Good News Bad news

Not long ago I took in a 4 year old red Setter that the owners finally realized they were not doing right by the breeding of this red setter. I in turn gave her to my best friend Julie Crawford and began assisting her in trianing her new red setter as a grouse and pheasant dog. Knowing that this dog came out of Hidalgo kennels I was sure she had a good nose. Sure enough "Lady" showed that she was capable but not accucto to hunting for the gun.

Julie and I have been making great progress with Lady.

But then tragedy struck and Julie was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident in late August just one week after this photo of Julie and lady was taken.

Julie was seriously injured leaving her with 60 stitches in her head, fracture neck vertabrae, a broken leg wich required surgery and a weeks stay in the hosptial and 3 weeks of recovery away from home and her cherrished red Setter "Lady". The good news is Julie will make a full recovery and will be able to get some hunting in late autumn. Julie has been able to return home for short periods to see Lady but those visits are short due to the severity of Julie's injuries.

AKC to permit ATVs in field trials...

Well known Michigan Brittany Field trialer and longtime AKC judge, Jeff Reed, after a 3 year legal fight, has successfully forced the AKC to allow ATVs and horses in all AKC Pointing breed stakes for qualified mobility disabled pointing breed field trial handlers. The following attached AKC letter states under what rules and regulations ATVs and horses in walking stakes can be used without AKC penalty. Medical information is not to be sent to the AKC but to the particular state government controlling the field trial area. For the first time since the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act was passed , the AKC was found to be in total non compliance for 21 years in a continued effort to deny mobility disabled dog handlers a mobility accommodation to run their dogs with alternative means of conveyance such as ATVs and horses. Said Jeff Reed after receiving notice he could use a horse in any AKC stake his dog is qualified to run including ALL walking stakes, "I spent well over $5,000 dollars in legal costs and was prohibited from AKC field trialing for 3 years to get this AKC Pointing Breed Rule Book changed to accommodate the disabled field trial person. I hope to see some folks who were denied the opportunity to run their dogs with ATVs or horses to now run in any stakes they could not medically walk to compete. In Michigan 2 field trialers have already been approved to use an ATV or a horse in a walking pointing breed stakes."

Additional info on this ruling will be posted as it becomes available...