Picking up Argo

Saturday, 2/24//18: We left Ft. Lauderdale and spent the night at a hotel in Celebration, FL, a small quaint town adjacent to Orlando. Early the next morning we departed for Dunnellon where Cheswynd Vizsla and owner/ breeders Deby and Fred Brousard are located on ten quiet acres way out in the middle of nowhere.

Naturally, we were overwhelmed with excitement and anxiously looking forward to meeting and picking up Argo who was all of 8 weeks and 4 days old. Although we had seen the litter 3 weeks previously, Deby had not selected a pup for us since the conformation and temperament could not be determined until the pups were 8 weeks old. She called us on 2/20 and advised that the pup in the litter on the left wearing a red collar was our little guy, but we didn’t remember him. Deby also indicated that he had a sweet temperament, was very biddable, had excellent conformation, and was definitely show quality… if we were interested in showing.

Sunday, 2/25/18: Arrived in Dunnellon and went to Deby’s to review the contract, supplies, AKC registration, instructions, purchase a crate, and of course, pick up Argo. Including Argo, three puppies remained from the litter that had not been picked up by their new parents. Debby let them out in the yard to play together one last time with their mother, Addie. They were so happy I felt guilty taking Argo away but was quite certain he wouldn’t miss home for very long.

A few hours later we said our goodbyes, put Argo in the crate located in the SUV’s rear and were en route to Ft. Lauderdale anxious to introduce him to his new home. Deby teared up and told us that most people didn’t get to the end of the driveway before stopping to relocate the pup from crate to a human’s lap.

Her words rang true. Within a minute of driving off, Argo began screaming like he was being tortured to death. I’m a real sucker and couldn’t take it so Stan stopped for me to get out, go to the crate, and try to calm him but there was no soothing the little guy as his screaming continued. The solution was a no brainer; Argo wound up on my lap in the front seat where he soon fell asleep.

Heading Home: The drive to Ft. Lauderdale is approximately five hours, and knowing pups can’t hold their bladders for long we expected to make a few pit stops for Argo. Our first stop was at a Turnpike rest station where I put a leash on the little guy and carried him to a grassy area to potty. He was terrified of the semis, cars, and noise around us, tucked his tail between his legs and in spite of all the new distractions, peed and pooped like an experienced pro. What a good boy!

Stan went inside for coffee while Argo and I sat in the back seat as the crate sat and remained empty. We continued with me at the wheel and Argo sleeping in Stan’s lap until briefly stopping in West Palm Beach for another pit stop. The area where we stopped was heavily trafficked with cars and trucks making incessant noise that frightened Argo, but his outing was again successful. Remember, his eight short weeks on earth had been spent in the middle of nowhere and loud traffic noises were foreign to him.

Home at Last: Around 8 pm we arrived home dead tired after a long, exciting day. Before going inside I took Argo for a first pee in his new, and a very different world which he found a little bewildering, but performed like a trooper.

**Making himself comfortable his first night home**

Once inside I let him freely roam around to check out everything including his cave beds, bowls, new toys, house crate… and he LOVED it all! After feeding him dinner, which he devoured, we took him outside for an evening potty before going to bed. He reluctantly left the home and was extremely happy to make a fast return inside.

Bedtime: Although Deby crate trained the liter as much as possible in eight weeks, we were a bit concerned about how Argo would adjust to his new crate in different surroundings. To our pleasant surprise, he went in without any hesitation and slept through the night without even a whimper.

In retrospect, however, Argo was most likely exhausted from the long day because he wound up sleeping with us the following evening. This continues today in spite of two cave beds and two crates for his pleasure.