“Winston, The Life of a Gun Dog”

I’ve owned and train a multitude of pointing dogs over the past sixty years. And I must say, Winston was one of my best. Winston covered thousands of miles over the years, and together we hunted places so remote that no other canine, other than a few arctic wolves, left racks in the same soft earth. Together we chased birds in parched desert moonscapes, wet ran forest, open grassland prairie sagebrush flats, steep talus slopes, golden stubble fields uncut standing corn, and overgrown woodlots. We traveled by train, boat, car, pickup truck, and aircrafts large and small, in search of every species of North American upland game bird in its respective habitat. This book is a celebration of some of our wonderful hunts and our many travels together.

Winston: Shooting the High Plains. An excerpt.

“ I worked my way up the other side of the rugged incline and looked into a grassy depression. Winston was standing rock solid, the sun illuminating his white coat. Before I could get to him the dry, golden cheatgrass seemed to come alive. Five chukars burst skyward and then dove down the steep slope. Slipping, I got off a lucky shot with my 20-gauge side-by-side. A single chukar fell, coming to rest at the bottom of the incline. The blast echoed over and over along the rocky canyon walls. Then silence returned.
I lost sight of Winston as he went down the rocky slope after the bird. I was hoping he could figure out how to return the same way he went down. Minutes passed, and not quite believing my eyes, I saw a small white speck working its way toward me. Come on, Winston,” I shouted, and it echoed off the canyon wall: Come onnnn Winstonnnnn Winstonnnnn.”