Unlike Imelda, I was not born and raised in Colorado. I moved to Denver in the Fall of 1997. I grew up in a suburb of Chicago. Dyer is in northwest Indiana, about 35 miles south of downtown Chicago. This part of Indiana is known by the locals as ‘The Region’. It’s a great place to be from (good people, moral values, strong work ethic, etc.), but Colorado is home now and I really love this state. I found Colorado to be the right fit for my active lifestyle. There is always plenty to do here year round. You just can't beat the 300+ days of sunshine each year and the relatively mild climate, considering we have four seasons. In Colorado I can snowboard (although I haven't been in years!), snowshoe (an activity I can do with the Vizslas), hike 14ers, camp, hunt upland birds, and take my high-energy dogs for off-leash runs several times a week. I also love that I can enjoy an outdoor BBQ or even just a beer out on the patio during a summer evening without being swarmed by mosquitoes or other pesky bugs. Those of you who come from humid climates can appreciate this simple pleasure but the "native" Coloradoans seem to take it for granted!

Growing up my family had sporting dogs. We first owned a Brittany named Lucy, later a yellow Labrador Retriever named Norton and then a black Labrador Retriever named Sherman. They were very much loved by our entire family, but they were ‘just pets’. As a young adult I wanted to get a dog of my own, but I was responsible enough to know I was too irresponsible to own a dog. Because of my fond memories of Norton, I wanted to get another Labrador Retriever, but I was waiting for the right timing. This is when my involvement with the Vizsla breed started.

Remus was the first Vizsla I ever saw. I still remember the day I met him in Cheesman Park. He was such a perfect little puppy and he grew into the perfect dog. I used to always tell Remus he was the best dog in the whole entire world. I still tell him this today, although not often enough. Because Remus was such a cool dog, we started to do more activities with him and somewhere along the way he became more then ‘just a pet’. His schedule quickly filled and Mel and I decided there just wasn't enough 'Remus' for the both of us to share. This why we decided to get a second Vizsla, Kosmo. I never knew I could have so much fun training and competing with my canine companions. They introduced me to an entirely new world in which I've met so many wonderful people who love their dogs as much as I love mine.

We ended up getting very involved with the breed. We are active exhibitors in Conformation, Hunt Tests and Field Trials. Our passion is the field work and bird hunting with our Vizslas. Many of our vacation days are spent doing ‘dog stuff’. We are members of the Vizsla Club of America (VCA). We support Vizsla rescue. We are charter officers and members of our local Vizsla club, the Rocky Mountain Vizsla Club (RMVC). Imelda and I have also served in various Officer, Director and Chairperson positions. I am currently the RMVC’s President and Imelda is the Breed Information Co-Chairperson and Webmaster. We are also members of the Show-Me Vizsla Club.

Like Mel, I enjoy playing on our ice hockey team, the Pucking Goats. I've been playing ice hockey for approximately six years now and enjoy the release it provides from my hectic job. Because our Vizslas are such an active breed that require a lot of off-leash activity, it's difficult to do very many 'non-dog' activities. This is fine with me because the dogs keep me active and the time I spend running, training, or just cuddling them is what recharges me and helps me stay focused when I'm caught up in the daily grind.