One Versatile Beagle
Want a dog that can track rabbits, squirrels, pheasants, and wounded big game? Consider the beagle.
The Christmas Star
I thought the day would never end. The whole class had drawn on incessantly about every Christmas they had ever had, about every gift they had ever received and what they were wishing for this year. Each one was like a punch in my belly. Mrs. Priddy told of snow and...
Mollygrubs Messer: Trials and Tribulations with an English Pointer
Although Mollygrubs Messer grew up in a region of the South not known for abundant populations of quail, during his youth that grand game bird Havilah Babcock once described as “five ounces of feathered dynamite” was still fairly commonplace in agricultural regions...
Mars the Pointer
He was all alone now, but the birds were still there. He was called Mars because new names can become scarce around a big kennel and someone had come up with Jupiter and with Mercury (shortened to "Mere" and "Jupe" for other pups). Later, he was registered as Morton's...
Never Give Up
Feather serves as an object lesson in the art of not only living with a disability, but achieving goals that the rest of the world tries to tell you are unattainable.
Ready to Go
As I have mentioned numerous times in these columns, I’m a dog on the go. I stand ready to move and head outdoors at the drop of a hat, or make that the mention of key words. While Mike thinks I’m just lying on the couch and sleeping, I’m observing and listening for...
A Door in the Woods
Though it was now past dusk and the forest was dark and still, I could see that, yes, it definitely was a door, alone, in the middle of the woods. “Good boy, Rex, easy now. Whoa on the bird!” The gathering gloaming of the approaching evening made it rather difficult...
I Will Give These Pups My All
As we grow old together, I’ll be there to gather the joy from every moment of their lives.
Row the Boat
Yikes, the other day there were snowflakes flying about. That can only mean the end of summer is at hand. It passed so quickly and this summer was one of many trips down rivers in the drift boat. I believe Mike needs to paint the words USS Cameron — or Battleship...
The Treasure of Simply Belonging
For restless years I harbored an unrequited craving for a 28 gauge. It came from reading too much Mcintosh, and misconceptions, perhaps, of life and love. In a hundred fantasies, the little 28 would come as breathlessly to shoulder as my high school heartthrob, a...