Rita lives in Fort Collins, Colorado and has been active in the Vizsla breed since 1971. She has been engaged with Vizsla rescue for almost as long. She founded and operated Colorado/Wyoming Vizsla Rescue Group for 14 years. She stepped away from that program in 2012 and decided to expand her horizons by building a broader, highly responsive Vizsla rescue organization. This new organization, 2nd Chance Vizsla Rescue, Inc. (2CVR), is an active, volunteer, non-profit Colorado-based organization. 2CVR will focus on additional intervention and outreach to help our Vizsla friends in need throughout Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, Kansas and other areas when feasible.

Katherine became a foster for 2CVR in January 2013! Katherine and her husband adopted their first rescue Vizsla in 2008, a 4-year-old girl named Penny, as companion for our elderly Vizsla, Chester, who was 12 years old and had been their baby since he was a pup. In 2010 she started to consider adopting another rescue and the incredible couple whom they got Penny from mentioned Rita, 2nd Colorado Vizsla Rescue, Inc. and they started the application process. Katherine was paired up with Cody, a beautiful 18-month-old male Vizsla. Cody’s story was very sad. He had been chained up in a back yard all his puppy life, probably abused, and was given back because he was sickly. My understanding was that he was emaciated, covered in ticks and fleas, and coughing so badly he could barely breathe. They treated him for pneumonia but the vet also had the insight to test for valley fever and it came back positive. On antibiotics and antifungal and under the watchful eye of his amazing foster mom, Carolyn Levy, he was nursed back to health! 

In January 2013 Rita called Katherine up and wondered if she would consider fostering – 2nd Chance Vizsla had a male Vizsla who, like Cody, had valley fever. This had to be a sign – she mailed in her foster application that same day!

This first foster was Davie, a Vizsla mix. She made quite a difference for Davie and consequently his new family as well. She received confirmation on this feeling shortly after he was adopted. His new family noticed Davie was exhibiting a specific talent to gravitate toward humans with medical needs and he is now a certified pet therapy dog at the Colorado Mental Health Institute – Pueblo! 

Polly started doing rescue in 1983 by helping the Humane Society of the High Plains in an effort to close down poorly run kennels (puppy mills) in the area. She foster-homed dogs for them and also re-trained the dogs so they could be placed in forever homes. She started with Vizslas primarily around 1997.

Her primary focus was fostering and rehabilitation. She fostered the dogs with health and behavior issues and she would do some transporting and telephone interviews. Earlier in the year she took in a dog named Jax who was a very pretty purebred V, he needed re-training. One day he behaved perfect and was a delightful dog loving and sweet as he could be, but the next he was a horrible dog that couldn’t be trusted. On close observation it was determined that he was having seizures. Her vet determined that Jax had an untreatable neurological disorder and nothing could be done to correct his unpredictable and dangerous behaviors. Again a dog going years without being treated. She sat with him until he passed over the rainbow bridge. She says the thought of him still brings tears to her eyes.

She says the most rewarding part of her job (if you want to call it that) is watching a reformed V leave happy, healthy with their forever family. That is the pay check she gets from rescue. One of the biggest surprises/rewards is the young V sent to her because he wouldn’t listen to his foster parents in Colorado. Being a young pup, she believed she could get him to listen. She is a dog trainer and a behaviorist. As it turned out she was expecting a brat child dog and what she got was a very well-mannered dog. Just no recall on his name, so she and her husband changed it. No more problems we decided to keep him and adopted Phoenix, named after the Ruger gun emblem. Phoenix can sit, down and rolls over on command, he will also RooRoo when told to talk. she was expecting a wild child and got a delightful member of the family.

Kevin first became acquainted with the breed 25 years ago when walking his miniature dachshund Madeleine at open space near his home in Albuquerque.  Over the years he would occasionally see people with Vizslas and always stopped to chat.  In the spring of 2009, he was biking along the Rio Grande and a couple was walking with their Vizsla puppy, he knew from that moment he would be a Vizsla parent.  He chatted with the owners and contacted their breeder.  In September 2009, Stella was adopted, she was 10 weeks old.  He rescued her sister Gigi in October 2015, Stella will be 9 on May 22, 2018 and Gigi turns 8 on March 30, 2018.  

He has performed home visits for potential placements and fostered his first rescue shortly afterwards. He says he will really miss his foster when a permanent home is found, but hope we get to stay in touch for visits and joint walks. Just having the fantastic opportunity to help this breed is most rewarding.  

Their favorite activity is hiking and exploring.  He has a cabin in northern New Mexico and he goes there frequently. Kevin’s love of the outdoors and this breed has bloomed into a group of Vizslas and their owners on hiking excursions. Thank you Kevin. The way you work with these dogs is magical.