Augie & Buster

October 31, 2001 - "...Augie is doing just fine getting used to the place and running us around the yard - he is a great retriever !!! Well it's halloween here and (she) is going as dorothy from "OZ" augie is getting on extremely well with (her)..."

March 2002 - "...(we) are heading off to the ranch tomorrow for a day of quail hunting. Augie has improved leaps and bounds since we last e-mailed you guys - I spent a week at one of George Hickox's schools in Ga. - "aug" chased and flushed hundereds of wild birds during the 5-day clinic - gained an unmeasured amount of confidence and we conditioned him to the gun - again he came through like a champ - he was the only springer in the group and was a big hit !! the last day i drove back to the keys and stopped at the ranch and shot 19 quail over him in 2 hours..."

April 2002 - "...as promised letting you know how we did yesterday - Augie worked like lightning !! we shot 30 birds over him - he retrieved to hand and flushed along side veteran pointers throughout the morning and late afternoon hunts - we saw a huge gator that he stayed away from - and the day before the guides killed a 6' rattler with 13 rattles that the pointers locked up on in the palmettos -we need to de snake augie !! His genetics and size really impressed me and others that have seen him . Nobody beleives he is 8 mos old. these are tough tough dogs he is flushing for and performs with style and confidence - the pics are just one of his flushes it was tough trying to shoot and take pics. I know the surroundings and style of hunt looks different to northerners like you and I, but trust me the dog is in his glory..."

January 2003 - "...He has been doing well in the field and Elizabeth and Augie have become great pals..."

May 2003 - "thanks for all the effort in getting Buster to us - he arrived in great shape and was to us at the cargo area 15 mins from touch down that is very unusual - it usually takes an hour . The folks at NW cargo were awesome allowing elizabeth the first look at him . He did not soil the kennel and the first thing we did is take him right out to a grassy area to go."

"He met the other guys last night and again this am at 5:00 and all got along well. He is now checking out the house while Anne is taking a nap in the swing behind me at the computer . He has been playing with a nylabone all am the temp at arrival was 75 degrees. He has some big paws !!!..."

"Aug had a good am... he slept with anne for an hour while buster sat quietly in his kennel..."

June 2003 - "Buster is doing great we started him off with a few clip wing pigeons a few weeks back and he caught on quite well we started him on quail last week he did great flushing singles and chasing them . I took him up to the ranch the day before yesterday with charlie for some real birds and i also brought along a dozen training birds . Since the wild quail are breeding now they are paired up so when you find them they are in 2's perfect for flushing practice on a young pup. I conditioned him to the .22 crimp pistol and went up to the 410. no problems so we let him flush and chase about 20 or so quail - his retrieving instinct is excellent bringing dummies and birds back to hand with no pressure put on him or implied by hand movements or voice . The am session finished up with the .410 with me shooting 2 quail over him both singles and letting him look at one fly away with an intentional miss ! He did great..."

October 2003 - "Figure i would give you an update on the boys. buster had an excellent day in the palmettos and live Oaks yesterday . Buster and Augie flushed for my young English Setter "Charlie" in the Morning, breaking several coveys of quail and retrieving to hand. I could have not picked a better name for this english springer - he is truly a "Buster" not hesitating to go through the thickest palmetto patches."

Augie & Buster's Family
in Marathon and Jupiter, Florida

Barley & Blazer

January 2007 - "Hope you had a great Holiday. I've attached a couple of pictures of Blazer and Barley on some of their adventures together this Fall. One pic is from our S. Dakota pheasant hunting trip in October. Blazer did great for such a young dog at only 6 months old. He even found one rooster that we thought we lost in the cattails. The other picture is of Blaze and his great uncle Barley on the boat. They love to go steelhead fishing on our river boat. Blazer had a great Fall hunting and was particularly effective at finding downed birds. There were several woodcock and one long-legged grouse that we never would have retrieved without him. He's really getting big and starting to run hard. I will have to do some work with him this spring and summer to keep him working close..."

Barley & Blazer's Family in Holland, Michigan

Badger

October 2007 - "Arrived safely home this afternoon around 4:15pm. Badger was such a good boy. We stopped for lunch in Garnett, Kansas where it was windy and 83F. Badger pounced on leaf after leaf having a ball. He loves rolling around in the Bermuda grass we have in the backyard. He has explored the backyard and made his frist deposit here. Good appetite and activity. He likes our middle son Adam and is sitting on his bed right now trying to figure out video games. We'll get some pics on the way soon."

Badger's Family in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

Bell

January 18, 2001 - "...Bell is doing just fine. She seems to be very bright and it is real nice to have her around. She sleeps from about 10:00 P.M. to 5:00 A.M. which luckily fits our schedule well...."

"...I was happy with the honest and good service you provided..."

August 25, 2001 - "...Here are the pictures of Bell (Bellatrix Stardust Sky) I told you I would send... she is growing up into a beautiful dog."

"I also wanted to tell you that on our last trip to West Virginia as soon as Bell was released from the truck she ran to a thicket by our cabin and jumped her first wild bird, a grouse. After she jumped the bird she started to chase it but on my whistle command immediately stopped and started to return. I don't particularly need her to do a field trial sit on jumping the birdd nor do I expect her to yet so I was happy to see her head back so quickly. However, halfway back she broke from me and dove back into the same thicket. Unbelieveably two more grouse came boiling out of the thicket. She stopped and watched both birds until they were out of sight and then finished coming back to heel. I don't need to tell you how much praise she got but she knew she did real well! Thank you again for providing us with such a wonderful dog."

October 2001 - "...I just thought I would write you a quick note to let you know that Bell's first hunt was a resounding success. I took her to Pennsylvania for two and a half days and she did great!"

"My hunting partners were impressed with her willingness to go into heavy cover and briars, with the way she worked the cover, and with her obedience. She flushed several birds and found downed birds for us."

"All in all I was walking around with a swelled chest like a proud Papa. She did more than I could ask for a pup of her young age and she is a fine example of the breed and your breeding. I am sure she will only improve with age."

"She is a tired puppy now but one who knows she did well..."

Bell's Family in Dundalk, Maryland

Ben

September 2006 - "I have been meaning to write you for some time now. Ben is doing great! Keeps all of very busy. Joe has had a lot of fun working with him in the field. Here are a few pictures from the past few months so you can see how he is maturing."

December 2006 - "Just wanted to update you on Ben. He and Joe are having a great time flushing quail and training. Joe took him and our lab, Annie, to Montana in October to pheasant hunt. Joe was using Annie to retrieve since Ben is still learning. After shooting a bird they could not find it. Joe had given up when he turned around and there was Ben patiently holding the bird in his mouth. He is pretty talented. Ben has also taken up landscaping. You should see what he has done to our back yard. He is so funny that I just can't get mad at him. Here are picturestaken last night. Ben seems pretty comfortable here..."

February 2007 - "Ben made Joe real proud on Saturday. They went hunting at a local sports club in the morning. Ben was flushing out birds for everyone there. When the other hunter's dogs were tired Ben was still going strong. Joe just glowed from all the compliments he received."

November 2007 - "I am sending you 2 pictures of Joe and Ben in So. Dakota. Of course the week they were there we had wild fires here in San Diego County and had to evacuate. Luckily we are all fine. But back to Ben. Joe is just so proud of him. The other dogs could not outlast or out retrieve him. Joe spends every weekend training him for field trials but come hunting season they go. Unfortunately the quail areas they go to around here have burned. We just want you to know how much we love Ben. He loves the motorhome and being in the house in the evenings as well."

"Thanks for such a great dog."

Ben's Family in Valley Center, California

Blair

October 2006 - "...I don't know what it it about this dog...if it's being in the house more, because she's a female or because she's a springer...but I think I've grown more attached to her than any other dog before. She really loves attention, but is not pushy. She like to be held, but will lay by your feet. She wants to be by you, but will tear into tall grass on her own. Just a qreat combination of traits."

"I've got some grouse wings and she is VERY 'birdy' with them. I've attached them to a small bumper and have been throwing them in short and tall grass. She been impressive with her drive and persistence to find them."

"I've also been working on basic obedience using the clicker. It's new to me so not sure if I'm always doing things right and had a hard time figuring out the transition from not saying the command to getting her to perform the action on command. It think she figured it out on her own. The kids were off school yesterday and had something to show me when I got home. They had her sitting and laying down on command but the end of the day."

"Hope all is well with you and the 'pack'. Talk to you soon."

November 2006 - "Sorry it's been so long since I last wrote. Fall is busy time - thankfully with hunting included. Here are a bunch of pictures of Blair from over the last few months. She is still everything we've hoped for. Flushing grouse already a few times up at Ladysmith. We haven't shot any birds over her, just throwing wings and bumpers with training pistol. Hopefully have some time for more stuff after deer season wraps up..."

August 2007" - "Hope your summer has been going good. We have certainly enjoyed Blair over the last year. Still need to work with her on some more birds, but that should come soon enough. I've opened a membership at Beaver Creek game farm just north of Wausau, so she'll have plenty of opportunity this fall. I'll get you some new pictures when I get back home."

January 2008 - "Here are some updated pictures of Blair. Thought you might want to see what she looked like all grown up. We have had a great Fall hunting season. We've hunted ducks, grouse and pheasants with her this year and as you can see that made for a very happy 13 year old. She also has quite the personality and adoped a couple pieces of furniture around here. She is not shy about getting comfortable! Hope you are all doing well and that we can find some time to stop by when it warms up again."

Blair's Family in Wausau, Wisconsin