Went into this season assuming it was going to be my oldest dog Paxton's last season. She turned 14 in late November. She has been semi-retired the last couple of seasons. With her body failing, being half blind and half deaf but still having the desire, she has been regulated to fair weather hunts and easy retrieves. Whipple would pick up any and all slack with pleasure and without any hesitation.

What I didn't expect was that this was going to be my youngest dog Whipple's last season. She turned 7 in late November. She has been taking over most of the duties since Paxton has been slowing down. She was rushed into emergency surgery in the wee hours of May 22nd. She passed away during recovery later that day.

Paxton has a lot of drive but Whipple would turn the dial up to 10 and then proceed to twist it off. She was a quick study and picked up on a lot of things naturally. She had that "it" factor. The only thing holding her back, if anything, was me. She was a firecracker in the field and cuddlebug around the house. She was just a joy to be around. We had a lot of fun together.

If I had known what I know now, I would have spent more time in the field letting Whipple have more time doing what she loved. I thought we would have a lot more time together.

They say the blows you don't see coming hurt the worst. I'm a believer.

Ladies and Gentlemen, hug your pups.

This season was on par with others but with the lack of water in the ponds it made it even more difficult to cool the dogs off and limited hunting areas and shots.




9-1-17

Weeds were holding some moisture...



Paxton with a bird...



Whipple with a bird...



Paxton licking her chops...



The sun coming up...



Paxton with another bird...



Paxton taking a break...



Some birds flying over...



Bull trying to start trouble...



Dove zooming by...

Paxton with another bird...



Whipple trying to cool off...



Whipple with another bird and what looks like a poop eating grin on her face...



Cows trying to stay cool...





It's pretty dry out...





The Black Dogs with the birds...

9-4-17

Had some tree ducks come in...





The decoys...



Tree ducks heading out...



Paxton picking up some birds...

Whipple picking up some birds...





The gf trying to run the dog...



Paxton with another bird...



The girls with the birds...



This guy was just trying to hold on...

9-7-17

The day awakens...



Paxton with a bird...



Paxton staring at me...



Whipple waiting for action...



Some birds moving through...



Paxton doing work...

Whipple doing work...



Paxton making another retrieve...



Whipple making another retrieve...



The birds...



The girls with the birds...

Sorry about Whipple, hope Paxton keeps on trucking. A lot of cool pics, especially the Dove zooming by, it looks like a fighter jet

sad story but some great pics.

Thanks guys.

9-8-17

The sun coming up...



Paxton waiting for some action...



The gf and Whipple doing the same...





Paxton with a bird...



Whipple calmly waiting for birds...





The gf trying to take a nap...



Paxton with a bird...

I had to help Paxton with the mud on this retrieve...







The gf taking Paxton to look for a hurt bird and trying to keep her out of the mud...



Whipple making some retrieves...





Paxton with a bird...



Caught the gf napping...

Paxton with some birds...









Whipple is too fast...



The girls with the birds...

Great pictures!

Thanks.

9-11-17

The decoys...





Birds stacking up...



Whipple doing work...





Paxton doing work...





Drier...



The girls with the birds...

9-12-17

Whipple doing some work...





Paxton doing some work...





Whipple with another retrieve...





The gf conked out...

Paxton making a retrieve...



Paxton with muddy tongue...



Whipple waiting for more...



Paxton with another bird...



The birds...



The girls with the birds...

9-14-17

Paxton with a bird...



The gf just can't stay awake...



The decoys...





Paxton waiting for some action...



Whipple with a bird...



Shell came apart...



Paxton making her way back...

Whipple waiting for directions...



And with the bird...





This guy was hanging around...







The birds...

9-19-17

Paxton with a bird...



The decoys...





Ducks moving through...



Whipple with a bird...



Dove stacking up...

Dove flying through...



Some clouds moving through...



Whipple giving me a look...



Paxton enjoying what little shade there is...



The girls with the birds...

9-21-17

Misfire...



The sunrise...



Paxton with a bird...



Whipple with a bird...



The gf conked out again...



Paxton giving me a look...



Some dove on the muck...

The dogs with cheese cracker faces...





This one is going to be messy...



Whipple waiting for permission...



The retrieve...



The aftermath...



The birds...

9-22-17

The decoys...





Paxton with an intense stare...



Whipple patiently waiting...



Not worried about her digit at all...