Posted 11 years ago
Rugbyfan1
(1 item)
The 1959 duck stamp was a portrait of old Buck with a drake mallard in his mouth, set against a backdrop of windswept marsh grass and flaring ducks. It was the first time a dog had ever appeared on a United States Federal Duck stamp.
I love the history behind King Buck. He was a sickly puppy and ended up a champion. John M. Olin was a great person whom King Buck loved. Olin said: “He was one of the finest wild duck retrievers I have ever seen. In spite of his intense field trial training, he loved natural hunting. He used his head in the wild, just as in field trials. That first wild duck shoot was his day, every minute of it, and he made the most of it. He was beautiful to watch.”
During the drive back to Stuttgart, as Buck lay on the front seat between Olin and guide Ronald Ahrens, the tired dog rested his head on his master’s leg – the first real sign of intimacy that he had ever awarded a man. It was that moment, after Buck’s first duck hunt, that sealed a bond between Olin and King Buck.
That night Buck didn’t sleep on the floor of Olin’s hotel room; he jumped up on the foot of his master’s bed and spent the night in style. And during the long years of field trial campaigns, whenever Buck and Olin were on the road together, it was always the same. Where the master slept, the dog slept.
http://showmanshooter.com/html/king_buck.html
