Jake Stories and Tribute Thread...
I'm putting this here because I feel this will get the most traction in the open forum. Jake is a dog most fitting of a tribute in a hunting forum but there's not enough traffic this time of year in there and I don't want him to get lost. And if I put him in the retriever forum he would rise from the grave and bite me for associating him with that crowd.
All, most, dogs are special. No arguing that. I've spent the majority of my life around dogs in all areas from personal pets and hunting dogs to a profession that feeds my family. In that time I've met some incredible dogs. But every now and then one stands out from the crowd and Jake was one of those. The main thing that made Jake stand out was how eager his owner was to share him with the world. DC was never hesitant to haul Jake all over the state and the South East to let him chase squirrels for a group of strangers. It was obvious DC loved and was extremely proud of Jake and the hunter he was. He never made excuses for him. If there were squirrels, Jake would find them. If Jake found no squirrels, then you had no squirrels to be found. It was that simple.
No telling how many kids that dog was responsible for their first squirrels. And while squirrels were the goal, they were just an added bonus to a time spent wandering the woods, engaged in conversation, with no particular direction in mind, with friends and family. From dead heads, sheds, turtle shells to tiny red screech owls pulled from their knot hole, you just never knew what a hunt with Jake would turn up. He waited patiently on me to catch up the year I had my knee surgery and wasn't quite to full speed yet. He held guard while all my kids took entirely too long to line up shots (kidding. not kidding) on their first squirrels. Hell, my wife killed her first one and dropped it on Jake. So throw making grown folks smile in there too.
Jake was a true southern hunting dog. A dog purpose built and not for show. "Too skinny" or "he looks wormy" or "poor dog needs to eat" were just a few of the judgements cast by those not in the know on how a true field dog looks. Jake was built to work and work he did.
Rainbow bridges are for fat spoiled house dogs. Jake wouldn't be caught dead crossing a rainbow bridge (see what I did there?). No. Jake crossed over the river on a fallen log while burning a squirrels ass right on into Heaven. I bet the sound of that sharp choppy bark echoing off the gates was a sweet sweet sound.
God speed, Jake. Thanks for the memories.
And thank you, DC, for sharing him with so many people. It's not often a dog gets to be a core memory for as many kids and adults as he is.
Please post your stories of hunts with Jake and pictures if you have them.
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and a lot of kids have brought their BB guns along on hunts before they were old enough for a .22 but hunting with yall is the ONLY time I’ve seen a kid bring his bow and arrow to a squirrel hunt. 
Originally Posted by Palmetto Bug
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