The other day when catching up with a friend I hadn't talked to in a while I updated him that I had just lost my German Shorthair Shelby to cancer. As he expressed his condolences he explained that this was a sad loss for him also. The reason - As my hunting buddies and I got into bird hunting I was the first to get a dog. Each season we would take her out and she would work hard for us. We grew with her, as hunters and people. Each of my buddies saw her grow from a little pup pointing wings in the yard to a hard pressing pointer that could hunt with the best of 'em.

Each season we would get together every weekend and follow her around Nevada. Sometimes second guessing where her nose was leading us, she was seldom wrong. Chasing chukar, quail or sage grouse she was solid.

As I hung up the phone I thought about what this dog meant to me and what I had learned from her. Hunting isn't about bringing home birds and filling the bag although it's a good goal. She taught us that hunting is watching a great dog track down birds and lock on point. She taught us that hunting is a time to get out with friends and spend time enjoying everything the outdoors has to offer. Lastly, that as much as I miss having her around those who hunted with me will feel her loss too not because she was a great bird dog but because she was a great friend.

Coby.