Love Creeks Mick

                               Mick my beautiful gentle and loving boy passed away on a cool sunny afternoon the second day of spring 2016. Mick was a Pinecoble setter with tri color markings that were just stunning. Bred as a classic grouse dog his pedigree was full of Old Hemlock lineage.

The sloughs froze early in November 2014 making this day a memorable solo hunt for Mick and I. Two weeks later together with my sons Jared and Carson we enjoyed Mick's last day in the field together on a snowy Thanksgiving weekend. He just wouldn't give up, I'd stop frequently to clean his paws of snow and we'd continue on into the wind. 

He arrived at the Love Creek valley in the winter of 2003 as a pup of 11 weeks. Mick soon revealed his playful nature and gentle personality that were distinct traits throughout his lifetime. With wild birds out our back door there was plenty of scent to discover and explore. Those early days were spent just walking the 3/4 mile lane leading to the farm with me admiring this new and beautiful creature that had come into my life.

We have all experienced moments when we know opportunities are upon us. Instinctively something within us knows we are close to what may be essential to our survival and well being. Mick was exactly that. The match was "right as rain" as the saying goes. So Mick became true north for me at a time when at age 49 I was ready to map out the rest of my life. I often lamented Mick not arriving earlier but the truth was I wasn't quite ready for him yet.

Mick training on quail at the farm

As an avid reader I had been enjoying the Ben Williams accounts of prairie hunting with multiple dogs when I reconnected with an old friend from high school who just happened to have been hunting in North Dakota. Soon 2 new roommates arrived for Mick also Pinecoble setters! That started a decade of traveling and hunting experiences I remembered only reading about in magazines as a kid in the local barbershop.

Thanks to Mick my life had taken on new meaning and purpose. He taught me most of what I now know about dog's even though I'd had a dog all my life. There was also no doubt that I belonged to him. Always by my side and watched by those big brown eyes. Tail wagging till the end.

Mick was a dominant male no doubt about that but due to his gentle nature we always came to compromise. His eyes seemed to always say trust me R lets just try it my way! So most of the time we did as Mick would leave no birds behind ever! And he'd hold a point for as long as it took me to find him. He had uncanny bird sense so I just let him work his magic a beautiful thing it was indeed.

A proud and dominant dog but so very gentle and loving. That was my Mick indeed.

One story about Mick I haven't told in these pages was a visit to the vets office several year's ago. We were sitting in the large lobby waiting to be called when a little boy about 4 years old came walking over with a stuffed toy in one hand. This boy was fidgety and smiling as he made his way towards us Mick having his eye on the toy. He was the only one of my setters that enjoyed toys. The little boy stopped a couple feet from us and said he was here because his mom had to bring their wiener dog to see the doctor because he was to fat! He explained that the doctor said the dog had to be on a special diet but that he still gave him extra food when he was hungry if his mom wasn't looking! Then he reached out and petted Mick on the head and being a proud dominant dog Mick responded with a cautionary rumble from deep within his throat meaning R tell the kid no petting on the head! Tail was wagging the whole time of course but I explained to this precocious little boy what the rules were.

So today I feel a little lost without my Mick. He was my compass for more than a decade. The number one rule in bird hunting is to follow the dog of course. That I did and for many people this may be beyond their understanding how a dog could be a catalyst for changing your lifestyle. The lesson is to know when these opportunities are upon you as they can come in very unexpected ways then listen to the voice inside for directions. Be faithful to yourself and follow them. Thanks to Mick he was all of that for me as well as a loving and faithful companion that helped change my life in so many wonderful ways! Hold that point Mick I'll be there soon.