I wrote a book about my Brittany named Winston and our travels together and how he pointed all of North America’s 18 major upland birds, from Alaska to Mexico. My interest in Brittanys started all the way back in the early 1950s with a dog named McGillicuddy. (I wrote about McGillicuddy in the December-January 2015 issue of Covey Rise.)

Some say a man only deserves one great dog in a lifetime and great pointing dogs do not come along often. But I believe if you start with good bloodlines on both sides of the chainlink fence, and have a kennel of high-performance dogs for half a century, the chance of hunting with great dogs comes along more often. McGillicuddy, Leo, Shoe, Winston, Winston II, Hersey, Gina, Daisy, Chantilly—they were all greatperforming gun dogs. And at present, my female Petunia out of Winston II, and her son, Gilly, and daughter, Merri-Merri, carry on the tradition.

Breeding hunting dogs requires a good deal of thought and serious consideration well in advance of the actual mating. My sole purpose as a breeder has been to have outstanding bird dogs for my own use and to enhance the quality of the breed for hunting in the big, open country of the West (certainly not for capital gains).