One of the things that we learned about Vizsla’s is something that we call “Brain Cramps”. I’m sure that every “V” owner will attest to this little bit of craziness.

When you are playing with your pup, and all of the sudden all hell breaks loose, the back hips drop near to the ground, the lips curl back, the ears start to flop all over the place, and time stands still… for you, for your Vizsla though, time has taken on a new meaning, they are moving as fast as they can, running like the wind, their shoulders seem to touch the ground as they negotiate a tight turn, they are growling and barking, and many times the slobber is thrown across the bridge of their nose.

Of course, we are egging them on, growling back at them, laughing as hard as they are playing, throwing our arms in the air just to see how much more insane they can become.  As they run at us,we run back at them, just to keep the game going.  I’m sure most other people must view us, the owners, as the crazy ones, as we “scare” our little dogs, but we know better, we are in Vizsla heaven, we are in the midst of the hunt with them, we are at one with our beasts.

I dare any Vizsla owner to deny that they have been here, I dare any Vizsla owner to say that they haven’t felt this.

With our beloved Tucker we also had a little thing that we called “Sand Dancing”.  We were treated to this one evening while walking Tuck near the playground at the school near us (Of course, this was before the schools around here were put into perpetual lockdown, before the “No Dogs Allowed” signs popped up, when they were still “public” schools).  As Nancy and I walked near the sandbox, Tucker dove in, and started dancing, he would dig a little, then spin around , throw all four paws out, get his face near the sand, and spin around, kicking sand in the air, then start all over again.  Nancy and I were loving it, and we would point him to sand anytime we were near it just to enjoy his complete happiness and joy with this soft, sandy treat.

These pictures were taken a few years ago when we took Tucker to the Beach Cruisers Car Show in Huntington Beach (Car lovers should circle this one on the calendar, great show), we split off from the show and went down to the beaches edge. Of course, Tucker couldn’t resist the sand and started Sand Dancing, people were staring and pointing, and we were loving it. Every once in a while Tucker would take a break, stand at the walls edge and check everybody and everything out, but his true love was the sand… and for a little while he was “The Lord Of The Dance”, and he was dirty, and he was sandy, and he was out of breath, and he was drooling… and best of all, he was Tucker.

Bodi is a master of “Brain Cramping”, he does it at the park, in the hills, in the backyard, Christ, he does it in the house (as Tucker did before him). He hasn’t picked up on the Sand Dancing yet, at least not in front of us, but we won’t hold it against him, and we’ll just egg him on a little bit everytime we get in the sand, just in case he has a bit of the dance in him.

These pictures bring back many memories, many great thoughts, and a bit of tears, but I am so thankful that we still have them as they trigger all of the emotions, good and bad, and for that we are blessed.

So, take your pups out, let them Brain Cramp, egg them on, let them be silly, let them run, bark, growl, let them be free, let them be dogs… and tell them of the “Sand Dancing Dog” of Southern California, for he was all of those things, he was deeply loved, and he will be sorely missed by all who knew him.

We have a 67 MGB-GT that we used to take Tucker out in, a little small, but he had no problem fitting in back and would lie down and relax for the drive. Tucker was a good sport, as long as he could be with us.  We would take him to the car shows and take him around as we checked out the cars.  He was the greatest at these events, we could have him off leash and he would never bother the cars, when we were getting up close we would tell him to wait and he would either sit or stand where we told him while we got close to the cars to look at them, of course if someone – especially carrying some food – came up to see him, he would break his concentration and become the life of the show, but, he never, ever would get near to the cars in a way that would damage them.

This was taken at a British Car Show, back in 2005, that we used to go to all the time, down near the water, away from the busy streets.  Tucker, as usual, was the star of the show and everyone wanted to come see him.  Most people had no idea what kind of dog he was, and we’ve heard the old “it must be a red Weimaraner”, “that’s a red Doberman that they didn’t crop the ears on” and “The ridge on that Rhodesian Ridgeback doesn’t look right”, so we felt very good about letting them know that Tucker was a Vizsla, which always brought a look of confusion. Then we would tell them he was a Hungarian Pointer, which usually satisfied them enough to quit asking.

At this show our friend Karen had her newly restored Sunbeam Alpine which was getting a lot of admiring glances.  She asked us to see how Tucker liked the car and whether he would like to get in, and once Tucker was satisfied that this was indeed a Sunbeam Alpine and not the Sunbeam Tiger (since no real dog would be caught having pictures taken inside a Tiger), he quite enjoyed getting in and having a few pictures taken.  Everyone loved the mini show inside the car show, most of all Tucker since he got a lot more attention.

Of course, the fact that we quite often brought a picnic with us to these events made Tucker even more excited. Tucker had no problem making us feel bad by staring at our food after he scarfed his own down, knowing that if he did a good enough job we would give in and he would get a sample. This, at the time, made us feel that we weren’t doing him any good by letting him taste our food, but now we wouldn’t have traded that bonding for anything – memories are funny that way.

So, enjoy the pics, enjoy the story, and remember – take the little guys with you when you get a chance, they enjoy being with you, and the memories are priceless.

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It’s strange, but I think there are healing properties that you get when caught by the sunbeam – even if you are wide awake and excited, slip into a sunbeam and you are suddenly relaxing, feeling the warmth and healing, your cares and worries seem to slip further into the background… all for the little beam of light.

Tucker and Bodi both lived for that beam – they could be running across the bed, playing in the hallway, whatever – and the beam would just reach out and grab them, throw them to the floor and beat them into a beautifully comfortable submission. We always laughed at the vision of these big, beautiful boys, trying their hardest to keep their eyes open – their heads bobbing up and down as they try to fight it, but eventually giving in and letting the sunbeam drag them into a deep sleep.

Some of our favorite pictures of Tucker and Bodi have happened because of the sunbeam monster, shots of them sleeping, or very nearly sleeping, with the perfect light and shadow playing across their features, it brought out the majesty of these dogs, and their colors are warmer and more intense then ever.

Of course, these shots, being the last morning with Tucker, are even more beautiful then ever for Nancy and I. Luckily every day we are greeted by the vision of Bodi fighting the sunbeam monster – and losing – as I am writing this, I watched Bodi walking down the hallway and the sunbeam grabbed his butt and threw him to the floor… after a good walk in the hills with Nancy this morning – he really didn’t have a chance against the beam… ahhh, realistically, he never did, and never will.

"Under the Tucker Sun"!

I just wanted to share this great picture of Tuck! I love it! I took this picture a few weeks ago, in our backyard.  Tuck loved to go out in the backyard with me… and just lie down and soak up some rays.  I am quite sure that it felt good on his tired bones.

Tucker had led a VERY active life.  He and I used to run on the trails everyday, for years.  He loved his walks, he loved the 3 hour hikes and runs we used to do every weekend.  I think, most of all, he just enjoyed being with me and the special bond that we had as “trail running buddies”!

I must say, that it had been tough for us to see him slowing down in his later years.  But his youthful spirit and sweet, sweet, loving soul, kept him going (us too)!  And he still greeted us with the utmost enthusiasm!  Toy in mouth, tail and butt wagging as his “springy” feet danced about and his signature, “Roo, roo, roo” that came out of his mouth!

What an awesome feeling that was for us!  As it is not just a memory, it is a feeling that will be with us forever!