More: My first dog. I got her at age 25. She made me grow up. She taught me patience. She showed me that bird hunting is about much more than how many times you pull the trigger. A jack of all trades, from retrieving bull cans on the Chesapeake, flushing woodcock in the thickets of North Carolina, to even helping me track and recover whitetail deer. She doesn’t have a single ribbon and she may not take hand signals perfectly, but she’s quiet, patient, and has one hell of a nose. I can’t imagine a better companion.