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                                                                                                             'Snow'
                                                                                                 1974 ~ 9-16-88

Snow was the first bird dog I owned, although I grew up hunting. I got her in 1975 she was about a year old - I was 17 years old. As you can see, her breeding really wasn't in the 'bird dog' family. However I was determined to turn her into a pheasant hunting dog. With a little bit of training she did become great at tracking and flushing the birds. Her downfall was on the retrieve.....I had to get to the bird before she did or she would make a meal of it.

A a year later I was given my first Chesapeake, Toby, by Sam Johnson as a gift. That same Chessie turned out to be the foundation of my breeding program. I used Snow to help train Toby on upland birds. Together they made a great team. Finally I had the retriever part of the equation.

It was rare in those days to see upland hunters with retrievers, let alone a mixed breed like Snow. 
Back in the day of the Put and Take program for upland birds, there were many times that we would see other hunters coming out of a field saying there were no birds.  Sometimes they would laugh at the sight of me taking my mix breed and Chesapeake after pheasants.  I would take Snow & Toby into the field anyway and come out with birds the other guys and their 'upland bred' dogs couldn't find.  Then I got the last laugh.
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Snow & Gary aprox 1975.
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Toby, Gary & Snow - November 1978.

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Snow, Gary & Toby - 1983.
Irish's Clover Leaf Kennel
Gary & Dorene Irish
10082 N. Vassar Rd,  Mt. Morris, MI  48458
810-631-4832    chessiecentral1@aol.com
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