Outdoor Adventures
Phil Taunton, Special to the Gazette
Friday, February 6, 2009
I started participating in National Shoot to Retrieve Association field trials for all breeds of pointing dogs in 1990. It seemed as if Dad and I were always running our dogs come the first of September with hopes of getting them and ourselves in shape to pursue upland game birds once the season opened.
We just never got enough bird-dogging while hunting, and we even enjoyed running them after the season was over. It was easy to see that field trialing along with its friendly competition and camaraderie was a natural fit for me to extend the enjoyment I experienced with my hunting dogs throughout the year.
“Pop” was a piece of work. He wasn’t competitive but wouldn’t hesitate to make or take any type of bet, especially if he thought he had an edge. During one of our outings down at the cabin on Council Grove City Lake, we wagered on whose dog would find the most birds. Both of us put a twenty on the fridge, and away we went. The dogs we had at the time were littermates, both females, whose names were Jackson and Mert.
I’m always amazed at where names for some of our canine charges come from. At the time I had a thing for J’s and liked the Lee Hazelwood songs “Jackson” and “These Boots Are Made for Walking,” sung by Nancy Sinatra. That is how Jackson got her handle. True to her name, Jackson took Nancy’s song to heart and walked all over me. Jackson was as stubborn as most the women in my life, but I’ll give her credit, she was a bird-finding machine. Sometimes she would be a section or two away, but she did find birds!
The little trial Dad and I put together went smoothly. Jackson pointed eight birds and Mert had one find. After putting the dogs away, you can imagine my surprise when I went to the refrigerator to claim my prize and the money was gone. I asked my father just “what the hey” and was really surprised when he said he won the bet. I asked him how that could be, when Jackson pointed eight birds and his dog only pointed once. When Dad said his dog pointed the covey, and more than eight birds flushed from Mert’s find, I knew I had been hoodwinked again. His dog did find the most birds!
Outdoor Adventures is interested in your dog stories. In tribute to my friend the late Jim Ramberg, who wrote an outdoors column in the Topeka Capital-Journal from 1977 to 2002, I’m going to sponsor our own “Dog of the Year” contest. Jim was one of the first persons to give me advice when I started writing. He was so well-liked in Topeka that Feb. 23, 2006, was proclaimed Jim Ramberg Day. A friend and fellow writer, Rick Dean, was quick to give Jim praise and recognized Ramberg’s rare talent for being able to make readers laugh and cry with the same article.
Some thought Jim’s Dog of the Year contest was a travesty, probably because Jim’s dogs won the contest for 22 years in a row. Jim’s wife, whom he affectionately called First Mate in his stories, had a dog named Katy known as the “Setter from Hell.” Katy was runner-up in 13 of those years. Jim’s black Lab, Stonewall, won the contest from 1980 through 1995 and reminded me a lot of Dad’s Mert dog. In Jim’s own words, the dog had the intelligence of a stone wall in its puppyhood — dumb as a fencepost! After Stonewall went to hunting dog heaven, another of Jim’s dogs, Tumbleweed, the “Lab from Special Ed,” wore the crown until Jim started writing for Metro Sports in 2002 and the contest came to a close.
How will this contest be run, you might ask? Well, I do have a couple of sponsors and prizes will be awarded. When I mentioned the contest to these sponsors, those who knew Jim and his Dog of the Year contest, they immediately asked me if my dogs would be eligible to win. I need to give that some thought. After all, I have had a couple of NSTRA Champions, one of which I am particularly proud. That would be Sassy. As I mentioned before in my column, besides being an accomplished bird-dog, Sassy barks a lot and has run all over the country. Perhaps she would make a good Lyon County commissioner.
One thing’s for sure: unlike Jim’s First Mate, Wifeus will not have a dog entered in this contest. She ruins them with too much rubbing, love and affection — pampering she used to bestow on me!
To enter your cherished canine companion in this, the first Outdoor Adventures Dog of the Year contest, simply e-mail your official nomination to ptaunton@cableone.net, including a short note concerning your dog. Please attach a picture. Perhaps you’ll be a big winner. Entries for any breed of dog, nonhunting dogs included, living or deceased, will be accepted until the sun goes down on April 1. The dog’s ability to keep squirrels from destroying your bird feeders is sure to gain some special consideration! Entries can also be mailed to Phil Taunton care of the Emporia Gazette, 517 Merchant St., Emporia KS 66801.