Nick Jennings
UKC Forum Member
Registered: Feb 2014
Location: Western NY
Posts: 894 |
Well the day has come where I've found the gut to tell the world the news. PR Jennings BlueRiver Jewell has recently passed.
I can reminisce like it was yesterday the day we went and got her. I was around 10 or 11 years old at the time and I told my father I wanted a Bluetick and I wanted one that was out of something in the book (coonhound bloodlines). GRNITECH Frosty Blue Bo Bo was an eye catcher and the name sounded right, so I wanted a puppy out of him. Months went by and no plan or word was mentioned of any litters within reasonable driving distances to get a pup out of Bo Bo. Then one day the 2004 Autumn Oaks Special Issue for the Coonhound Bloodlines came to our mailbox. On the cover stood a Bluetick female like a statue, and around her were fortunate people to be a part of her success that weekend. Big tall trophies stood before them and they shined within that shiny new magazine cover shining back at me. She wasn't a Frosty Blue Bo Bo and Frosty Blue Bo Bo wasn't her, but seeing a Bluetick Female take the title out of all them fine dogs told me she was something I needed to be included in.
Looking at the past almost 11 years, I probably could've had a pup out of her handed to me for almost free if I was to just call and tell that breeder straight what I not wanted, but needed so badly. Well my father was either getting the same idea as me or was just annoyed of the bugging, so a phone call was made. A planned cross between GRNITECH B&D's Blue Spike and the defending 2004 Autumn Oaks Overall Winner Wild N Blue Lou was spoken of and we were determined to get on the list when the time came. I didn't know a thing about Blue Spike at the time except for he stretched out nice on that tree in his advertised photo. He had good color and looked like a coonhound so that was good enough for me. Well sometime around the spring of 2005 we confirmed to be on the list for a female pup out of Spike and Lou.
THE ROADTRIP
It was a weekday night and I was just getting home from a middle school fun night. The night was about shot and we somehow managed to come to an agreement that we were leaving at midnight to head West to Ohio to Mr. Shane Groves house. We packed our gear and packed that Maroon Chevy Silverado Club Cab as tight as two frog hairs. Dad driving, uncle Donnie in the passenger seat, and 4 teenage boys on a bench seat packed tight. To this day I don’t even know if Mr. Groves knew we were even coming. We drove all night stopping along the way for fuel and snacks. I sure know I wasn’t sleeping till we got there. Morning came and we arrived at a little Ma and Pop Diner close to where Mr. Groves lived. After finishing out morning breakfast we asked our waitress if she knew of a man named Shane Groves that lived nearby. She took one step to the side and pointed across the short dining area and pointed at the wall. On the wall was a photo of a young Shang Groves with Grnitech Blueriver Sloppy. It was a Congrats to Shane article for making it to the finals of the UKC World Hunt. That was our man and we headed to where he called home. Upon arrival, we didn’t see a sole around. Dogs barking in the kennel, a dog still in the dog box waiting to be let out, and a dozen roses on the kitchen table. Now either Shane was in big trouble for bringing another dog home or he was celebrating something. After about an hour of waiting, Mr. Groves finally came to life from his bed and greeted us outside with sleepy eyes. He had GRNITECH BlueRiver Sloppy in his dog box still, he had gotten home from a long night of coon hunting about the same time the sun came up. To our surprise Mr. Groves didn’t have the puppies at his house. They were all the way over in the next state of Indiana at Mr. Steve Burkeholder’s farm.
We weren’t driving 8 hours back home for just another 2 hours of flat Ohio/Indiana driving. We piled back in and went to Mr. Groves business for directions to Steve’s house. We arrived to Blazer Lights which was run by Shane’s dad come to find out. A 40 lb. opossum mounted in one of the interior corners and a lot of hunting supplies around the place for purchase. We even got to see Wild N Blue Lou’s trophies from when she won Autumn Oaks. They were tall and still shiny from when I first seen them on the cover of the magazine. We got our directions and headed farther west to Indiana- home of Steve Burkeholder. A lot of farm land, patches of woods, and road signs that made no sense at all covered that flat ground. Hard to believe coon populations stays so high in that type of environment.
We made it to Steve’s house and this time it looked a little better. Pups and Lou had a welcoming appearance in a nice above ground kennel setup in front of a small dairy barn. They looked nice and healthy. My long awaiting pick for a true Bluetick coonhound with a pedigree to back up against anything came short when a dark colored female came over to play. She had good color, a nice mouth, and wasn’t shy in any way. She made picking really easy because she came to me. I don’t even think I paid any attention to the rest of the pups. Don’t believe I even looked at another to compare. She was the one I wanted and the rest is history. I named her PR. Jennings Blue River Jewell. We believed we had a real gem on our hands. We made sure we got the 7 generation pedigree in a tube when we ordered her papers.
Jewell was a complete natural from one end to the other. She was a small compact go getter, and she meant business when she was unsnapped. She was a trailing type coonhound that sounded sweet to the ear when she trailed a ringtail. Her locate was one in a million that’s one thing I will miss about her for sure. She hit the ground running and was a complete natural in the coon hunting world. Her pedigree showed in her on what she was bred to do. Jewell was a character in her own world. If I poured her dog feed outside her box, she would have the bowl inside her box the next day waiting for me to reach in to the back and she would watch me struggle. Everyday. If I poured the feed and set the bowl inside her box, she would have the bowl waiting to be refilled at the foot of the dog hole. She gave me just shy of 11 years of memories I hope I will never forget. Jewell was the Queen to my Kennel since the day she came home with us. Thank you everyone for reading my story that I thought I would share with the rest of the coon hunting world.
Last pictures taken of jewell February 3, 2016 4:55PM
Click on video
Jewell with a belly full in 2014
Jewell looking good in the summer of 2014
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Last edited by Nick Jennings on 02-16-2016 at 10:22 PM
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03-25-2015 10:43 PM
