This page honors our dogs of the
past with
stories and photos and shows some of the other activities we
do as a
family such as travel, fishing, skiing, and big game hunting.

Wyndy fetching. Painted by Katerina, a foreign exchange
student
at Whitehall, 2008.
Many of the dog
stories on
these pages are about the mistakes we made or the "bad" things
that
happened- which often turn out more fun in the telling, in the
end.
We call
them adventures for some odd reason. It seems that when
everything
goes well, the dogs hold their points, we shoot O.K., the birds
are
numerous, the dogs fetch well and we get home in one piece,
there just
is not much
to say about it.... When we think about those good times -
which
all sort of run together in a wonderful rainbow of experiences,
we just
get
that knowing slight smile and that far away memory look on our
faces
and
say "good hunting." Those mellow sun rises and those quiet
times
walking
alone with just the dogs and our thoughts, are priceless...
Our adventures also allow us to learn life's
lessons
(as humans seem to mainly learn by experience...). So, as
you
read through these, you will see some of the big mistakes we
made and
how we reacted when "bad" things happened and may be you will
not have
to learn these same lessons the hard way as we did.
Hopefully you
will laugh a bit as
well.
The 1960's and 1970's with my Father:
Dusty - Ears
a
flappin', "How not to shoot your dog..."
Bunny -
And they eat porcupine quills, don't they?
Beau
The 1980's and 1990's in Montana:
Lark
-
The 9 lives of Lark: 1) hit by car of my student, 2) hung out
on fence to dry, 3) a falling out at Deer Lodge, 4) stolen on
opening weekend, 5) train tracks and close calls, 6)
strychnine skunk,
7) tromped by moose while Daddy takes a PP, 8) Dad's Decon is
gone!,
and 9) rattle snake bit (or how to test your future bride in
the
wilderness). Stories of each to come... Oh,
and then
there was that buffalo in Yellowstone...
Siskin
-
Greedy Gullet
Tab - Son of Siskin & Lark
Lu
Bonner
-
Son of Lu
Ica
-
Started dog to a select Montana home!
Wyndy - Oily
Situation
Wesley
- Wyndy x Dante
Sari (2nd
from left) during a
SUPER Pheasants Forever youth hunt near
Billings, Sept. 2008. Thanks for putting
this event on!!
Cleaning
pheasants
1980's Washington
pheasants
We have some family activities that
"take
time away" from dog activities:
Big Game Hunting. We are meat hunters and try to get the
big
game freezer filling activities out of the way as soon as
possible so
we
can get back to bird hunting. Big game hunting is a
tradition
filled
family activity with us:

Diane and Dad with Dad's 6x6. 2011. Not
bad for 81 yrs. old!
|
|

Here are our 2011 elk and deer racks. L: Todd
with his 4x5, Diane with Dad's 6x6, Dad with Diane's
3x2, and Sari with two stray whitetail bucks 4x4 and
4x3.
|

Todd with his 2009, 2010, and 2011 elk racks.
|

Todd's elk, 2010
|

Skye and Sari with some whitetails, 2010.
|

Todd's 2009 'lope.
|

Colleen, Dad, Diane, and Sari dragging Sari's big cow
elk out. We
shot 4 elk opening day: Todd: 4x4, Dad: big cow,
Diane: big cow, and
Sari: the big cow pictured. It took the help of
several friends
and 1 & 1/2 days to drag all of the elk out.
|

|
 |
Sari's
08
buck and elk
|
Todd's
08 elk |
Fishing: Links Page.
We
usually bring our dogs with us when fishing! Many of
them watch
the dry fly and warn us of strikes!
Horsing Around: Links Page.
So far
our horses have been so mellow that our dogs don't even know
that
horses kick!
Skunk Scent Removal Formula: 32
oz of
Hydrogen Peroxide, 1/4 cup of Baking Soda and a TBSP of Dawn
or some
type of dishwashing soap. Wet the dog down, pour the
mixture all
over the dog, let stand for 5 - 7 minutes, rinse off, and give
a
regular bath. Repeat if necessary. Don't bother
with Tomato
Juice, Vinegar, they don't work.
Travel:
Europe '97
|
Mexico' 03
|
Egypt
|
Europe '99
|
Road Trips
|
Ireland '05
|
Todd - China '88
|
Todd - Europe '80
|
|
Skiing: X-country and Downhill.
Family History
Brittanys
have not
been called
the "Brittany Spaniel" since the 1980's.