Panther: And Other Stories of Great Hunting Retrievers - Hardcover

The story of Panther, the small Labrador retriever with the big heart, leads off this exciting collection of tales devoted exclusively to hunting retrievers. A diminutive pheasant hunting dog from the Dakotas, Panther rose from obscurity during the late 1940s and early 1950s to become the most consistent winner in field-trial history. His 24 wins and 172 championship points rank him as the best field-trialer of his time. Only one thing eluded him: A national championship.

Seven times, Panther's wins qualified him to run in the nationals, where he was known as the dog to beat. And seven times he fell just short of the national title-twice on technicalities that seemed designed to keep the "outlaw dog from the Wild West" from attaining his rightful prize.

Though Panther never placed first in the nationals, he did eventually earn first place in his irascible owner's heart. And so it is with the other retrievers in this anthology. Each is first in his master's heart, and each inspires a unique story about the special bonds that form between man and dog when engaged in the common pursuit of hunting waterfowl and upland game birds.

Leading the list of notable authors-which include E. Donnall Thomas Jr., John Barsness, Michael McIntosh, Ted Lundrigan, and Doug Larsen, among others-is Sandy Smith, the former investigative reporter for Time magazine who helped break the Watergate story. Smith puts his veteran reporting skills to the task of uncovering the truth behind Panther's thwarted quest for a national title.