My seven year old Wirehair puppy's first retrieve seems like yesterday. A friend and I were training on McKee- Beshers, a public hunting and training area in Poolesville, MD. We got a good point on a couple of quail and I killed one with my little 28 VH. I sent Eva out to pick up. She went about twenty five yards, coming past my hunting partner on her way back. When she came to me, she didn't have any sign of a bird. I asked my friend if she had a bird in her mouth when she went past him. He said she had a good looking whole quail when he saw her last. Every good bird dog deserves to eat the first quail of a long career. We never did see any sign of that bird. Sorry I couldn't get my 28 Repro into this story. (After thinking about it, I have to edit this post. I did not shoot Eva's first bird. I was handling and I believe my friend was shooting.)
|