Our story with Larna (so far)
We lost our last re-homed HWV, Heath, very suddenly in February 2022 after just three wonderful years of adoption (he found his way to us through the Club). We decided to take a break, it didn’t last long. Without any children around, Heath had been our almost constant companion and after three months the silences in the house became too long and the space too much! We made it known to the Club andother HWV charities that that we would very soon be in the market to rescue another HWV. Strangely, and maybe because of COVID, HWVs seem to be far more available (as are many other breeds) whereas previously they were very difficult to come by. Within a week or so we had been offered more than one but with family issues and a booked holiday, we tried to give ourselves a little time to be able to articulate our requirements given family, age and some health issues. As we were nearing the end of our holiday Tracie was in touch with details of a dog which seemed to fit the bill, about five years old, female, housetrained, docile and with no material health issues – Arna, available via the Hungarian Vizsla Welfare Charity. Originally found in a Pound in Hungary she was rescued and brought to the UK and had spent about two years with a family here. More recently she began to show signs of separation anxiety due to being left alone all day (post COVID effect) and was in need of spaying (which was already booked in by the Charity). What could go wrong?
We had pictures and saw videos, during which research we noticed a lump on her eye. The Welfare Charity agreed to have this removed when she was spayed. Unfortunately, when she was on the operating table an umbilical hernia was discovered which needed to be repaired so the eye was left for the time being. Notwithstanding some concern we agreed to adopt Arna and travelled to Manchester for the exchange. She was delightful, super affectionate and very pretty with long curly blonde hair (somewhat different to our previous HWVs). We knew she needed some training, but mostly she needed good, regular exercise, and our regime of long morning and afternoon walks began (hot weather permitting). Arna became Larna, a name we preferred which wouldn’t make a difference to her, of course!
The HVWC supported us with Larna’s operation to remove the eye lumps, together with the removal of six teeth, some were almost worn down to the root, two others had the pulp cavity exposed. Our concerns with a slight ‘wonky walk’ were calmed upon discovering she has one leg slightly shorter than the other, a much better outcome than the many others it may have been. Larna has recovered well. We were all extremely relieved to see the ‘cone of shame’ removed after three long weeks. The separation anxiety took some time to crack with her crying and barking at night and when left during the day but after a few months this had completely settled with the help of welcome advice from the Club and Welfare Charity. Five months on we like to believe that Larna can now enjoy a pain-free life with us, involving lots of exercise, training, holidays and a happy home ….
Now to crack that prey drive and recall ….
Fred and Debbie