My boyfriend Santi and I moved into our home in June 2015. I knew I wanted to get a dog quick. When we started researching different types of breeds, Santi mentioned the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon. Never hearing of it, I quickly glance at the picture of the breed and dismissed it. Who wants a gray bodied, brown headed dog? I guess I didn’t. But when I googled hypoallergenic dog, that breed kept popping up. So I took it upon myself to start researching this breed.
After doing extensive research on this awesome breed, I shortly found out that breeders around this area are rare. The closest breeders I found were in mid Oregon and Idaho. So naturally I contacted all of them. Their waiting lists were 1-2+ years. I just couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want to wait that long. I am a patient person, but not that patient. Thankfully one of the breeder’s I was chatting with via Facebook led me to a breeder who recently used their stud. The breeder I was referred to was just in the Spokane, WA area. Well that’s close enough, right? I immediately called and he had one girl left from the litter. I snatched her up and said ok, I want her, what do I have to do now? He sent me pictures of the little girl and I put down a deposit for her.
Her name was going to be Khaleesi and we were going to call her Leesi for short. Naturally this was inspired from Game of Thrones and because Khaleesi is my favorite character from the show. Fast forward after all the waiting and preparing for the day we get our puppy. It was Saturday, November 7th. I had a hard time falling asleep that previous night as if it were Christmas morning. We left early in the morning and about half way through the car ride Santi said “I’m not too big on the name Khaleesi”. I am pretty sure I responded with, “WHAT?!?! Well what the heck are we going to name her then!?” We started brainstorming ideas quick. I still wanted a name from GoT and then Mhysa was called out. Perfect, that’s it!
When we finally arrived at our destination in Spokane (actually Nine Mile Falls). The breeder met us outside as we pulled up. He was so friendly and invited us inside his home. The home and property was absolutely beautiful. I remember thinking though, where is my puppy?! He went to go retrieve her from outside and when he returned he set the puppy free. I knelt down and she immediately ran towards me. To me, it was happening in slow motion. As soon as she collided with me I told her I was her new Mommy.
After talking with the breeder momentarily and meeting Mhysa’s mother and siblings, we were ready to start our adventure back home. We had the car packed with new toys, blankets, and of course pee pads. I sat in the back seat with her. As we started to drive she started to softly whimper and wine. Her whimpers started to turn into loud crying and eventually howling. She stood up in the back seat looking out the rear window, she must’ve been wondering where her Mommy and siblings were. It was something you would see in a movie, just so sad. She then proceeded to throw up.
We eventually got home late and let her roam free around her new stomping grounds. A little timid at first, she slowly started becoming rambunctious. We turned on her song “Mhysa” from the GoT soundtrack and she immediately became entranced, tilting her head side to side attempting to understand what it was. At bedtime we tried keeping her in her crate so she could be crate trained but because of her cute little whimpering, whining and howling of course she slept in our bed the first night! The rest is history.
Mhysa turned one year old on September 5th. The Wire Haired Pointing Griffon breed is very intelligent. We know this because it’s very easy to teach her new tricks and she gets bored often. Sometimes she can out-smart us! She is a typical active troublemaker and keeps us on our toes. She is happiest being off leash on a walk or hike where she is able to run and bounce around like a goat. She also loves the water and likes to swim. Mhysa is so special and we love her to death! In the beginning we said that she wasn’t going to sleep in our bed, she wasn’t going to eat human food and the list goes on. But she does all of the above so as you could imagine she is very spoiled. It’s hard saying no to that scruffy brown head of hers. Santi and I look forward to many more years and adventures with her. She is after all our baby. I am already thinking about getting a second one!
Want to see more pictures of Mhysa? Facebook or Instagram search: #mhysathegriff