Henry Chappell
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From Part I - The Hunters: The American Kennel Club classifies purebred dogs that locate, point, retrieve, and flush feathered and furred game as “Sporting Breeds,” an unfortunate misnomer that ignores the breeds’ origins and purposes and the true nature of hunting. True, most modern hunters go afield for the pleasure of time spent outdoors among friends and dogs, and, hopefully, a fine meal of wild game afterward. And most of the pointing breeds, and their scent hound and spaniel progenitors, were developed by Medieval European nobility and later refined in Europe and North America by bourgeois sportsmen. Yet, hunting dogs literally put food on the table of American families from Colonial times through World War II. Even today, pointing dogs, retrievers, hounds, and the various types of curs and feists continue to work for rural folks who look upon hunting as an essential part of their household economy. To relegate hunting dogs to mere sport or amusement is to strip them of the dignity of their primary purpose – hunting for food. The dogs deserve more, as do the men and women devoted to nurturing, improving, and honoring these essential working traits. In a sense, hunting dogs are the original working dogs. |
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