Hobbes is a miniature wirehair dachshund and being named after a cat (tiger rather) he has had more than 9 lives. An outstanding hunting dog who grew up with me training field trial labs and thinks he is a lab. Amazing water entry.
Between 2001 and 2005 I guided ducks and geese for an outfitter. I would dress in civies, put Hobbes on a leash then go to the airport to pick up the hunters. Time and time again I got ribbed about Hobbes being my retriever. It was a 2.5 hour ride back to camp and I always had a case or 2 of beer bet on Hobbes' retriever ability. No matter water or land he knew where the bird had landed and would bring it back if it was a duck. If it was a goose he would sit on it till I went and got it from him. If it was an alive goose he thought he had to kill it and feathers flew.
One year at the airport a returning hunter from the previous year approached me with a dog bone and a candle on it. Perplexed I asked him what it was for. He said, "Its Hobbes birthday today, isn't it?" He then went on to tell me Hobbes had become a local legend in his Arkansas bird camp.
Hobbes is still with me today at 11 years. In that time I have pulled him off of a skunk he was determined to kill, pulled quills out of his mouth and tongue, grabbed him just before he was to be sucked in the the roll at a weir and then I fell in and had a bit of a fight to save my own skin, he hates cats and so many cat fights later, a truck ran over his hind end and now he has plates in both hind legs, a shaky pelvis and with the tissue damage doesn't do his business so well.
He still hunts and now I take him pheasant hunting at my club. Many invited hunters with their flushers and pointers think he is a joke and are annoyed by his presence and ask for him to be put up before the hunt begins. In tight cover and crusty snow where his weight will hold him but the big dogs break through, he will flush as many as the big dogs. He is slower, methodical and has a great nose. After the hunt he is usually the centre of conversation.
This year we go back to a guiding camp for 7 weeks. I can't wait for the beer to flow!
Last edited by Tamid; 08/27/15 12:50 PM.
