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Two Heroes - by Tom Word
They are two heroes , both Pennsylvanians, both Vietnam combat veterans. Both are pointing dog professionals. One is a Marine, one is Army. They both saw much combat, and that has had its inevitable consequences, physical and mental.
Gundog Central Announcement
I can't tell you how excited I am to be able to bring you some brand new content from two super talented and respected individuals of the bird dog community. I really admire their work and I think you will too. Later today I'll be uploading a short story written by legendary Bird Dog and Field Trial author Tom Word, accompanied by art work contributed by bird dog and wildlife artist, Leah Brigham.
The $10 Million Bird Dog - by Tom Word
Ben Reach had for five decades followed his father's admonition, " Do not get involved in a divorce case....unless a lot of money is involved and you can be assured of being paid." Ben had long since ceased involvement in divorce cases, even lucrative ones, except occasionally as mediator. His involvement in this one would be uncompensated, except non-financially, as an act of friendship toward a man he admired and respected, or perhaps as an act of revenge on a woman he didn't much like.
An American Tradition, Bought and Paid For
Yesterday was opening day of dove season here in Kansas, a day that for me and my shorthairs, could not have come any sooner. We live on a small farm here in Kansas, so a short walk out back is all the traveling we have to do to get down to business, so to speak. We did have some decent shooting in the morning, notice I say shooting. Thats because my disappointed dogs thought that my percentage of kills was rather low. There is nothing worse than the disappointment on their faces when you pull up and fire, but yet the bird keeps right on going. During the heat of the afternoon, I decided to tackle a few items off of my honey do list around the yard. As I worked outside I kept my Franchi 20 gauge leaned up against the picnic table close by, just in case a single or two happened by. I put the chores down in the late afternoon, picked up the shotgun, rounded up the dogs, and headed back to my spot to get down to what I hoped would be some better shooting on my part than I had accomplished earlier in the day. I would like to say that my aim was better in the afternoon than it was in the evening, but my dogs would call me a liar.
Breeding a Better Dog
A pair of wood ducks came screaming by as my dad and I folded the drake. Most likely my dad did the folding, but I tried to help with my single shot 20 gauge. He pulled our springer/lab cross and myself through the cattails and marsh grass searching for the drake.
Rainy Day Dove Shoot
I woke up this morning to pouring rain here in Gainesville, FL. My spirits were also a bit damp as I had plans to go to Watermelon Pond Plantation in Archer, FL to work my German Shorthaired Pointer, Hank, with bird dog trainer extraordinaire, Kate Boulos. A dove shoot was planned for the afternoon. When the rain stopped around 12:00 pm, I was happy. My fiancee and I loaded up Hank and headed out with a cooler full of cold drinks and a mullet dip for the cookout. I prepared it last night after a great day of red fishing out of Cedar Key. It turned out great and everyone seemed to enjoy it. We arrived in plenty of time to grab a quick snack of delicious bar b qued pork, chili cheese dip and baked beans and then headed out to the quail woods.
Once Bitten...
Re-transmitted/published with permission of Covey Rise magazine. Copyright 2008. This article appeared in Covey Rise Magazine in summer of 2007.
Training a new puppy
In the summer of 2002, I raised two 8-week of females GSPs, from weaned puppy to started bird dog. Beginning with their introduction to birds, gunfire and all the rest that goes with being a bird dog and culminating with a successful 4-day hunting trip to South Dakota in October just prior to their being shipped to Japan to be with their new owners. This project was alot of fun. I miss these pups alot, but I know that they are doing well due to the nice start I gave them. You can do the same thing with your young bird dog, it just takes time and patience. Of course you must remember the most important thing about making a bird dog...start with a bird dog!!
