Csulli05
Member
Over the past few years I have started putting pen to paper with some of my hunting stories, but outside close friends and family haven't released any of them. So, I figured what better place than here to start.
Let me preface this by saying, I'm not writer! Simply a guy that likes to document my stories. So for those that have a stronger vocabulary than I and have the gift of grammar, I apologize in advance. I submitted this one article to Covey Rise to be part of their featured stories near the back, but though they said they enjoyed it, they also said they weren't a good market for submitted stories. I'm not looking for a pulitzer prize. However, if you like this one I'll share another in a few months.
Not a friend but family
Sometimes we get lost in the thought of how amazing the dogs are that have been trained their whole lives to perform for us on the field. Don't get me wrong, I love watching a dog point, flush and retrieve just as much as the next man.
This however is about those dogs that spend more of their lives off the field than on. This is about the dogs that we can tell our deepest secrets to or confide in because we know they will never judge us like our human counterparts. This is also about those dogs that are a member of our families.... mans best friend.
For us he goes by, Bud, Buddy, Bentley and Bent-Bent (our 2yr olds name for him). Regardless of his name, he is family. Bentley is a Silver Lab and not the kind that is part Weimaraner part Labrador, he is an off chocolate. Not a day over 5, he is always full speed ahead. I picked him out from a breeder in South Carolina on a beautiful fall morning. After months of research and speaking with this breeder I decided to take the 3-hour trip to go look at the pups. Most would spend quite a while inspecting each dog and the bloodline. That's not the case with my pick, as I knew he was the dog within minutes.
The owners of the kennel came out of their home and took me to the kennel. There momma stood proud ready to show the seven or eight kin. What came next though is how I knew which dog would be going home with me. The owner opened the kennel and out they all ran into the backyard one tumbling over the other, all the while momma took off to the lake behind the house. One little off colored chocolate followed right behind her, not missing a single step. Then as if he had done it before, that little guy leapt through the sky and splashed right in with his mom. That was it! I was sold! After all the research, must hunters will want to spend plenty of time with the littler to find the right temperament, bone structure, etc., but for me it all went out the window when I saw that dog jump into the water. Something deep down told me that he would make an amazing hunter and more importantly a family member.
Bentley went four months to "bird school" to learn the art of retrieving. So, that next quail season couldn't come fast enough! I had to see what this boy could do, so my father in law and I booked a guided hunt the second weekend of the season. After shooting a fair amount and much convincing, the plantation allowed me to go back to my car to get my dog and see what he could do with a few pen raised birds strategically placed. To everyone's astonishment that silver haired wonder sniffed out a bird. Even the guide who has led hunts for 30+ years was amazed. Then it kept going, instead of holding a point it's like he got so excited he danced around the bird till we could get within shooting range, we now refer to this as him getting "birdie." Not knowing what he would do I just yelled "Bentley get the bird," and like a snow fox diving into the deepest depths of the snow to catch his pray, Bentley pounced in just right. The bird flew up and my father in law swung his over under and dropped the bird. Without any hesitation Bentley ran over, picked it up, and pranced over to me bird in mouth, as if to say “yup that's right!”
Fast forward five years, over a thousand upland birds, a few dozen ducks, long runs, tons of human food, a few beers to keep cool in the summer, countless makeovers, and a few attempts on a stand up paddle board and you have a true member of our family. Bentley has been there for the ups and downs of watching our family grow and our business blossom. When days were long and hard I always knew that when I would walk through that door I would be greeted by him, almost as to say relax I'm here. What we could have never seen coming though is his love for our children. When our first daughter came into the world Bentley immediately turned from the rugged man's dog to her best friend and protector.
His patience still to this day is unbelievable, as she is now two years old and constantly tries to ride him like a pony or tries to put bows in his hair and even inspects every inch of his body like she is a vet. However what separates him from the rest of the neighborhood dogs is that drive he turns on as soon as I tell him we are going to get some birds. Like a child at Christmas Eve can't sleep through the night, Bentley gets so excited the night before that I don't honestly thinks he rests and if he does I guarantee it's the best sleep ever because he is getting to do what he loves in the morning. When we get to where we are going it takes a few minutes to get the excitement and nerves out and then he gets in the zone. He isn't the most obedient or most trained dog on a field but he gets the job done every time.
I've always heard the stories of plantation dogs retiring at the early ages of five, six and seven years old. Granted these dogs put in hundreds of hours and thousands upon thousands of miles in that time. But when someone loves something they will do it till the day they die or physically or mentally cannot anymore. That's exactly how I feel about my hunting buddy. Let me preface this by stating it's not about me. There have been many of times that I don't even bring a gun out, I just watch. I'm going to bring him to the field and blind until he shows me and I know that he cannot or does not want to do this anymore. What I do know is that day won't come this season and won't come at least till after he lets that 2yr old make up artist best friend of his shoot over him, because he isn't just our best friend.... he is part of our family.
Let me preface this by saying, I'm not writer! Simply a guy that likes to document my stories. So for those that have a stronger vocabulary than I and have the gift of grammar, I apologize in advance. I submitted this one article to Covey Rise to be part of their featured stories near the back, but though they said they enjoyed it, they also said they weren't a good market for submitted stories. I'm not looking for a pulitzer prize. However, if you like this one I'll share another in a few months.
Not a friend but family
Sometimes we get lost in the thought of how amazing the dogs are that have been trained their whole lives to perform for us on the field. Don't get me wrong, I love watching a dog point, flush and retrieve just as much as the next man.
This however is about those dogs that spend more of their lives off the field than on. This is about the dogs that we can tell our deepest secrets to or confide in because we know they will never judge us like our human counterparts. This is also about those dogs that are a member of our families.... mans best friend.
For us he goes by, Bud, Buddy, Bentley and Bent-Bent (our 2yr olds name for him). Regardless of his name, he is family. Bentley is a Silver Lab and not the kind that is part Weimaraner part Labrador, he is an off chocolate. Not a day over 5, he is always full speed ahead. I picked him out from a breeder in South Carolina on a beautiful fall morning. After months of research and speaking with this breeder I decided to take the 3-hour trip to go look at the pups. Most would spend quite a while inspecting each dog and the bloodline. That's not the case with my pick, as I knew he was the dog within minutes.
The owners of the kennel came out of their home and took me to the kennel. There momma stood proud ready to show the seven or eight kin. What came next though is how I knew which dog would be going home with me. The owner opened the kennel and out they all ran into the backyard one tumbling over the other, all the while momma took off to the lake behind the house. One little off colored chocolate followed right behind her, not missing a single step. Then as if he had done it before, that little guy leapt through the sky and splashed right in with his mom. That was it! I was sold! After all the research, must hunters will want to spend plenty of time with the littler to find the right temperament, bone structure, etc., but for me it all went out the window when I saw that dog jump into the water. Something deep down told me that he would make an amazing hunter and more importantly a family member.
Bentley went four months to "bird school" to learn the art of retrieving. So, that next quail season couldn't come fast enough! I had to see what this boy could do, so my father in law and I booked a guided hunt the second weekend of the season. After shooting a fair amount and much convincing, the plantation allowed me to go back to my car to get my dog and see what he could do with a few pen raised birds strategically placed. To everyone's astonishment that silver haired wonder sniffed out a bird. Even the guide who has led hunts for 30+ years was amazed. Then it kept going, instead of holding a point it's like he got so excited he danced around the bird till we could get within shooting range, we now refer to this as him getting "birdie." Not knowing what he would do I just yelled "Bentley get the bird," and like a snow fox diving into the deepest depths of the snow to catch his pray, Bentley pounced in just right. The bird flew up and my father in law swung his over under and dropped the bird. Without any hesitation Bentley ran over, picked it up, and pranced over to me bird in mouth, as if to say “yup that's right!”
Fast forward five years, over a thousand upland birds, a few dozen ducks, long runs, tons of human food, a few beers to keep cool in the summer, countless makeovers, and a few attempts on a stand up paddle board and you have a true member of our family. Bentley has been there for the ups and downs of watching our family grow and our business blossom. When days were long and hard I always knew that when I would walk through that door I would be greeted by him, almost as to say relax I'm here. What we could have never seen coming though is his love for our children. When our first daughter came into the world Bentley immediately turned from the rugged man's dog to her best friend and protector.
His patience still to this day is unbelievable, as she is now two years old and constantly tries to ride him like a pony or tries to put bows in his hair and even inspects every inch of his body like she is a vet. However what separates him from the rest of the neighborhood dogs is that drive he turns on as soon as I tell him we are going to get some birds. Like a child at Christmas Eve can't sleep through the night, Bentley gets so excited the night before that I don't honestly thinks he rests and if he does I guarantee it's the best sleep ever because he is getting to do what he loves in the morning. When we get to where we are going it takes a few minutes to get the excitement and nerves out and then he gets in the zone. He isn't the most obedient or most trained dog on a field but he gets the job done every time.
I've always heard the stories of plantation dogs retiring at the early ages of five, six and seven years old. Granted these dogs put in hundreds of hours and thousands upon thousands of miles in that time. But when someone loves something they will do it till the day they die or physically or mentally cannot anymore. That's exactly how I feel about my hunting buddy. Let me preface this by stating it's not about me. There have been many of times that I don't even bring a gun out, I just watch. I'm going to bring him to the field and blind until he shows me and I know that he cannot or does not want to do this anymore. What I do know is that day won't come this season and won't come at least till after he lets that 2yr old make up artist best friend of his shoot over him, because he isn't just our best friend.... he is part of our family.
