Madsen   wasn't exactly a planned addition to our family. We had recently lost his grandfather, JB, just a month before Ellie had her third and final litter. The loss of JB was sudden and affected every member of our house.. it brought our Vizsla family down to a very manageable 4 dogs, although something was still missing. Ellie whelped a litter of 7 puppies -- 6 girls and ONE boy. A big, fat, adorable boy that seemed to be attached to me from day 1. It became apparent that this special little man needed to stay, and he has been such a joy to have. He has some eerily similar characteristics to his grandpa JB, and very familiar nuances..

What’s in a name? The litter theme was onomatopoeia, and every puppy related to JB that we have kept has been named in honor of my inner James Bond nerd. Ellie’s name is “Never Say Never” so I started looking in the sequel film “Never Say Never, Again” — Madsen (M50) comes from the submachine gun used in the opening sequence of the film. For his registered name, I looked to the 4th James Bond film, ThunderBall, as he is the 4th dog out of my breeding that I kept... just so happens one of the theme songs in that film is “Mr. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang”.

We are really enjoying this little man; he's goofy, biddable, sweet, and full of personality. He finished his Championship swiftly, winning 4 majors in 4 shows - 2 of which were WD/BW at Specialties. In July, he took a trip to Canada for the Vizsla Canada National Specialty, where he was awarded Best in Sweepstakes and WD 2 days for both his majors! Mads spent a fall and winter in TX, staying with our friends while he got some ground time and tons of bird work. He has run in a total of three FTs, and placed in 5 of the stakes in very competitive company. 
 

Madsen now lives with my best friend and Rhapsody co-breeder/partner, Leah DiFalco, in beautiful CO.. we made the decision to let him go do what he loves most (hunt) while still being a huge part of our lives and breeding program. Mads already has a MH pass and is proving to be a very talented and fancy broke dog. Handled by Leah's husband, Aaron, Mads is quickly learning the ropes and getting the love and attention to make him the best bird dog he can be.