Finally, it’s a done dog deal: It’ll be a springer
November 20th, 2009
Jesse leads Jerry Cole into a walk-in area Thursday in Stanley County.
By KW
It’s done.
It’ll be a springer.
Husker, Ellie and Jesse settled it for me onThursday with their cheeful demeanor and relentless skill in cattail sloughs and blustery bluegrass hills.
My next dog will be a springer spaniel.
My last couple were, too. And I loved the way they hunted pheasants. I also loved their friendly personalities when they weren’t hot on the trail of upland birds.
After going dogless for most of a decade, it’s welll past time for another pooch. It’s also well past time to return to the South Dakota ringneck march in a meaningful way.
You really can’t do that without a dog. A good dog.
Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions. There are things I’ll miss out on by not trying a pointer. And I make no argument that a Labrador wouldn’t have been the best all-around hunting-retrieving combination.
But the hunting heart will go where the hunting heart will go. And mine goes naturally toward springers.
I was close to 100 percent sure before my day afield in Stanley County with Jerry Cole and his three springers. It was a done deal after that.
Riding home in Cole’s SUV, with a trio of tired dogs in back and four heavy bodied roosters (we should have had six) riding atop the portable kennels, we were deeply engaged in breeder specifics.
And all those hours of puppy talk eventually had Cole taking some of his own leads.
“You know, I think I’ll take a look at that litter out in Colorado myself,” he said. “I could fit one more kennel in the back.”
Why in the world, you might ask, would a guy want four springer spaniels?
It’s pretty simple: He doesn’t have the kennel space for five.

Jerry Cole - the one in the orange cap - lines up the springer gang for a team picture: From left: Jesse, Husker and Ellie.











