1985-2001
 
 

Yesterday, I was supposed to shoot some sporting clays with my friend Tom, but I wasn't up to it.  It would have been several hours and I didn't think I could concentrate for that long.  So, I decided to try my hand at 5-stand.  That's another clays game but a round only takes about 15 minutes.  Instead of my 12ga sporting gun, I took a little 20ga side-by-side, a gun we used to hunt with.  This was going to be for the old girl.  Well, she must have been watching.  I broke 19 of the first 20, an unheard of feat, even with my big ol' 12ga.  Not so good on the last station; missed 4/5.  But even on my best days with the 12ga, a 23 would be best and 20 a real good score for me.  I then shot a 16 and got back on and shot another 20.  A tribute to Amber !
There were several dog people there and they made it easier for me, but it was still tough, only 24 hours after her leaving. One friend told me that no matter how many you have, you love each like they are the only one.

 I think that George Bird Evans was the greatest of the bird-dog writers and I both wrote to him and spoke to him on the phone before he passed away a few years ago.  He was always able to put in words how I felt about dogs. I remember writing to him in 1993:

"... Most important, you conveyed a sensitivity about your relationship with your dogs that makes me feel "normal".  So many times, friends and relatives commented about the bond between me and my dogs, in a way that I knew they thought I was weird.  It's nice to know others share my feelings."

It's hard to pick a favorite quote from all of his wonderful writing, but right now I think this is the best:

"The perfection of life with a gun dog, like the perfection of an Autumn, is disturbing because you know, even as it begins, that it must end.  Time bestows the gift and steals it in the process"

George Bird Evans
"An Affair With Grouse"

I will miss that Amber girl.