about us

It has been said that a man only gets one good dog in his entire life. Certainly over a course of a hunter's life lots of dogs come and go, but there's only "the one"--once. A truly great dog. Anna is that dog.

Our life with Anna began as an accident. We had just buried a our shorthaired pointer, Belle, who was only three years old when she drowned on the ice in our lake. We were in mourning and certainly didn't think we were ready for another dog. One evening, after work, my husband came upstairs with a bundle hidden under his jacket. It was a cold January night and there, inside his coat, was a stinky little puppy that had been living in a barn. My husband unceremoniously dumped her out onto the floor and into our hearts. She made the whole house come alive again. John purchased Anna from VonWeider Kennels near the Indiana/MI state line and to this day, they continue to produce fine hunting dogs. Anna has a chocolate face (with a white moosh now that she's aging) and her coat is lightly ticked. She has the most amazing picture of a heart on her side! The old girl is ten now and has given us her heart, talent, and a litter of ten pups. She's hunted pheasant and bobwhite quail on our farm every season. Traveling to the Dakotas and to Iowa every year in search of even more birdies is standard operating procedure. Anna works from time to time at the local pheasant hunt club, too, when my husband guides for guys who show up without a dog. She's been a wonderful family pet, versitile hunter, and a true part of our family. She hates squirrels and her favorite place to be is in our bed. She's quick, too.

Baby Rose is not a baby anymore. Anna's pup is almost four years old now and we have a breeding planned in the spring for her. Her sire is in the Bird Dog Hall of Fame and his photos can be seen at SundanceKennels.com. His name is Dr. N's CJ. He's a real hammer and worth the diversion if you love German Shorthaired Pointers. CJ is almost solid white with a broad, brown saddle across his back. We keep looking at Rose and Anna and wondering how we ever got such heavy ticking out of the breeding pair. No matter, Rose is a real keeper--and it is in the nose! She's a machine in the field and a lot of fun to photograph and watch work. I don't think we've ever been able to get Rose too tired to hunt. She's gone all day long, on hot Iowa or Dakota days, for hours, and she's got more energy than the Energizer bunny. Rose is a little spoiled though...she's MY dog. Yes, she's a fully trained bird hunter but she's my house doggie and my car doggie and my "lets go to Petsmart in your new red leather Coach dog collar" doggie. I have fun with Rose because I can. She hates squirrels maybe even more than her mother does. Rose can actually catch them from time to time. She hates snakes, too. Snakies taste bad but she pounces on them and gives them a good killing anyway.

I will be beside myself all winter just wondering what we're gonna get when Rose has her puppies. She isn't even bred yet, but it is all arranged. Having puppies at my house is a major event. The best part, though, is when the pups get a few weeks on them and we can introduce them to birds. We tie a wing on a fishing pole and let the games begin. A sea of brown and white sillies leaps up and down, back and forth, trying to anticipate the move of the "bird" and trying to sneak up on it. Every once in a while, you see something a little special in one of 'em and it steals your heart. Rose had that and I thought, "You are your mother's daughter."