| In 2001 Chris saw his first vizsla in a pet store next to our local Home Depot. He called me to tell me I had to come down right now and see this dog! He knew how I felt about pet stores so I knew he must have seen something pretty special. We had been discussing getting a family pet and had researched various breeds but had never seen a vizsla. I felt badly for that poor marked-down 16 week old puppy from Kansas and we called our vet to get her opinion on buying him. She gently cautioned against it and instead suggested I get in touch with a local reputable vizsla breeder named Judy Heiser. Judy patiently explained that by 'saving' that one puppy we could actually be giving the pet store an incentive to keep buying dogs from what was likely a puppy mill. We ended up getting our first vizsla, Riley, from Judy later that year. With a little encouragement from Judy, Chris decided to try his hand at showing Riley and, well, it changed our lives. We now show and hunt, participating in AKC and UKC Conformation, Field Trials, Hunt Tests and have even started doing some tracking and obedience. We get to travel and meet all sorts of different people, many of whom are now our closest friends. We are currently members of The Vizsla Club of America, The Tampa Bay Vizsla Club, The South Louisiana Vizsla Club, North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association, the local Florida Palmetto Chapter of NAVHDA, The Gold Coast United Dog Club and the Dog Obedience Club of Hollywood. We rarely breed but we are always available to answer any questions you may have about the breed. If you are planning to be in the neighborhood you are welcome to call us to make arrangements to come to our home or a local dog park meet our dogs. Chris, Jennifer and Madeline O'Brien 2437 Gulfstream Lane Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312 (954) 584-6770 chimeravizslas@aol.com |