On October 31^st, I had to say goodbye to my Shining Shawnee. She was truly a very special bird dog. Not only for what she accomplished in hunting and field trialing. She was so special in that she was there, giving me the inspiration to carry on, when times were tough. Always by my side with her head on my lap as I contemplated seminar presentations, dog training techniques and what would become the Rocky Mountain Sporting Dog Club.

She was always there, with a lick on my face, telling me it’s time to get up. Like clockwork at 4:30 am! She knew the difference from standard time to daylight time. Always at 4:30 am!

Together, we had the good fortune to hunt a variety of upland species: Blue (dusky) grouse, sage and sharp tail grouse, wild chukar, huns and ptarmigan, pheasant and three quail species; bobwhite, gambles and scaled.

She was my special champion, achieving 50 placements in various field trials including twice being the club’s Pointing Dog of the Year (2012-2013 Season) and (2019-2020 Season), and achieving her AKC Junior and Senior Hunter titles.

She was the “star of the show” when we advertised the club at Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s and the annual International Sportsman’s Expo in Denver.

As a final tribute, I wrote the following song for her which I sang to her just before she passed. The melody for the song is
“You are My Sunshine”

Shining Shawnee

You are my Shawnee, my Shining Shawnee
You made me happy, each and every day!
I awoke each morning to your kisses
That gave me strength to carry all the day.

You are my Shawnee, my shining Shawnee
You make me happy, each and every day!
Over woods and fields, you were my special champion
In my memory you’ll never go away.

You are my Shawnee my shining Shawnee
You made me happy, each and every day!
You know I truly love you, as I know you love me.
We’ll be together again some other day.