The Power of the Dog

There is sorrow enough in the natural way,
From men and from women to fill our day;
And when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.

Buy a pup and you think to buy
Love unflinching that cannot lie;
Perfect passion and friendship, fed
By a curse as well as a pat on the head
Nevertheless it is hardly fair
To risk your heart for a dog to tear.

When the short term of years which Nature permits
Is ending in asthma, or fever, or fits,
And the vet's unspoken prescription runs
To lethal chambers or leveled guns
You'll find it also your affair
And that you have given your heart to a dog to tear.

When the thing that lived at your single will
With it's whimper of welcome, is still (how still),
And the spirit that answered your every word
Is gone, wherever it goes, for good,
You will discover how much you did dare
When you gave your heart to a dog to tear.

We've debt enough in the natural way
When it comes to burying our two-legged clay;
For treasures aren't given, but only lent,
At compound interest of building percent,
And though I've no firm figures I firmly believe
That the longer they're the longer we grieve

Yet when debts come true, for right or for wrong
A short term lone seems as bad as a long
So why in hell, before we're all called there
Should we give our hearts for a dog to tear?

- Kipling

Big win for English setters

English setter Shadow Oak Bo won the most important All-Age field trial in the country... no, not the National Championship... the Continental All-Age Championship. All-age English setter, “Shadow Oak Bo” is owned by Butch Houston, trained and handled by pro Robin Gates.

Bo bested an accomplished field of 68 pointers and 7 setters to win what knowledgeable field trialers consider the most important All-Age trial in the United States.

The Hungarian Partridge

The 'Hun', known as grey partridge in most of the world, is an introduced species common in the Northern tier of the United Sates from Washington to Wisconsin. It has also established strong populations in the prairie provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. In Europe, the grey partridge is distributed from Southern Portugal, Italy and Greece to the United Kingdom, Finland, and Northern Russia. It is a popular game bird across it's broad range.

The Hun is one of the finest species in North America for availability, sporting qualities and dog work. This position has traditionally been held by the bobwhite quail, which has declined rapidly across almost all its original range over the past twenty to thirty years.

The first Huns I ever saw flushed through the snow from under my horse's feet while I was riding through the breaks of the Snake River one November, many years ago. I was taken by them immediately. Since then I have hunted them in Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota and Saskatchewan. I am hooked on Hunsand the beautiful country they inhabit.

The photo above was taken one of our Montana hunts by Clair Kofoed, was published in Shooting Sportsman Magazine, and I swiped a copy to post here. Clair has an eye for a great photo and this one is one of my favorites. 

A right and a left

This photo was taken by Clair Kofoed a number of years ago in SE Washington. My friend Rick takes a pair of chukars on the covey rise. I believe that these were the first wild chukars that Rick ever shot. I have always liked it, and thought I should share it with you.

Century old setters

Richard Best, falconer for Captain Gilbert Blaine, with two of the famous "Westdown" Setters- 1912.

These setters appeal to me. Remarkable how they resemble the field bred setters of today.

Unforgettable

Bill Allen's book of fables is a truly fabulous reliving of some of his memories of dogdoms not-so-distant past. Mr. Allen recounts many of the dogs, trainers/handlers and owners, that made up a most significant era in field trialing. His prose puts the reader "in the moment" with first-hand accounts that play out vividly in ones mind. What I am reminded each time I read through this extraordinary recollection is that the game is about the dog, and that our emphasis as promoters of the breed should be to skim the cream off the top and not settle for mediocrity.

The Unforgettables and Other True Fables is in it's second printing and is available at http://www.strideaway.com/

Walkin' around camera

After I drowned my Cannon digital in the Wenaha RIver, I started to consider the virtues of a 'waterproof' digital pocket camera. After a very brief review of the options available, I bought an Olympus Stylus Tough-8010. The picture quality is not likely to be quite what the Canon offered, but the small size and ruggedness will be much appreciated on my walks.
This was shot yesterday - the Fox C grade with two valley quail taken on BLM ground on the Eastern side of the Sacramento River.