Austin Style – (A Vizsla for 2 weeks)

I’m not even sure how to begin explaining this one. I got this little fella on my first day of winter vacation. Thankfully, he arrived after all my finals were done. I fell in love. I made up my mind to spend as much time as I could with him. Therefore, I stayed away from the computer (reddit, blog and tech sites). We got him since his owners were on vacation. With permission, we managed to get him to stay at our apartment for 2 weeks. Two weeks which I will never forget.

This guy is so sensitive. He is scared of noises, doesn’t like to be yelled at, eats whenever he wants (typically he ate once in the morning and at night), loves to sleep under the covers, waits to have his paws cleaned after a walk, and much more. Embarrassing to say, but he even peed his pants the first day he saw me. We easily connected.

Adding to his sensitiveness, he was a bit camera shy the fist could of days. I guess the size of a DSLR scared him a bit. But after a while he got used to it.

As any curious owner, I began trying to figure out his tricks. He was able to sit, give me his paw and even drop anything in his mouth once I said, “No Austin!”. Just as any other dog, his nose was very capable of picking his treats. Not only would he be able to sniff his way to find treats burred in my palms, but he also knew what he wanted to eat. He frequently picked his way though the dry dog food and picked out only the chicken pieces from his plate.

I enjoyed giving him walks, making his food, cleaning his poop, and other tedious tasks. Maybe it was only because I had him for only two weeks. Or maybe it was because I could not say no to his cute puppy face. I mean look at those eyes in the default picture. How could I resist. We had New Years Dinner together. He jumps up and down when I come home, he loves to play when he is outside, he is well behaved indoors, and generally a great buddy. I was a bit hesitant the first few nights, but after about 2 days with him I allowed him to sleep in my bed. I figured that his fur could be washed away after he left. To my surprise he did not smell too bad. My mom gave him about 2 showers during his stay here. Nothing beats that fresh smell he held when he came out of the shower. One morning I found him snoring while in deep sleep.

Most importantly, must as my dog was, Austin was very friendly and obedient. He knew right from wrong. He was also very playful. He even managed to tolerate the curiosity of my super’s children. I woke up one morning to find him using my socks as a play toy. I like to think of it as a gift which he left for me. Tania and I laughed a lot about Austin-Style, a gangnam style twist to his name. Along with all the love comes a lot of licking. Just as I was hesitant with letting him into my bed, I was a bit hesitant in allowing him to lick me. But with some time, it was another thing I just had to allow him to do. I guess I was not very strict with him. Well, as long as I keep my lips shut and wash my mouth afterwards I guess it can’t be harmful.

The hardest part was watching him go. As I came home today, I saw a bag packed with all his stuff. My mom had prepared it before she left for the city. Tania and I were going to drive him over the 59th street bridge and over to his house. I gave him his last walk, picked up his last poop and wiped those fragile paws for the last time. I brought him over to my couch and gave him a big hug. Looking at the fact that he sat with me on the couch for an extended period of time, I am pretty sure he knew he was going to be leaving. He seemed a bit sad, but I’m not sure if he really was (since he naturally has an upset look). I know I will really miss him.