ANDY

Special Needs Dog -- Andy is an approx. 5 year old male V mix, unclaimed stray, from a local shelter. He is neutered, up to date on shots, micro chipped. His tail is docked too short and his dew claws are still on. Andy is a big boy at 24" and 64 lbs with a deep and broad chest and golden rust coat. Andy is calm in the house, does not jump on people, is housetrained and loves to cuddle in the chair. He knows sit and down. He waits at the door to be told to come in/out. He knows kennel up but is not wild about staying long and he emits a soft whine while settling down until he decides you are not letting him out. He does sleep on a dog bed at the foot of the human’s bed. Andy gets along with most dogs but does not have any play skills so we are guessing he might have been an only dog. Andy would be best in a home where he gets moderate yard exercise and play but not days at doggie daycare or dog park forays. He needs better leash skills to not pull hard. Andy rides well in the car. Andy was tested with cats and he did not show any aggression but is very interested. He should do fine with cats as long as properly introduced and monitored on leash for the first week or so.

Aug 2008: When our thirteen-year-old labrador, Clifford, died in February 2008, we thought he would be our first and only dog. But we soon missed having canine companionship. We had heard about the Utah/Idaho Vizsla Rescue organization in Salt Lake City through a friend at work who had successfully adopted a Vizsla a few months earlier. When Janet went to go meet Andy he was exactly as Rebecca, his foster mom, described him, and it was love at first sight. He came to live with us in April, and after an initial mishap where he ate two loaves of our favorite bread that had been sitting on the kitchen counter, he has become a beloved member of our family. He loves to point at birds, take long walks, ride in the car, bask in the sun and never lets us too far out of his sight. He initially was thought to be a 'special needs" dog as he had been noted to have seizures, but he has been seizure free since he arrived four months ago.

Update May 2009: Andy has really settled in beautifully. We did notice that it took him at least six months to totally relax. Now a year after living with us, he no longer follows us around like a shadow, though he still likes to know where we are in the house and hang out with us. He is still seizure free off medicines, happy and healthy. He is incredibly smart, and lovable, and just is a perfect match for our family.

Visit the Photo Gallery for more photos of Andy.