The Tortoise and the Hair

The author's dad, Gary, with the family's GSP, Nicky.

For some perplexing reason, tortoises get a century or two, and great bird dogs get a decade. A decade and a half if we’re lucky.

The sun is in its setting stage for Nicky, the Hauck family’s German shorthaired pointer, who for 11 years – first from high school, then college, and now reality – has been the first to welcome me home. The cruel truth that Nicky’s animated greetings won’t last forever is starting to creep in.

Just the other day, I emailed my dad about a good lead on a new pup. “There’s only room for one at the Hauck farm,” he replied, “And Nicky still rules the roost. “ That he does, and part of me feels guilty for even contemplating the thought of another dog manning the porch and running the fields in sections across Garfield Township.

There are many things Nicky has not been over the years (namely always obedient) but as his career winds down, I’m dwelling more and more on what he has been: Driven hunter and loving family member. Nicky and I grew to be adults together; he’s merely collecting his social security a bit earlier than me. For him, that means more table scraps and permanent bedding on the entryway floor.

Nicky is still an 80 pound specimen, but his graying hairs and noticeable limp show the wear and tear acquired by the human equivalent of a 75 year-old. His eyes and affection, however, reveal the same energy as the pup that 11 years ago was just a pair of floppy brown ears sitting on the porch.

If I found a lamp with a genie and had three wishes, one of them would be that Nicky lives forever (average life span of a German shorthaired pointer, according to the AKC,  is 13 years).  Wishful thinking aside, Nicky’s still got some left in the tank.

“He still gets me eight roosters a year,” my dad told me last year when I brought up the topic of a new pup last fall, “And that earns him room and board.” If a few pheasants were really all it took, I’d still live at my parents free of charge. It has more to do with how dogs pass through our lives in the blink of an eye. As rooster tales go, I’m the tortoise, and Nicky’s the (short)hair.

Tags: German shorthaired pointer

This entry was posted on Friday, July 16th, 2010 and is filed under Dogs, Hunting, Pheasants. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.