The following are beagles and coonhounds that have earned their UKC degree(s) at a MPHC event.  If you have a hound that belongs in the Hall of Fame, please contact us at mphc@bayingbriars.com

Champion Class

“Bounce”

by

 Jerry C. Ray

 

            What’s in a name? 

Boy, that’s a big question!  Maybe I need to narrow it down a bit.  Rather than consider the names of people such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Barrack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Ted Williams, Arnold Palmer, Mike Ditka, Michael Jordan, Mohammad Ali, Danica Patrick, Warren Buffet, Canyon Walls, Cord Wood, Dick Jones, Tim Cook or even Jerry Ray, let’s narrow scope of our consideration of names to pets! Even more specific “dog” pets.  To fine tune this consideration even more, how about the names of our hound dog pets?  So, all of you who had a hound dog, or have hound dogs as pets, go a head and let your mind recall something special about that pet, whatever his or her name-  Buck, Red, Thunder, Old Blue, Mert, Tanker, Dazy, Brandie, Turbo, Bob, Spud, Cupcake, Honey, Buster, Poncho, etc., etc., etc.

But wait!  Before you let your mind wander in consideration of your dog, read on and I will tell you some of the names of dogs I can recall. 

What’s in a name?  Hmm, let me think …

Snoopy:  He wasn’t the cartoon character, but the first beagle I ever owned.  I found him wondering the streets of Farmington, Michigan.  I tried in vain to find his owner, and when all attempts failed, I laid claim to him.  He chased rabbits hard but deer even harder! 

Rushlimbdog:  He was my son Bret’s dog.  A Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, he was probably the smartest dog I ever saw.  He could do at least twenty-four or more tricks upon both verbal and hand commands.  And yes, his name identifies my son’s conservative frame of mind.  

Beethoven:  He was a beagle owned by David Church and named by his kids.  Jim Minter and I bought Beethoven off David, a Branko dog, and at the time, one of the youngest dogs in this part of the country to make UKC field champion.

K-8:  She was a fine little female beagle owned by Missy Fix.  A real hard running UKC field champion out of Jon Simonson’s kennel. 

Nickel:  He was walkee talkee beagle owned by my son.  He was named Nickel because he followed the scent.  Get it?

Pitch:  A beagle owned by my good friend Del Martin, and named by his wife Elizabeth.  Now, can you picture Del, myself or anyone of our hunting buddies hailing Pitch?  “Here Pitch!  Here Pitch!”  Would others hearing our call understand it to be “Here _itch!  Here _itch?”

Fluffy:  Although not a hound, my sister has a Chihuahua.  “Fluffy?” What’s that all about?

Miah:  He is a Biblical hound, of sorts.  You see, Mike West, father-in-law of Jeff White, bought this pup from me and named it Jeremiah.  His name was based on the Bible scripture  Jeremiah 33:3 of the Old Testament.  It reads, “Call on to me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which though knowest not.” Well, I got the pup back from Mike and shortened the name to Miah, and I’m still waiting for the “great and mighty things.” 

The good thing about naming a hound is that once he learns it, he comes (generally) when called.  It doesn’t matter what the meaning, the reason or the definition of the dog’s name is.  The list of names can go on and on.  But I’ll stop for now, except for one.   

Bounce:  He was the brother of Miah in a litter sired by my Dad’s dog, Ray’s Oregon Jake. His mother belonged to me, Ray’s Dolly.  Both sire and dam were accomplished UKC field champions.  The litter was whelped on April 5, 2005.  Back in the day, 1940 through the 1950’s, my Dad and his brother Doc were into coonhounds and coon hunting in a big way.  At one time, I’m told, they owned some 100 plus dogs from Missouri to Michigan.  Of all the dogs they had Dad claimed, “Bounce,” a black and tan coonhound, was his best both in competition and in field hunting.

But there was one pup in the aforementioned litter that stood out.  He was aggressive, feisty, inquisitive, and down-right personable.  I made up my mind to keep him, and out of respect to my Dad, I called him “Bounce.”  He was as solid a rabbit dog as I have ever had, and never knew him to run trash of any kind.  I have had several UKC field champions, but Bounce was my only UKC field grand champion.

Sadly, Bounce died on September 17. My Dad was born on that same date in 1916. 

As I said, many years ago, when my beagle champion Dixie died, “a man cries when his faithful companion dies.”  And I did.