Ch. Indian Head Abbigale RIP

 

Sired by multiple All Age Champion, Kelly Talk'n Smak and out of the pre-potent dam, Ch. Wells Fargo Mollie, Abbigale was heavy to Ch. Fiddlin Rocky Boy, top and bottom. Style and intensity on game is trademark of her Fiddler-bred predesessors, and she had a ton of it as well. Whelped on April 18, 2009, Abbigale left us September 18 of 2020. 

W. C. Kirk passes

I got word yesterday that W. C. Kirk passed away in his sleep on Saturday.

W. C. Kirk trained and handled HOF Nat'l CH Johnny Crockett and won the National Championship with Johnny in 1970. I hope W. C. is running bird dogs and winning on the other side.

He will be missed.

W. C. Kirk with Johnny Crockett about 1970

A master passes

"It is easy to forget that we die only seven times more slowly than our dogs."-- Jim Harrison, The Road Home

Rest in Peace, Jim. You lived life and instructed us all.

Eastside Finn - RIP

About a week ago I had to put the "Big Boy" down. Finn was suffering from Spondylosis, a chronic condition caused when bone spurs form on the spine due to progressive disc degeneration. It wasn't apparent to me that he was suffering from anything but old age, and the arthritis he had in his front elbows. But overnight, he had gone from moving around slowly in what appeared to be a somewhat arthritic walk, to being debilitated.

This past summer he had enjoyed many days on the dining deck of the "Staff House" of Laurens summer camp, at the feet of the children as they ate their meals. In true Lab fashion, not a crumb was spared. From breakfast through dinner Finns presence was enjoyed by the children and staff alike. Many nights I had to go to the deck to retrieve him. He would grudgingly follow me back to the kennel, his head slung low and moving at a snails pace.

I quit hunting him in the uplands a few years ago, as the ground was just not compatible with his aging frame - the steep rocky ground of chukar country is not forgiving. But we did have opportunities to hunt the Valley for ducks, and shoot a few doves at home. The sight of a gun and the closing of it's action still causing him to whimper, whine, and dance.

He is buried above the barn. It is where he spent most of his days when camp was not in session, acting as the official greeter to all who came to visit. His presence will be missed, memories cherished......

Good-bye Jesse

Jesse in better days, pointing sharp-tails in Montana

A couple of weeks ago my 13 year old setter, Jesse, started to decline food and showed signs of serious arthritis in his hips. He died this morning, laying on his bed in the shade of a plum tree.


He was the companion of many miles, always willing, and durable. He was an honest dog that would stand his birds for a very long time - waiting for me to find him. I will miss him greatly.


Good-bye, Jesse, and thanks for the thrills.

Goodbye and (maybe) hello

Last week I had to put one of my older setters down. A simple bowel obstruction, upon closer examination, led to a sarcoma on the spleen and a unhealthy looking node on a testicle. Rather than put him through a bowel resection, spleen removal and castration with a very dubious prognosis for short term survival, I elected to let him go. This is not easy. Every time I do this it seems that the grief is compounded by the dogs that went before. Benny was a really sweet little maniac. So desperate for birds that I could never trust him completely, and eventually quit hunting him. He was my wife's pet and favorite.

So next week I am making a trek to North Dakota to the summer camp of a well known trainer to evaluate three young puppies. I expect that I will come home with one, if they are like the others I have seen from this breeding. I will have a young dog to develop, and I am excited about the prospect of taking the youngster on my fall bird safari. 

On the way home from North Dakota, I will stop in Circle, Montana to ride braces at the Montana Open Shooting Dog Championship and meet both old friends and some people that I have only known previously through phone conversations and exchanges of e-mail. 

Pictures of puppies, dogs, and field trial to follow.

Goodbye Toby, and thank you

Mike's October Toby - Febuary 17, 1994 - August 11, 2008

It is always difficult to say goodbye to an old friend. 

I remember Toby as he was in his prime, when he roaded a covey of chukars over a quarter mile along the steep breaks of the Grande Ronde River, pinning them in a depression and allowing me the rare opportunity for a triple on a covey rise. He was descended from dogs like Michigan Mac, CH Amos Mosley, Sam L's Skyhigh, CH Mail Order Bride, and was sired by 14X Ch Millpond Tom. He was a much better bird dog than I had a right to expect, and I am very grateful for that. Toby taught me a great deal about bird dogs and bird hunting - and about trust.

In recent years Toby developed arthritis in his hips, eventually losing much motor function and finally, the ability to walk more than a step or two. I made the decision to send him along and so yesterday he had a peaceful death while I held him to me. 

It is always difficult to say goodbye to an old friend.