I'm a "home-grown" girl, born and raised in Denver, Colorado. My "real" name is Imelda Reveles, but because it was difficult for non-Spanish speaking people to pronounce it correctly and I didn't like the way my name sounded when it was mispronounced, I was given the nickname "Mel" by schoolmates and friends at a young age.

First, I'll answer one of the most frequent questions I seem to get about my ethnicity, or as people frequently ask, "What are you?". Once we establish that I am, in fact human, we clarify they're inquiring about my ethnic background (which is nothing exotic). I'm of Mexican decent with my Dad having been born in Mexico and my Mom born in a border town in Texas. My Dad came to the United States when he was eight years old. My parents met in Texas, married, moved to Colorado and started a family. There it is in a nutshell. I can't help but detect the slightest bit of disappointment when those who inquire, learn of my very common ethnicity. Ah well ...perhaps someday I'll invent a fun story and change my ethnicity. Until then, I'm simply Mel who is of Mexican decent and grew up in Denver, Colorado. Heck, I can't even speak Spanish (though I wish I could)! How uninteresting is that!? I think I'm a totally normal and average looking young woman but I'm asked this question so often I figured I may as well put it in writing.

My love for dogs came early, perhaps even before I was a toddler. I grew up with two older human siblings, a sister and a brother, and a few four-legged siblings of the canine species. Most special to me was "Chato", a big male brindle Boxer who was about the same age as me and was my best friend until he died of old age (I was 12 years old). Chato was a great family dog, always gentle with his humans even when we weren't very gentle back (thankfully, times have changed and so has the way many of us treat our canine companions). He was a great dog to cuddle with. I have great memories of him sleeping in my bed then stealing all the covers through the course of the night. I would wake up from being cold and there was my big baby of a dog wrapped warmly in my covers. Getting the covers back from him was quite an effort! Okay, maybe the memories of waking up freezing aren't so fond but I did love cuddling with Chato so much I guess the trade-off was worth it.

The first Vizsla I saw was in the summer of 1998 at Washington Park (affectionately known as "Wash Park" to the locals) in the heart of Denver. He was sitting like a statue watching with so much intensity as his human played a game of ultimate frisbee. I thought he was the most beautiful dog I had ever seen. He was so athletic looking with his lean muscles showing through his gleaming copper-colored coat. I did the requisite inquiry that those of us who are in the breed now are so familiar with. It goes something like:

Me: "What kind of dog is he?"
Guy in the park: "A Vizsla."
Me: "A What? "
Guy in the park: "A Vee-shla."
Me: "A What? "
Guy in the park: "It's pronounced vee-shla, he's a Hungarian Pointer--a hunting dog with lots and lots of energy."
Me: "How do you spell it? "
Guy in the park: "V-I-Z-S-L-A"

So, off I went to research this breed and to learn if I might be lucky enough to add one to my family someday. I did (The Most Perfect Dog in the History of the World, Remus) and you can read all about that on the "Our Vizsla Story" web page.

I love my Vizslas as though they are my children but I fully recognize they are not furry, four-legged versions of the human kind. Nor would I want them to be. That's the whole point of me choosing to have dogs instead of kids. I'm much better at raising dogs than I'm sure I would be at raising human children (never tried raising little humans though). I really "get" dogs and am fascinated with their behaviors and language. I'll readily admit I'm not as good at "getting" people although I do try.

In addition to loving my Vizslas to pieces and enjoying them as my companions, I've found training with them to be one of the most rewarding things I've ever done. Our passion is training for field competitions and real hunting. Being an avid outdoors woman, spending the day in the field with with my dogs is akin to a perfect day.

Aside from my Vizsla-filled life, I do dabble in the occasional "non-dog" activities. Among these activities is playing ice hockey. I'm the captain of my coed hockey team, the Pucking Goats and have been playing since 2000. Why ice hockey? I don't really know considering I never put on a pair of ice skates until I decided I wanted to play and signed up for class to learn to skate. I do very much enjoy playing and especially the "post game conferences" the Fab 5 conducts at the T-Bird down the street from the ice arena.

I also very much enjoyed practicing Pilates for many years. I took a year off when we were consumed with caring for Lola toward the end of her life but am hoping to get into it again. I didn't have good form at all but I felt stronger physically and mentally while I was practicing a couple of times a week. Until then, I jog 2-3 times a week with one of my Vs (not their only exercise--they get 3 weekly off leash runs then the weekends are all about them with field training, hunting, snowshoeing, swimming, hiking in the Rocky Mountains or some other outdoor activity!).

The other summertime activity I really look forward to is riding my scooter whenever and where ever. My Dad almost always had a motorcycle when I was young. I kind of grew up riding on the back of his bike. I loved that sensation of riding on a motorcycle and have always dreamed of having my own motorcycle some day. For now, my scooter will just have to do!