Petal 3 Story # 4: Dog Training

When I was a middle schooler, my family's dog Moses was getting old and we were starting to think about getting another dog.  We thought Moses might like to have a companion, especially since in his previous family he had companion, an Irish Setter named Shelah. Moses was a mut who loved to chase squirrels. He was so good he even caught one once! We liked his long hair and 50-pound size, so we decided that a dog like him would be good.  My brother was campaigning for a Black Lab, and we had a friend who was training and hunting with Labs, so we considered it as an option.  But I think the friendliness and soft coat of the Golden Retrievers won us over to their cause.  Our hunting friend pointed us to a few people who knew a good breeder nearby, one that bred champion hunting trial and field trial Goldens.

So we drove down to Beloit as a family to check out his kennel. He showed us the sire, and the bitch when the puppies were newborn.  Because we were first in line for a puppy, we had first choice when it came time to choose, a few weeks later.  My parents paid something like $500 for the dog. We lined them up for a race, played around with them, trying to see which had the most pep and curiosity in us.  And we had also decided that we wanted a male pup.  I had been reading books recommended by our hunting friend in order to prepare me to choose the best puppy for hunting and companionship purposes. At seven weeks old, the recommended time for removing puppies from the litter, we took little Beauregard Topbrass Cotton home with us. We had a cage in the car ready for him, and treats for him to chew. He quickly became attached to a stuffed kuala bear that we gave him to keep him company in his cage. I became the person primarily responsible for all his training, and with the mentoring help of our hunting friend, the training was proving to be very effective.

In about a year, Beau and I won his orange ribbon for passing the Junior Hunting Test. Throughout the next few years of my high school and college life, hunting season with Beau was something we both were enthusiastic about.  Beau's breeding was superior, and together with the training I gave him, and the bond we shared, his delight as a household and hunting companion was undeniable.  The level of satisfaction with him as a pet cannot be measured. We were crushed when his body began to deteriorate due to lymphoma at age 8, long before the average life expectancy of Goldens. We will always remember him fondly, tinged with sadness at his loss.