Alabama’s Best of Show [CCR]

Recently the sporting headlines included the famous Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. This show features what people consider the best of all dogs everywhere. Those people need to become a little more familiar with our Alabama dogs. It would probably be a sure bet that none of those dogs could meet the requirements for burial in the Coon Dog Cemetery. Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against those dogs in the show. But, folks, we have a bit of our own “best of show” in Alabama.

When I was a fairly young child my Dad got us a dog that carried me through a good bit of my teenage years. Butch wasn’t one of those fancy looking dogs you see on the dog show. He did have a stub tail. Not docked. It just grew that way. He wasn’t a big dog, but he wasn’t exactly small either. Mom and Dad tell me that as a young child I loved to sneak up on Butch and stomp that stub tail. I guess Butch just knew I was a unknowing small child because he ignored it and never complained.

But just like most of us humans, Butch had one weakness. He loved to chase and tree other animals. That chase would include squirrels, raccoons, or whatever was available. And in our case we lived near cattle. Dad made a decision that was brilliant and filled the needs of everyone including Butch. Butch moved to my Granddaddy’s house in Mountain Springs. Our dog now had a cornucopia of critters to chase.

As most dogs who roam the woods around home you can imagine Butch had some run-ins with snakes. Rattlesnakes and copperheads for sure. I can’t recall when Butch first got bit. But, with exception to his annual rabies shots, my folks could take pretty good care of the pets. So Butch was nurtured through those first few encounters. That nurturing was very unfortunate for the snake population. Ever watch one of those shows when a fighter hits someone and the big guy just shakes off the hit? Well, Butch somehow got immune to those snake bites. All a good snake could do was make Butch mad. I couldn’t count the number of snakes Butch killed that we knew about and could only guess the number of ones we didn’t see. But, I can remember Butch chasing snakes to a hole and digging them out for their encounter. For many years the snakes in Mountain Springs lived in fear of the famous snake dog, Butch. If you were wandering into the local woods you wanted Butch in the lead. He always cleared the path.

Snakes weren’t the only fare on Butch’s menu. He joined us for just about every squirrel and deer hunting trip we made. At night he treed his fair share of coons and possums (that’s raccoons and opossums for the city folks). I can remember spending the night at Granddaddy’s house and hearing Butch make a run in the middle of the night. Granddaddy would wake me up, grab the old double barrel shotgun and we were on our way out to give Butch the satisfaction of completing the hunt. Granddaddy and Butch grew one of those special relationships where each knew what the other was thinking. Butch knew his place was not on the porch until Granddaddy went to bed. He then took his place on the wood box by the door to guard his family.

I can’t count the number of hunts Butch made, but he kept the pace all the way through most of my teen years. As he got older Granddaddy got Butch a companion, Guard, and Butch taught his apprentice the tricks of the trade. For a short while Butch held the top of the wood box and Guard lay at the foot of the box. Age caught up with Butch along with an illness he had carried since a pup that we just couldn’t fix. As a dog of about 15 years age Butch was having a very hard time getting around, but he always perked up when Dad or one of my uncles would take him out to the woods around the house. Then one day Dad took Butch out and Butch never came home. Guard took his place on the box as if it were a passing of the torch and he continued to guard Granddaddy’s house through the rest of Granddaddy’s years.

Now folks, you may not see Butch or some other kid’s local dog on that dog show. But I can bet each of us had a pet that we feel holds the “best of show” for us. I, for one, nominate Butch. If you make it out to Mountain Springs one evening in the summer take a drive around Daily Loop. Drive slowly and roll your window down. If you listen quietly you may hear old Butch giving a coon a run for his money. And then if you hear that old double barrel shotgun blast you know Granddaddy finished another hunt.