The Dog Fighter and the Dog lover from Richard Stratton

Not all pit dog men are angels, of course, but Ihave been blessed in knowing some of the most honorable and reputable ones, and they compare quite favorably in dog knowledge and compassion with any dog people. Of course, Wallace was mainly concerned with perpetuating a line of dogs and only matched a dog occasionally in order to test the worth of his strain against others. Still, he referred to himself as a dogfighter, and he lived in an era when a person could be somewhat more open about pit dog activities than these days. In his early and middle years, Walace was an enthusiastic bird hunter, and one of his partners on these hunts was a municipal judge. In fact, they often used the judges dog, a Pointer, on their forays.Occasionally, talk would get around to Bulldogs and would inevitably evoke the same response from the judge:,,Bob, Ijust dont know how you can fight those dogs.I,m such a dog lover,I just cant understand such a thing. There isn,t anything I love more than a dog.,, Bob,not gifted with infinite patience, would swallow his anger and try to explain the pit dog game and how even a dog lover could participate--but to no avail. Like so many other people, the judges mind was not open to new or different ideas. Despite the occasional little mealy-mouthed diatribes by the judge, the friendship between the two men endured and they remained hunting partners. One day, the judge showed up with a new dog for the hunt, and naturally Bob inquired about the old one.,,Oh, old jack was geting too old to hunt well, so I gave him away,,.When Bob inquired who got the dog, the judge replied he didnt know the persons name he said: It was just someone I have met on the road,,.This rankled Wallace considerably, but at least for a time, he said nothing. However, the next time his friend started his prattle about Bob fighting his dogs and how he himself as a dog lover couldnt understand it, Wallace e x p l o d e d! ,,Yes you,re a dog lover, all right!,, Said Wallace in a voice that rattled the timbers.(His natural voice is quite loud,anyway, low in tone and unintentionally ominous in effect.),,Here Jack spent all those years valiantly working his heart out for you,at your beck and call, and slave to your every whim. And how do you repay him for this love?When he gets too old to hunt up to your expectations, you discard him like an old shoe. And you dont even make sure you find him a good home. No, you just give him to some stranger, and you have no idea what care he is getting. Well, if that is what a dog lover is,Im glad Im a dogfighter! So taken aback was the judge by Wallaces rebuke that he spend several weeks trying to locate his old dog.And he never again said anything about Bob being a dogfighter.

 

Great post! It's always good to read.

 

Beautiful read. Reality at it's finest.

 

did the judge find his bird dog?

 

Ask Wallace....lol..I like this story and read it more than once...and yes I ask the same question to my self.

 

hell yeah. props on the story. that's what kind of loyalty and character that people either have or don't have regardless of if they are a dogman or not. that is what set me off on some people and when i tell them that, they still don't even get it.

 

Really good read! It goes to show that some people don't realize their hypocrisy till someone points it out to them. Wish someone could do that to all those PETA freaks.

 

My wife an I differ in opinions much like Wallace and the Judge. She cannot understand how in the world I reconcile my life-time love for ALL animals (which she considers extreme) to embracing dog matching. In short, all animals created by man have been developed for a purpose. Proper usage of the animal for the purpose it was bred for is neither cruel or inhumane.

Just exercising my first amendment right.

Regards,


RH