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Please Read. HRC is not just about dogs.

3K views 23 replies 23 participants last post by  roseberry 
#1 ·
PLEASE READ -

Last weekend the Southeast Texas Hunting Retriever Club had the GREAT honor to have had this dog at our Hunt test. Hawkeye did not only run our tests, Hawkeye recieved his Hunting Retriever Championship as J.T. wanted. J.T.'s best friend and Hawkeye's new owner Scott Nichols told the story about Hawkeye and his conversation with J.T. about "If something happens to me......". There was not a dry eye in the house, including me. Jimmy Nealy barely made it through the presentation. HRC is not just about dogs. It's the people that make it so special.



By Scott Stump

Navy SEAL Jon Tumilson lay in a coffin, draped in an American flag, in front of a tearful audience mourning his death in Afghanistan. Soon an old friend appeared, and like a fellow soldier on a battlefield, his loyal dog refused to leave him behind.
Tumilson’s Labrador retriever, Hawkeye, was photographed lying by Tumilson’s casket in a heart-wrenching image taken at the funeral service in Tumilson’s hometown of Rockford, Iowa, earlier this week. Hawkeye walked up to the casket at the beginning of the service and then dropped down with a heaving sigh as about 1,500 mourners witnessed a dog accompanying his master until the end, reported CBS.

AP
Petty Officer 1st Class Jon T. Tumilson was killed along with other SEALs on Aug. 6 in Afghanistan.
The photo was snapped by Tumilson’s cousin, Lisa Pembleton, and posted on her Facebook page in memory of the San Diego resident. Tumilson, 35, was one of 30 American troops, including 22 Navy SEALs, who were killed when a Taliban insurgent shot down a Chinook helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade on Aug. 6.
“I felt compelled to take one photo to share with family members that couldn't make it or couldn't see what I could from the aisle,” Pembleton wrote on her Facebook page. “To say that he was an amazing man doesn't do him justice. The loss of Jon to his family, military family and friends is immeasurable.’’
Hawkeye was such a huge part of Tumilson’s life that Tumilson’s family followed the dog down the aisle as they entered the service in front of a capacity crowd in the gymnasium at the Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock Community School. Hawkeye then followed Tumilson’s good friend, Scott Nichols, as Nichols approached the stage to give a speech. As Nichols prepared to memorialize his friend, Hawkeye dutifully laid down near the casket.
The youngest of three children, Tumilson had wanted to be a Navy SEAL since he was a teenager. Friends and his two older sisters remembered a fearless soldier, and a Power Point presentation was shown that illustrated Tumilson’s active life outside of the military, which included scuba diving, martial arts, and triathlons.
"If J.T. had known he was going to be shot down when going to the aid of others, he would have went anyway," friend Boe Nankivel said at the service.
“Your dreams were big and seemed impossible to nearly everyone on the outside," his sister, Kristie Pohlman, said at the service. "I always knew you'd somehow do what you wanted."
As for Hawkeye, the loyal Labrador will now be owned by Nichols, Tumilson’s friend.
 
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#2 ·
This is absolutely awesome!!!! I remember seeing this image posted on MSN.com, read the article, but had no idea he was an HRC dog. Congrats and kudos to Mr Nichols, for seeing his friends dream through to fruition...... and best of luck in the future to Hawkeye!!!
 
#5 · (Edited)
Nice to see he finished his HRCH. Im sure there might've been another watcher in the crowd silently cheering him on. I googled Navy Seal and Dog and got a pile of pics, very touching
 
#10 ·
You're right, there's a lot more to this sport than ribbons......GREAT example in this story.

Wally
.
 
#14 ·
Thanks for sharing, this is great!
 
#19 ·
Aaaawsome!
 
#20 ·
Thanks for sharing this. We are so fortunate to live in America.
 
#21 ·
Very cool to see he accomplished it! Thank you for sharing Cleo!
 
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