This next set of Photos covers the last 20 years, of Bird Dog Heaven.

Good Bird Dogs like these only come from people with a true heart,.......

Maggie, Ranger, Scout, and now, Ally have been blessed with just that. I feel very fortunate to have been given the oppurtunity to be a part of the continuing saga of

"Bird Dog Heaven"

Patches was my first dog, and I "rescued" him at 1 1/2 years old when he could not move to Houston, TX with his family.

He was a hunting machine. If God is willing, now that I know how to train bird dogs, I pray to God I get another dog like him

Sometimes a person is blessed with an experience in life they do not fully comprehend until it is gone.

For me this experience came to me through a dog, a most remarkable Llewellin Setter named Patches.
September 15, 1987 was opening day of bird season and a beautiful day for our first hunt together.It marked the first time I ever hunted with a dog and on that memorable day, I shot three grouse over Patches.

Today it remains the only day in my life I ever shot three grouse in one day and it seems as if God has intended it to be that way forever.

As all good things do, they come to an end.For Patches, that came in a period of five days.

He was seven years old and in peak physical condition or so I thought. What I could not see was the tumor at the base of his brain and spinal cord.

Losing him was perhaps the most difficult thing I have encountered in my life. The only thing I could reason was perhaps God needed an excellent bird dog and best friend.

In Patches he got both.

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Maggie She was an incredible Grouse dog and many times this fall I would be hunting with tears in my eyes when I thought back to how she would stalk the grouse as if she was a cat.

Often, she would follow a grouse for 200-300 yards before it would flush.

The best feature about Maggie was she acted as if she was royalty.

She was a beautiful Princess and everyone should have a dog love them the way she loved me. Likewise, everyone should love a dog as much as I loved that beautiful bird girl.

Here is how her obituary read when she passed away:

Friends,
This morning Maggie passed away peacefully in my arms. As far as I know, her and Patches are pointing a handsome Ruffed Grouse right now, while enjoying a beautiful fall day together in the woods.
As you all know, she was a beautiful girl and I feel fortunate to of had her in my life for almost 1/3 of my lifetime.
Maggie and I spent 14 autumns together in the field and I cannot begin to guess how many hours she laid by my side. She was 15 1/2 and she was definitely "daddies little girl." I am going to miss her deeply.

The next item is something that happened when I buried her ashes in a tree
Earlier this spring I planted a Crab Apple tree at my house in Maggie's memory.

On Saturday I buried Maggie's ashes around the tree and then planted some pretty flowers around the tree.

A

After I was done working for the day, I was sitting on my porch looking at the tree and flowers and was thinking " that is so pretty,I am really glad I did that for Maggie." Precisely, right after I said that, a robin flew into the tree.

I watched the robin in the tree for about 5 minuets and then I said, "you are so beautiful Dolly." At that very second, the robin flew out of the tree and then a beautiful white butterfly immediately flew around the tree a few times just above the flowers.

Needless to say, that really touched me.
I never saw a large, pure white butterfly like that one before I saw that one.
I know that was Maggie talking to me.

To this day, I have never, ever seen a beautiful pure white butterfly like that one.

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SCOUT and RANGER

It is amazing to me how quickly Scout adapted to life with myself and with my two English Setters, Maggie (15) and Ranger (12).

Upon His introduction to Ranger, Ranger quickly established is alpha male title in the pack.

One loud snarl and a snap from Ranger was all it took.

Scout quickly understood his position in the pack.

Maggie on the other hand provided a wagging tail and some nice nose to nose sniffs.

Needless to say, Scout felt much better with the situation after meeting Maggie. That was all it took to create the harmony they have been living in ever since.

Since then, I have caught Ranger and Scout nose to nose a few times with tails wagging. But don't think Scout does not know who the boss is. Ranger has earned the respect and he is a great dog too!

I was nervous about how he would react moving into a new home for the fourth time. But I can assure you all, he has adapted to this situation like a duck to water. He follows me everywhere I go and looks at me like I am some kind of God. You would think I had him from when he was a puppy. As I sit here typing, he is curled up in a ball behind me content from his hour long run and full from dinner.

Scout found his forever home and I think he is a happy puppyOnly if he knew that when fall comes, he will be in the woods hunting grouse and woodcock three or four times a week.

Perhaps I should let him know he has a trip to North Dakota planned for him in October to hunt pheasants. Judging by the way he loves to run in the woods now, I think he was born to spend beautiful fall days in the field.

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Then Came Ally,...