Yoda was my second field trial dog, four years behind Cody the dog in my avatar. He was never a big dog, hanging within a pound or two of 63 lbs right up to the end of his life, but he was full of heart and showed remarkable marking skills right from early puppyhood. Yoda was a pretty good derby dog but was a bit unlucky to come up in a derby class that included Carbon, Auggie and Rugby. Yoda was lucky to get four derby fourths and numerous Jams behind those great marking dogs. He progressed rapidly through the Qual getting a back to back first and second when he was less than three.
Yoda was advancing in his all age training when disaster struck around his fourth birthday, he injured his back and underwent surgery to fuse his spine at WSU in Pullman. The doctor thought his prognosis for running full speed was good, then the other shoe dropped our first day back from training the next Spring, he hit something sharp and severed his Achilles tendon, another surgery and more rehab, but unbelievably later that summer he won a big Open the day before he turned five at Roberts ID. It was particularly satisfying as he beat Carbon and other big hitters on a very hard Open head to head. Unfortunately due to the injuries he altered his gait and as he was a very hard charger, he wore out prematurely. We was as savvy as any good all age dog, but at age eight he was running out of gas in the fourth series and had to be retired. Who would of guessed he would bless us with five more years of companionship. Rich Larsen who has trained and judged a lot of dogs says Yoda is the best marker he ever saw.
I've mentioned this before, but I have had the same hunting buddy, best friend for over twenty years. Over the years Neil carves the decoys and I supply the dogs. We both helped each other build specialized duck hunting boats. The last three years of Yoda's hunting career we happened to keep a journal of every hunting trip, good or bad. Every location, how we set up, weather, wind, type of ducks and how they were flying, what we shot, cripples, ducks retrieved, name of hunters and dog. Over that three year period we shot 268 ducks and geese, not a lot compared to some outfitter dogs, but respectable for two old guys who don't care much about limits anymore. Anyway during any given season, most ducks fall dead or dying near the boat, but believe it or not we occasionally only cripple a duck which sails far back into thick cattails or worse yet, floating driftwood. Over that journal period Yoda never missed a bird. His record was 268/0! To this day Neil, who used to be a hunting guide, says Yoda is the best hunting dog he ever had the pleasure of shooting over.
Obviously there was much more to Yoda than field trial and hunting expertise, Yoda was special to Cheryl and I for fifteen years of our 22 year marriage. There is just too much to say about Yoda except that yesterday he woke up in his fluffy bed right next to mine and today he didn't.
John