Hello Folks,
It has been hot and dry down my way, and it is really tough on the dogs. We need rain bad. Some of the swamps are drying up to mudholes. My wife and I enjoyed a good weekend with our friend Gary Hostler, and his wife Jane, and son JW. We got to do a little hunting and a lot of sight seeing. Hope to have the pleasure of doing that again soon. We have been attending a few PKC hunts lately to see how they are ran and to get a feel for their rules. At both of the recent hunts Orlis Roberts has done real well. Mr. Roberts has a good walker dog named Ralph that he has been hunting, good luck to the both of them.
I met up with Bruce Conkey and Stephen Browning the other night at a nite hunt. It was great to finally meet Bruce and get a chance to see his dog, Boss, work. Several of the guys were talking of plans to attend PKC's Walker Days in Du Quion ,IL. Good Luck to ya'll at the hunt and have a safe trip. Had a phone call from Mark Savage of Umatilla, FL the other night. He plans on joining our organization along with a few friends. It turns out that Mark only lives a few miles up the road from me, so hopefully we will get together for a hunt. I'm interested in seeing and hearing how those Blueticks work.
I want to address an issue that I believe needs to be brought up. If you are the type of person who discriminates against a person for any reason, please do not join our club. I'm not just talking about the normal discriminations such as race, religion, ability, gender, or sexual orientation. I am talking to those folks who look down on a person because of what kind of dog they hunt. This organization is based upon tree dogs, not one specific type of tree dog, all tree dogs. If you have a crossbred dog, or any dog for that matter, that will tree coon or squirrel, we welcome you to bring that dog to any non sanctioned hunt or event. When registry rules apply, only those dogs that fit into the category of their breed standards or previously registered dogs may compete. However, our buddy hunts will be open to all dogs. If you do not like the idea of this do not join. We will not discriminate against anyone. The reason why this issue has to be addressed is, my wife had planned on hunting in a non sanctioned buddy hunt, and was turned down because she hunts a cur. The rules used to judge this particular hunt were UKC rules but they would have applied to the scoring of trees, strike, etc. . They were not used to determine what dogs entered the hunts. My wife is new to the sport and was discouraged because of this. Our goal is to encourage new people, young, old, men, women, and children, not to turn them away.
Soon we will be updating our website to better accommodate the folks that visit. I hope to add some pages of hunt rules and general rules to learn during a hunt to help out the folks who are new to competition hunting. Another feature that will be added is some training tips and techniques and some home dog health remedies. Every thing has been falling into place with the FTDA, thanks to the good folks who offer their support. We hope to begin holding a few hunts in the near future. We have a meeting planned for the 27th of July that we encourage every member, non member, and those interested in our organization to attend. We are also in need of a clubhouse or meeting place. The Sumter County Coonhound Club's President David Criswell has offered their facilities until we find the right place to work out of. If you know someone who would not mind us holding events from their place let us know, or if you know someone who will let us take casts out on their lands, or lease to the club for a reasonable price, let us know. A lot of grove owners and farmers would love to have the coons ran out of these places.
If any club in Florida is in need of any kind of help we are willing to work together with you to help put on hunts, help with sponsorships, legislative issues or anything else needed for a club to operate smoothly. We are not here to just help ourselves but rather to help all tree game hunters and the clubs they belong to. When the day comes that we are losing our foothold on hunting rights I will be there to fight, and I hope to have the support of every tree game hunter in this great state. Soon we will offer a charter for all clubs to join our organization, in turn making all their current members in good standing, members of the FTDA. We all need to stand together, whether it be on the FWC's front steps or under a tree. No one person has enough pull to help combat a legislative decision, but when you get a bunch of us together things will happen.
We have a money back guarantee on all membership dues if you are not satisfied with our organization during your membership year. Those who would wish to be refunded will not be able to participate in any FTDA sanctioned event for one full year of the date they requested refund. Folks you cant beat a deal like this, if you join and do not agree with how things are ran, just request a refund and we will go our separate ways. For the folks who do not have Internet access and would like a membership application, you can call or write us with a request to send you the appropriate applications. Be sure to include the number of applications needed and any questions or comments. I look forward to hearing from all of you who are interested.
As I sit here writing this I cant keep from glancing out the window at the squirrel feeder. My young feist pup is trying her best to figure out how to get those squirrels, only thing is if she did get them she wouldn't know whether to play with them or kill them. Thank you Ross and Tracy Vining from McCalla, AL for letting me own her. Hopefully she will turn out to be a good one! My buddy Bruce Conkey is talking about fixing me up with a walker pup soon. I cant wait! I reckon I better start a savings account for a tracking system. My wife is real interested in hounds and wants a pup of her own to mess with. She has more patience than me so I am sure her pup would turn out to be better than mine. She has a knack with dogs that a lot of folks would love to have. She does graphic design work as a side business, so if any club out there is in need of a logo or website, let her know, I'm sure she will work you out a reasonable deal. Her email is CherilovesPSP2@wmconnect.com.
I got a secret that I will let all you men out there know if you promise not to let your spouse or significant other know exactly what the motive is. GET WOMEN INTERESTED IN HUNTING! In return you will get more hunting time, it will be more enjoyable, and it is a good reason to get another pup or hunting gear. Most women love to shop, give them a Wicks or Bill Boatmen catalog and turn em loose. I really enjoy my wife going hunting with me , whether it be on a pleasure hunt or as a spectator on a competition hunt cast. Even if yours don't like tromping through the swamp, they might enjoy sitting in the truck listening to some good ol hound music. At least they would have a better grip on the stuff you are always relaying to them after a hunt, that's right no more blank stares and head nods. I would also like to see more fathers and mothers getting their kids involved. Even if they are too little to go out into the woods they can participate in bench shows, and treeing contests. Let them help out around the kennel. I for sure would rather see my son in the woods at night than knowing he was going to a night club or party. These kids are our future and if we do not pass on what we have learned and spark their interest now we may never see our sport carried on in the future. Until next time folks, be safe, and remember to pack plenty of water for your dogs.
