Cotton was special from the beginning. She was whelped on Easter Day in 2006 out of Blue Silk bred to the talented I’m Houston’s Image, call name Jake, owned by Paul Hauge. Jerry and I were renting a pole shed that housed both our living quarters and the dog kennels while our own buildings were being constructed.
The facilities were perfect and we loved living there but something strange happened in the kennel area when the litter was about four weeks old. A slight gas leak was ignited by a spark from the water pump and caused a ball of fire to roar down the kennel aisle, past the astonished adult dogs and the temporary kennel we’d created for Silk and her puppies, before it finally died.
Luckily Jerry and I were in the kennel when it happened. We quickly threw dog water buckets on the remaining flames and then calmed all the dogs. Everything turned out fine with the exception of Silk’s eyebrows and whiskers. They were singed.
The litter was auspicious in other ways. Among Silk’s puppies were two future grouse champions—I’m Blue Gert owned by Dave and Rochelle Moore and Satin From Silk owned by Greg and Diane Gress. Jerry and I kept three outstanding puppies: two females and a male. The male we named Boomer (in honor of the explosion) and the females became Moxie and Cotton. Moxie was a black-and-white spitfire—aptly named—and the other was Cotton. She was orange and white with almost no ticking and beautiful dark eyes and nose.
We had such fun with Moxie, Cotton and Boomer throughout that summer and fall. We took them for long walks with our Labrador, May. We played with them on the soft green grass of our rental place and we developed them on pigeons and quail. Eventually, all three ended up with great families.
With Cotton, though, Jerry and I wanted rights to one breeding. We valued her talent and temperament and felt she carried characteristics that we wanted passed on. In 2010, Cotton was bred to Blue Riptide, a big, handsome male (Blue Chief x Blue Blossom) owned by Rodney Klimek from Alexandria.
Among that amazing litter were three females that were bought by three friends who spend their autumns and at a hunting camp in north central Wisconsin. Cotton’s bird-finding ability and sweet disposition are clearly evident in Piper, Sage and Rosie.
Cotton’s family let us know that she died in December.
Jerry was recently featured in a podcast interview on the Strideaway website. Chris Mathan, of both Strideaway and The Sportsman’s Cabinet, conducted the interview when she was here in October. The topic is the importance of females in a breeding program.
A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down.
~ Robert Benchley
Bucky spent the first nine years of his life hunting the woods of east central Minnesota as an esteemed member of one of our client’s string of bird dogs. In 2004, he even made the cover of Shooting Sportsman magazine.
During late winter of 2010 Bucky suffered a brain trauma and became ill. He is tough, though, and pulled through but never regained the physical stamina to be hunted.
Enter Paul Diggan, age 12. Paul is the son of Mark and Martha Diggan of Sandstone. Mark is a good friend of Dan Stadin, the guy who works with us, and through Mark, Paul also is a friend of Dan’s. In fact, Paul often accompanies Dan to work and has spent hours with us either in the kennel doing chores or out in the field working dogs.
Somehow, someone concocted the idea that maybe Paul could adopt Bucky. How to convince Paul’s parents? What would Paul’s sister, Kelly, think? What about the other two dogs in the Diggan household? Would our client agree?
Several negotiations followed and many conversations and telephone calls later, all was arranged.
Paul and Bucky are now great pals. And Bucky upgraded his kennel bed to the comforts of either Kelly’s or Paul’s bed.
It began with the first pointer litter out of our dam, Dancer, in 1997. Jerry and I kept a male and named him Dasher. Makes sense, right?
Of all the pro sports, the only one we have followed with any regularity or interest is the NBA. My allegiance to the LA Lakers began in the late 70s when Magic Johnson came into the league from Michigan State University, my alma mater. Johnson encountered his nemesis from collegiate games, Larry Bird, who had been drafted by the Boston Celtics. For the next decade or so, Johnson and Bird and their respective teams played the best basketball games I’ve ever seen.
In the spring of 2004, the LA Lakers were on a tear with a new generation of players, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. Even though the Detroit Pistons eventually won the championship series, my loyalty to the Lakers remained strong. We kept two males out of Paul Hauge’s Houston x Blue Silk breeding; the big, strong one became Shaq and the good-looking, smaller male we named Kobe.
Other themed litters we’ve dreamed up:
• Beer and Wine: Porter, Lager, Chardonnay, Chablis
• Cheese: Brie, Camembert, Roquefort, Parmigiano
• Minnesota Legends: Blue Ox, Babe
• Minnesota Wildflowers: Tiger Lily, Black-eyed Susan
• Ancient Egypt/Rome: Cleopatra, Tut, Zeus
• Planets: Mars, Venus
• Rock Stars: Kiss, Heart, Aerosmith, Led Zepellin
Of course, ensuing generations of pointers carried on the reindeer theme. Out of Dasher, we have Prancer and now her daughter, Vixen.
But, back to Grits, Biscuit and Sweet Tea, the title of this post.
One morning last winter when Jerry and I were staying in eastern Tennessee, we treated ourselves to breakfast out. We passed Perkins and IHOPs and chose instead a roadside diner. On the smudged, plastic-coated menus were offerings generally not found in Minnesota. Our excellent meal included traditional southern dishes like grits, biscuits and gravy and sweet tea.
Voila! Our two-month-old litter at home had their theme.
P.S. We sold Sweet Tea earlier this summer to the very nice Balfanz family from Stillwater. Biscuit was sold to good clients Ryan and Monica Gould, who had a special collar and name tag made for her.
Dennis Anderson, outdoor columnist for the StarTribune of the Twin Cities, recently wrote a piece, “Dog Gone.”
Four tales of hunting companions that were cherished and lost reveal a lingering truth—the love that binds best friends never ends.
~ Dennis Anderson
The vignettes are recounted in first person. Normally, articles like this are difficult to read but these stories are uplifting. They are tributes to great dogs.
Paul Hauge and his outstanding female English setter, Houston’s Belle, were featured. Paul’s opening words are so true. Jerry and I laughed out loud when we read them.
I own a log of dogs. It’s sort of an addiction. Every year I tell my wife I’ll cut back. But I don’t.
~Paul Hauge
Anyone familiar with the bloodlines of our English setters knows about Belle. She is the source of all our English setter dams—whether as daughters or granddaughters.
The all-female litter out of CH Westfall’s Black Ice x Northwoods Prancer is now about 12 weeks old.
We’ve heard excellent reports from Mark & Janie Fouts (Timber), Chip Young (Birdie), Tony & Cheryl Follen (Lucy), Dave Sheley, Mike Stout (Jackie Daniels) and Ben Mergens.
Jerry and I kept an orange-and-white that we named Vixen. Jeff, our neighbor and friend who helps with training, and his wife, Carol, have a black-and-white. They named her Izzie after the doctor on Grey’s Anatomy.
These two couldn’t be cuter or more precocious or more fun. Vixen lives in the house with us and I love sitting on the floor with her and her chew toys. One day Jerry threw a dead pigeon for her. She ran out, picked it up (it was as big as she was) and carried it all the way back to him.
Jeff takes his group of pointers to a nearby lake to cool off on these hot summer afternoons and throws a dummy. Izzie took off after Jeff’s older pointer, Hershey, when he out for the retrieve. What to do? Jeff threw one just for Izzie…and she loved it.
Jerry and I are very sad to report that Paul Hauge had to make a heart-wrenching decision about Belle last week. She was diagnosed with painful and fast-spreading bone cancer in her rear legs. Paul laid her to rest on Thursday, April 28. She was 10 years old.
Belle was a 2x CH/4x RU-CH, all on grouse and woodcock and in championship venues in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. In addition, she was Minnesota/Wisconsin Derby of the Year in 2003 and Minnesota/Wisconsin Shooting Dog of the Year in 2005.
2007 RU-CH Minnesota Grouse Championship
2006 RU-CH Minnesota Grouse Championship
RU-CH Lakes State Grouse Championship
RU-CH Grand National Grouse & Woodcock Invitational
2005 CH Minnesota Grouse Championship
CH Wisconsin Cover Dog Championship
Belle was bred and owned by Paul but Jerry and I first got her as a one-year-old to begin her training and development. Fortunately, Jerry and Paul had a mutual commitment to her success because, essentially, we shared her. Paul let us have her with us almost as much as she lived with him.
Belle leaves a huge hole in our kennel…..but also what a legacy. As we look up and down our runs, Belle’s blood is everywhere. And we’re grateful for that.
We share Paul’s sorrow and loss…..but we will never forget her…..CH Houston’s Belle.
Linus comments to Charlie Brown: “You know what you and Snoopy should do? You should go to an obedience school.”
Snoopy’s cartoon bubble: “Why should we go to obedience school? He already does everything I want him to.”
~ Charles M. Schulz
I never miss the Peanuts comic strip in the newspaper. Its creator, Charles M. Schulz, died in 2000 but newspapers continue to run old strips……and I continue to read them faithfully.
The characters are wonderful. Charlie Brown is the perennial loser who tangles with kite-eating trees and comments, “I only dread one day at a time.” And who can resist loud-mouthed, selfish, crabby Lucy and her brother Linus, the sweet natured kid who is never without his blanket and believes in the Great Pumpkin?
My favorite character is Snoopy. He’s great whether he’s dancing “The Beagle,” imitating a fierce vulture or playing the World War I flying ace. And how can you not love a dog that lost everything when his dog house burned….but then resolutely replaced his ruined Van Gogh with a Wyeth?
While Charlie Brown can’t win on the baseball diamond or with the little red-haired girl, he has always been Snoopy’s devoted owner.
Several strips featuring Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the gang hang on the bulletin board of our kennel office.
A couple of my favorites:
— A simple one with no talking or cartoon bubbles features Charlie Brown holding an umbrella over Snoopy and his dog dish while Snoopy eats.
— Snoopy is barking during the night in the first frame. Lucy comments, “Listen! Do you think Snoopy sees a burglar?” Charlie Brown replies, “No, that isn’t his ‘Burglar Bark.’ That’s his ‘barking just for the sake of barking’ bark.”
— In a longer Sunday strip, Charlie Brown says, “It’s kind of cold tonight…it shouldn’t be so cold this time of year…I wonder if Snoopy is warm enough…I think I’ll take my sleeping bag out to him…”
Charlie Brown then takes his sleeping bag into the back yard for Snoopy and comments, “I can sleep well myself now, knowing he’s warm.”
The final frame shows Snoopy tucked into an enormous sleeping that hangs off the roof of his dog house and flows onto the ground.
Since Jerry and I have our training site in the heart of bird dog country, we thought it completely appropriate to take a drive to Grand Junction and tour the National Bird Dog Museum.
It’s hard to miss. It’s on the main highway through town and if the multicolor flags don’t grab your attention, a huge bronze depiction of hunter, dogs and a covey rise of quail definitely will. Two statues of retrievers grace the walkway and, farther along , we found a gorgeous sculpture by Bob Wehle of CH Elhew Snakefoot.
The museum is under the auspices of the nonprofit National Bird Dog Foundation and the same building also houses the National Retriever Museum, the Field Trial Hall of Fame and the Wildlife Heritage Center. Our timing was good. Within a couple of days, the National Championship would begin at the nearby Ames Plantation and the newest members of the Hall of Fame would be inducted. The place was abuzz!
Joe Cumming
It is both thrilling and a bit humbling to see photographs and paintings of famous dogs and handlers from as far back as the late 1800s. I wasn’t surprised that Jerry could rattle off many of the dog names.
Our venue—cover dog field trials—was represented with a small display. How gratifying for Jerry and me to find CH Blue Streak and CH Houston’s Belle among the placements of the Grand National Grouse & Woodcock Invitational and the Grand National Grouse Championship.
We had to stop one more place before we left Grand Junction. In an unused school building along the main street is the current home of Wilson Dunn’s Sporting Goods. Mr. Dunn, age 92, is still behind the counter and still ringing up sales on his old-fashioned adding machine. We had a blast looking through his training equipment, supplies, clothing and other gear…and even picking out a few to buy.
Er Shelly at Wilson Dunn’s shop
Mr. Dunn then invited us to his personal bird dog shrine in the next room. He was the owner of Dunn’s Fearless Bud, a dog Bob Wehle outcrossed to with excellent results. Wilson sat in his rocking chair and shared some amazing stories about the old days. He spoke proudly of Bud: “My dog was the last one to win the National Championship with finds on wild birds.”
Ever the salesman, Wilson eyed me up and, in his genteel southern drawl, said, “Honey, you need some chaps? I’ve got some over there that would fit you perfectly—Women’s Tall Slender.”
He was right…and we walked out of his shop with another purchase.
There are those who believe the ruffed grouse is something beyond the ordinary.
~ 50 Years in the Making—A Brief History of the Ruffed Grouse Society,
RGS 50th Anniversary Commemorative Issue
In honor of their 50th anniversary, The Ruffed Grouse Society recently published a special issue of their magazine. The 142 pages are filled with entertaining and informative articles and are interspersed with beautiful photo essays.
Jerry and I were pleased to see photographs of two dogs out of our breeding. Chip Laughton’s photo essay, Pointer Passion, features the female setter Georgia (page 52), owned by Dana and Robert Bell III of Asheville, North Carolina. Georgia is out of our 2008 breeding of CH Magic’s Rocky Belleboa x Old Glory Bluebelle (Gusty Blue x CH Houston’s Belle).
Chris Mathan’s feature, Photographing Bird Dogs, includes many of her stunning dog photos. Again, among all the pointers is our Northwoods Blue Ox (page 127), a gorgeous orange-and-white setter out of CH Peacedale Duke x Blue Silk. Ox was bred and is owned by us.
On page 73 is another photograph by Chris—this one an exceptional head shot of a quintessential grouse dog, CH Sky Blue Belle, handled by Steve Groy of Pennsylvania. Belle’s story is amazing…and what a talented and worthy champion. Jerry knew her only too well. In 2006, Belle was the top cover dog in the country and won the Michael A. Seminatore Award. All year long, she battled another Belle and just a few points was the difference in the final standings. Finishing second that year was CH Houston’s Belle, owned by Dr. Paul Hauge and handled by Jerry.
Cotton was special from the beginning. She was whelped on Easter Day in 2006 out of Blue Silk bred to the talented I’m Houston’s Image, call name Jake, owned by Paul Hauge. Jerry and I were renting a pole shed that housed both our living quarters and the dog kennels while our own buildings were being constructed. 
Enter Paul Diggan, age 12. Paul is the son of Mark and Martha Diggan of Sandstone. Mark is a good friend of Dan Stadin, the guy who works with us, and through Mark, Paul also is a friend of Dan’s. In fact, Paul often accompanies Dan to work and has spent hours with us either in the kennel doing chores or out in the field working dogs. 
The all-female litter out of CH Westfall’s Black Ice x Northwoods Prancer is now about 12 weeks old.
These two couldn’t be cuter or more precocious or more fun. Vixen lives in the house with us and I love sitting on the floor with her and her chew toys. One day Jerry threw a dead pigeon for her. She ran out, picked it up (it was as big as she was) and carried it all the way back to him.
My favorite character is Snoopy. He’s great whether he’s dancing “The Beagle,” imitating a fierce vulture or playing the World War I flying ace. And how can you not love a dog that lost everything when his dog house burned….but then resolutely replaced his ruined Van Gogh with a Wyeth?
There are those who believe the ruffed grouse is something beyond the ordinary.