R.I.P. Shady Grove's April Rain

[Shady Grove Beagles]

Lost my old Rainy female this week.I'd raised her out of my Max and Sierra and had enjoyed having her as my hunting companion for almost 9 years.
Rainy was the hardest hunting beagle I've ever owned.Talk about bottom,I don't believe you could hunt her down. In 2011 I took her north for two weeks of hare hunting.First a week in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom,a day off for travel to Maine and then a week running in northern Maine and a day off to travel to New Hampshire where she ran in Claremont Beagle Club's Licensed Large Pack on Hare trial.
This was Rainy's first and only trial.The entry was 26 big bitches and we turned them loose at 8:00 A.M. and the judges called Field Trial at 4:30 P.M. Rainy took home the first place blue ribbon and all my admiration.One tough hound !!
Rainy was accidentally bred by my young Bomber dog.Even though this was not a planned breeding I was looking forward to the litter.Rainy had produced some nice pups previously and Bomber has been showing me the abilities I like to see.
Rainy had gotten quite large and I figured she was going to have a basket full. She was due and my wife and I had taken her for a nice walk on leash and she acted fine.Chowed down at dinner time and when i went up next morning to check on her she was dead. No sign of distress/trouble so have no idea what happened.
Will miss the old girl but have her daughter and grand daughter to carry on.

[JovanJ]

Beautiful Hound.Sorry for your loss

[Hare Chaser]

It's always hard seeing the good ones go and that much harder in this circumstance. Rainy was as tough a hound as I've ever seen. No quit and built to the hilt. If you could sculp what you wanted for confirmation you couldn't design one better. She was the epitome of what I would want all my 15" females to be built like. She was a tireless hunter that was always ready to hit the brush weather it be in East TN or the soft wood swamps and clear cuts in Northern VT, NH and Maine. The good ones always depart to soon. May the joy of her daughter and granddaughter carrying on her legacy lessen the sting of your loss.

[fastone]

sorry to hear

[warddog]

Very nice looking hound. Sorry for your loss. Dos her daughter and granddaughter have her looks and conformation?

[BCBeagles]

Sorry to hear Dana....good ones seem to expire too quickly.....lots of fond memories I am sure.

[RDN61]

Sorry to hear that Dana. It's always hard loosing a good one.

[Shady Grove Beagles]

Thank you all for your comments.
Warddog,you asked if her daughter and grand daughter had her looks and conformation.
Her daughter Shady Grove's Tn. High Test [Tess ] is out of a Greenwell's Reggie son named Puckett Creek Tn. Driver.His dam was my old Shady Grove's Ninja's Echo.Driver is about a 14" hound and his mother Echo about a 13 3/4" hound.When I bred Rainy to Driver I had hoped for pups up on legs with Rainy's athletic build and stamina.I got smaller dogs more around 14",shorter coupled that more resembled the stud in appearance.This past October I spent two weeks hare hunting in Vermont and New Hampshire with two different packs of hounds and Tess was run every day and exhibited the same endless bottom/stamina her mother had.
I bred Tess to Canadian Field Champion Threejays Jack's Fly Man -a full 15" stud. Here is a pic. of Rainy's grand daughter Shady Grove's Fly Girl-a full 15" bitch.
Fly is an extremely athletic hound that has wheels to really roll and can go over a five foot woven wire cattle fence without hardly a pause.She too exhibits a ton of bottom/stamina.

[LR Patch]

Dana
So sorry to hear that . Gotta be a tuff one to swallow
rv

[kwolf]

Wow , sorry to hear this bad news. Seems like the real good ones get old too fast and they sure are hard to replace.

[HAREHOUND]

Dana, I am very sorry to hear about your loss but when I think about the fun you must have had with her for 9 years it makes me smile. It sounds like she was a very special dog and I wish I could have seen her run. Marty

[bluegrass1]

Sorry Dana, Greg Wells

[Shady Grove Beagles]

Again,thanks for all the kind words.
Got my first hunting dog [ beagle ] when I was 13 years old and have not been without a dog to hunt with for the past 53 years.It's gotten to the point that I can't remember all the things about all the dogs but I think we all can remember the special ones.
Good memories of sitting in blinds on the Atlantic Flyway with a special Lab named Lucky who retrieved many ducks,geese and more than a few pheasants as an up-land flusher.
Nite Champion Robinson's Blue Drum who accounted for several hundred coon and always made me proud whether treed in the White Mountains of New Hampshire or deep in the swamps of Mississippi.
Over the past 20+ years there's been several beagles that have left a lasting impression and Rainy definitely was one of them.Her mother R.CH. Shady Grove's Sassy Sierra was another.
I'm a "dog man" and the Lord willing I guess I always will be. As I ease my way into senior citizen status I feel incredibly blessed to have been able to pursue hunting with dogs and enjoying the outdoors.
Ya all enjoy those good ones!!!!!!

[BB Beagles]

Dana, sorry to hear about Rain. Always stinks losing one.