Cindy Girl

Buckman’s Briaryriver Cindy was born on August 29, 1999.  Sired by Summer Duck’s Doit Hazzard, out of Black Cypress Mandy, I brought her home when she was seven weeks old.  I raised Cindy.  I trained Cindy.  She may have been just another dog to anybody else, but Cindy was my dog.  She was special to me.

 

This Monday was a sad day on Briary River, for I laid Cindy to rest Monday.  I buried her by the path to the duck pond, by the gum trees where I have killed so many ducks in the past.  I will miss my Cindy Girl.

There are few things in this life that bring tears to the eyes of a man, and this friends is one of them.  Cindy is a part of so many of my hunting memories on Briary River, Cindy was THE Briary River Retriever.

I remember the time she dipped the boat in Walnut Lake, and I barely got the boat back to the hill before it hit bottom, I jumped up, wet to my knees, and looked back to see Coach, still sitting down, wet to his chest. The temperature was down in the thirties, it was cold, but coach and I went around the corner and still killed a limit of ducks for Cindy to Retrieve.

Then there was the long retrieve Cindy made on the teal I shot down in the swamp.  I brought the duck down from the lower part of the stratosphere, and he went way off yonder.  Cindy didn’t miss a beat, that was one heck of a retrieve.

Then there was that retrieve that sticks out in my mind from the 10-11 season.  I was across the pond with Bo and Cindy.  One of Coach’s buddies was in the blind on the dam with him, and he winged a duck down into a tree.  I knew the duck would be gone if they didn’t get it, but sure enough, they waited for the flight to finish.  When we come back across the pond they were looking for the bird.  Cindy couldn’t find him, but she was acting mighty birdy.  We talked, and she worked.  It took her a while, but she pushed the bird out from under some trash on the edge of the bank.  The bird eventually worked far enough out in the pond for Joe to get a shot and finish it off, then Cindy made the retrieve.

There are so many more stories, so many more memories.  We will all miss you Cindy Girl, but I will miss you the most.  I don’t know that dogs can make it to heaven, but if they can I know you are there, and I hope Granddaddy Percy is there with you, bringing birds down for you until I get there.

Buckman