months (since the attack by the Foxie) when they got home that day."
