09/26/2025
A tribute to my dedicated hunting partner, Ned’s Dedication, call sign Bauer.
All dogs are special and sadly with us for a far shorter time than we would like.
I have faint memories of Oatmeal, Penny, and Oliver. Then there was Jack and Jill. Lucky and Buck were with us for a short time. Oreo was a fun half lab/half husky. Then Mick(first GSP) and Teddy(first Chessie). Those were all family dogs as I was going up.
My first Chessie and dog as an adult was Ready. A trash-loving rescue Chessie who really cemented my love for the breed. Next came Bell (an English setter) and then Rascal (a GPS). Bell was death on woodcock and an absolute sweetheart. Rascal was rock solid on point and Bell’s best friend. My next Chessie was Joe, a steady retriever who was fairly mischievous.
Then Bauer. Sometimes you know there is something special in a dog. Bauer had that feel from the very beginning. He had me from the first sideways glance as he was tearing across the yard with an apple he wasn’t giving to anyone or anything. Our first night together, not a whimper of missing his litter mates. He picked me for sure.
He loved to have his neck rubbed, and in typical Chessie fashion, loved water and would do anything to get to it, including breaking ice. He was friendly but protective of his people when needed. He always kept a watchful eye on us, ensuring we were safe.
He earned his senior title and had one master pass. He would run through a wall for a duck…not always the wall I directed him to, hence the one master pass and not a master title.
While he performed well in training and numerous hunt tests, he truly shone when actually hunting. One of his most memorable retrieves was a 90-yard blind in flooded timber with a strong current. The duck was swept into a small pocket in a grove of cypresses. One left back cast into a 3-yard wide gap where he pinned the duck. On more than one occasion, people I hunted with did not even bother to bring their dog when Bauer came along. He was a machine in the flooded timber.
It’s hard to put into words the impact he has had on my family. Abigail loved to feed him too much food and slip him people's food snacks, which didn’t bother him at all. Hunter would sneak him into his room and let him sleep in his bed. Which was always rewarded at 2 am by the loudest slurping noise you'd ever heard from a dog cleaning himself, and he was a constant food vacuum if Elena dropped anything on the floor while cleaning. We all deeply loved that dog. I could write pages about Bauer and his antics. However, I will close with the fact that he will be dearly missed.
I can’t wait until we can hunt the flooded timber again, wherever that time will be. Until we meet again, I hope you line every blind, step on every mark, and get all the neck rubs you ever wanted.. Happy forever hunting grounds to our family's first Chessie, Bauer (Ned’s Dedication) 8/10/2016-9/23/2025
