...and then there were two.

My house is a bit quieter and I have shed some tears, my beautiful Fire was picked up by his new mom today. He was happy to see her and happy to jump up into his new kennel. I know he will be spoiled rotten and loved forever... just not by me and that makes me sad.

I am sad that Fire was not destined to stay with me longer, but that is how life is sometimes...

Tru Great Ballz of Fire

Actually, his new name should be, "Tru Great No Ballz of Fire" - Fire was neutered on Thursday at the clinic just down the street from Dan's office. It is a new place we are trying out for future use. We were pleased with the outcome of Fire's procedure and feel that we will continue to use them in the future.

If you haven't seen a large dog who was neutered as an adult, it can be a bit of a surprise. When the neuter takes place, the attending veterinarian removes just the testicle out of the scrotum and what is left looks like two pancakes flapping in the wind. Poor Fire!

He came through the surgery just fine and other then a hot ride home (the air conditioning in Dan's Equinox needs a recharge) he is resting comfortably. His new owner is picking him up tomorrow afternoon and it will be her responsibility to continue keeping Fire quiet for another day or two until his incision is a bit more healed up. After that he should be good to go.

FireBallZ

The toughest decisions are always the hardest to make...

When I started looking for a third dog to add to Tru Vizslas I knew we needed a girl. I was looking for very specific blood lines and talked to the guy who owned the stud dog that I wanted a puppy out of. We got to chatting and after he found out that I was looking for a dual potential competition dog he offered me pick male out of a litter he had. The mom was litter sister to the stud dog I was interested in. The pedigree was very tightly bred. I made my decision which was "YES!" and then proceeded to call Dan and tell him I just bought a dog.... ooops! :)

Fire came home to us at 8 weeks old absolutely gorgeous and full of talent. He had a lot of point, a ton of style and would retrieve absolutely anything to hand. I was in love!

He came to us potty trained and never chewed anything. Can you say perfect puppy?

We noticed early on that Fire was not the smartest vizsla we owned.... as he grew up we likened him to a football jock. There are only two things on Fire's mind... birds and babes!

Fire went back to his breeder at 6 months for a season of wild bird hunting. He did well, but frustrated his breeder with his lack of focus and childish antics. After about 6 months he came home to us and helped socialize Desi's puppies.

We decided to send him out to a pro trainer for some conditioning and derby work before field trial season started. He developed a very good relationship with is trainer and we left him there to be competed. Fire would make some very large, very impressive moves and yet he was very inconsistent. We were disappointed. We used him as a personal hunting dog and he was not what we wanted....

Fire ended up being over the standard for size and too inconsistent in the field to warrant us continuing to spend money on his training and campaigning him. We then made the heart breaking decision to place him.

He is an excellent dog with a fabulous temperament - He just does not fit in with why we bought him.

I believe we have found the perfect home for Fire... I will know this weekend. It will be hard for me to see him go... he is the dog that loves me best. I feel that it is best for him to be the center of someones world instead of getting the short end of the stick here. I also refuse to be the type of breeder/competitor who owns a ton of dogs who lives their lives locked in crates 23.5 hours a day. So in order for me to keep a pup or two out of Desi's litter this year, we must say goodbye to the big dumb jock.

I miss you already Fire!

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