HRCH MOON RIVER'S YANKEE MAJOR

---

I purchased Major from Tim Post at Moon River Kennels in Iowa as an eight week old pup.  Those of you that knew Major will be surprised to learn that Major was not one of those precocious puppies.  In fact, he was quite lazy and showed little desire to retrieve.  I actually offered him to a friend for $1.00 but got turned down.  When he turned six months of age, however, it was like someone had tuned a switch on and Major became the dog many of you remember him as.

He was a joy to train and learned as fast as I could teach him.  I remember my training partners straining their brains to try to think up marks that Major couldn't do......usually in vain.  Major flew through Started and Seasoned earning his HR by completing a difficult Finished test that several very accomplished dogs failed.  His style was a bit on the wild side and, to those that didn't know him, he always appeared to be "on the edge" of out of control.  He was a pin point natural marker and ran lines and handled equally well.  Lining or "one whistling" the blind became his trademark.

Major became a Hunting Retriever Champion at two years of age and went on to earn his 510th point at age seven despite missing two full seasons with injuries (Did I mention that he was a reckless dog?). Major ran forty hunt tests in his career, passing 36 of them.  He was a Champion in every sense of the word and God truly blessed me by letting me stand by his side for so many years.  Rest easy, "Big Guy," and I'll meet you at the bridge.