I was her third home and maybe her last stop. She came to me in a weird sort of way sometimes the good ones do that. I was at the local gun club (90 min drive) shooting skeet and had loaned my keys to someone to open target boxes with. They left and took my keys with them.
A friend offered me a ride home to get the extra set and we got to talking about dogs. Seems he was working with a two year old shorthair named Daisy. Her owner hadn't done anything with her in the form of training. If he wanted her to kennel he just threw in a treat and shut the door. He had asked my friend Marshall for help and he agreed. The original owner had a heart problem and died on the operating table leaving my friend with Daisy a dog he didn't want or need as he is more of a duck hunter and he had three labs already.
Gunner was 10 at the time and showing signs of his years. "Daisy is a smart dog she just needs some more work and to be hunted" I was told. I met Marshall at a local preserve and watched Daisy work. She covered 100 yards faster than you could say it. I've always said she has two speeds, flat out and a dead stop.
Daisy proved she was smart and we got along fine. She ran a deer only once, while at the Hay Marsh a couple ran in front of her. Two NO!s and a touch of the E collar and she never did it again.
That was ten years ago and she became queen of the castle as soon as she arrived. She wanted attention and demanded it and got it. She and Gunner hunted well together for several years and made a great pair.
We have had a lot of great hunts over the last decade and she never once lost a bird even when my shooting wasn't the best and it usually isn't.
Today I said goodbye to Daisy my little girl with all the love and respect I can muster and all the heartache that is embracing every fiber of my body.
She gave unconditional love all her life and it was the least I could do in return. The house isn't the same without her and my recliner will be a lonely spot. This is the first day in more than 25 years I haven't had a dog.
I have attached some pictures of her doing what she did so well and loved so much. May the wind be in your face and a bird under your nose my little girl.