Stillwaters Heyyou Sneed

Howard

Well-known member
As most of you know, we lost Sneed on the 2nd of Sep. to congestive heart failure. For those of you that didn't know her, I would like to tell you a little ablut her.

She was born the same day we lost O.D. Clever, 2nd of April in 1997. I hesitated to get a new dog at first but I heard of a local litter so I went to take a look. Long story short, we ended up with a female pup that I didn't really care for.

She ws just different. Big enough at 8 weeks to look like 12 weeks, she just wanted to stay out side at night. Most times when you seperate a pup from Mom and siblings they show some anguish. She just didn't care. She would sleep in a shipping kennel but it had to be out side or at least on the back porch. She was a happy pup but showed no signs of bonding with any one any time soon.

So we started training. She responed to obedience training ok but she wasn't a star pupil. Somlongswim.jpge things just took her a little longer to learn. Enthusiastic in retreiver work, she took her time ,running but never charging. Well, she wont over run a bird that way. Still, she wasn't O.D Clever. We kept working and she learned but I wasn't as consistant as I should have been so I'll say it now. She could have been a great dog. Would have been a great dog if I had not passed my short commings on to her. It was only later that I saw her true potential.

A friend of mine, Gill Owen invited me to hunt with him the day after Thanksgiving in 1997. Sneed was 7 months old and weighed 70 lbs. Shortly after we left the dock she climbed up onto the fore deck of the boat and set down. Claiming her place in all boats for the next 10 years. Just a couple of hours in the after noon and she retreived 6 birds. 2 mallards/3 baldpates and a gadwall. She took hand signals for one of the baldpates and chased after one of the mallards for over a 100 yards. Well, maybe she will be OK.

She finally bonded and we became pretty much inseperable most of the time. She worked better and I saw how I had misjudged her. And she developed my sence of humour too. One day on the York at Gill's blind, I was eating a sandwich when a pair of Ruddy ducks came busting in. I laid the sandwich down on the bench and neatly dusted both birds. As I watched her swim out I wondered, "What the hell is she chewing?". Then realized my sandwich was missing. She would also "raise" small soccor balls 2 months after she went out of heat. For about 6 weeks they went where she did.

We made a pretty good team. Most of the time we hunted by our selves and we got our rythum. When I moved to the front of the boat to set dekes or the anchor or whatever, she would move to the rear. No command, she just figured it out. She would hunt from the bow because she could see better there. She would wait till after I lowered the gun then move to the rear of the boat to enter the water. Easier to get in and out from there.

We nerver had her bred. I just wasn't sure about her hips. She was a full 2 inches taller at the hips then she was at the shoulder. A lot, even for a Chesapeake. I was right, eventually she was diagnosed with arthritus. Our Vetrinary put her on etogesic and it made a LOT of difference. That fall she bounded across the shoals just like a 2 year old.

We knew that her hips woulnd't get any better and you could see each year that she had lost a little of her strength from the season before. The last 2 seasons she really couldn't launch her self off the boat anymore. She would just kinda slid down the angled deck and push off just before she hit the water. She wouldn't quit though, she loved duck hunting as much, maybe more than I do.

She would get so excited each fall when I would start getting ready for the season. She would follow me everywhere just to make sure I didn't forget to open the truck door for her when it actualy was time to go even if that was 3 weeks away. Last season she gat a uterine infection in January. We dad to have her spayed so she missed a couple hunts. I snuck out on her one time but she caught me the second time and I wish you could have heard her. It was pathetic. She sounded like a Mom that couldn't get to het pups. I felt like a heel all day but when I came home with 2 bluebills she forgave me.

As a pup she developed a manerisum that defined her. She would lift her left paw above her head up like a child asking to go to the bathroom in kindergarden. She would do this to get your attention, as a sign of affection or just to say, Hi! When I took her to the Vet the last time she still smiled when she walked in the office ( she loved to go to the VET). When i reenterted the X-ray room after her X-ray she was laying on her right side looked up at me and raised that paw up as if to say, "It's gonna be OK."

She had a good Friday but I could see her steadily slipping on Saturday. She went into the yard about half way to the woods and just laid down. I had to put her lead on her to caox her into getting up and going back into the house. It was really hard for her to getup. Sunday morning she couldn't get up to go outside, I woke Sandy and told her that it would be just a matter of time. She tried to put her head on her right fore leg but couldn't hold it there. I put a small pilllow under that anvil she called a head an that seemed to make her comfortable. A couple hours later, about 9am she just stopped breathing and left us.

FIRST HUNT
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SNEED N GLENN
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HAPPY
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SNEED WATCHIN
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Great tribute Howard.Sneed is smiling at you as always.Memories will live forever.They leave a hole in your heart.I know.
 
We are all sad for your loss. Im terified and over joyed at the same time as i am currently raising my first real hunting partner I cannot imagine a time without her.
 
Sorry to hear of your loss. Your tribute to her is amazing, and expresses the bond one forms with his best friend.

Take care,
Jack
 
She was a very sweet dog, a faithful companion, and a good hunter. I'll miss her too.

My story of hunting with Howard and Sneed: we were on the Elizabeth River for geese. We had come to that part of the day when nothing much is flying, and Howard gets out his lunch and starts rummaging around. He says "want a pop tart"? "Sure", I replied. I eat half the pop tart and THEN Howard tells me he was actually talking to his dog! Who knew she was a pop tart fan?

Sean
 
Howard - a very fitting memorial to an outstanding friend and hunting partner. I always enjoyed sneeds post's over on MLB. It is truly unfair that our best friends can only be with us for what seems like such a short time.
 
Howard- You have showed how your journey with Sneed changed your life. What a tribute, Sneed's in a beautiful marsh where the ducks fly year round.
 
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