East Tennessee Retriever Club

	Adirondac Hilfy of Fern Hill CDX TDI OD CCA (Hilfy), owned by Karen Edwards and Jim Pearce. May 6, 2002 - January 4, 2016. Hilfy was our first competition dog and the foundation of the Fern Hill breeding program. She had 26 wonderful puppies including our Callie and Penny, and many grand and great-grand puppies including our Panda. The accomplishments of her offspring earned her the Golden Retriever Club of America’s Outstanding Dam title, and her good looks won her the GRCA Certificate of Conformation Assessment. She never got to play the field game although her parents were both Master Hunters – but she loved digging up moles, catching low flying birds, mice and varmints of every sort on the farm. She was joyous, free-spirited, a little bit sassy, beautiful, and a wonderful companion always.

	Double G First Class Annie (Annie), owned by Roberta Williams. February 17, 2006 - October 16, 2015. Sire: FC-AFC Rebel with a Cause, Dam: Cosmic Jett Stream MH. Purebred AKC “Rescue” black Lab, succumbed to mammary cancer. Annie was given to me by the Gossett family who had to move to Birmingham to find work as a contractor. Annie could easily mark birds at 300 to 400 yards. Her lineage included the legendary Cosmos retrievers.

	PACH Sundance Indigo Swing CD MX MXJ MXP5 MJP7 MJPG PAX2 ThD CGC (Apache), owned by Carol and Kevin Stone. April 17, 2002 – September 26, 2015. Entrusted into our care by Victoria Hoffman and delivered back into her waiting arms– RIP Victoria and Apache. It is with heavy hearts that we had to say goodbye to our sweet Apache this year. Though he was only with us 15 months, it seems like he was always with us. We couldn’t have loved him more if he had been with us since he was a pup. We take comfort in knowing he left our loving arms to go back to his precious Victoria. He didn’t have to wait on the Rainbow Bridge. He is where he belongs. We feel truly blessed that she entrusted us with his care and treasured each moment we had with this special boy..Rest easy sweet boy. You’ll always have a place in our hearts. We miss you!

	Frontier’s Apache Spirit (Spirit), owned by Roberta Williams. March 10, 2001 - September 14, 2015. Sire: AFC Teddy’s Ebonstar James QAA x Frontier’s New Millennium JH. Spirit was a purebred AKC “Rescue” Yellow Lab. Fully trained. Abandoned by her family, Spirit lived with me at Sharp Hollow Kennel for nine years until gastric cancer took her away from my care. Spirit’s sire was a son of NFC/NAFC Lean Mac.

	HRCH Brandy's Queen Anne of Knox MH (Annie). Owned by J. Michael Evans. April 22, 2008 - July 17, 2015. Annie passed 40 out of 48 Master Hunt tests. She passed 27 out of 28 HRC Finished tests. She had one AKC Master National pass out of 2 tries and one HRC Grand Pass out of 3 tries. She achieved 500 points in the HRC, and was ETRC’s Gun Dog of the Year for 4 out of the past 6 years ....And I miss her every day because she was my VERY BEST FRIEND! My world was a much better place simply because she was in it. – J. Michael Evans. [photo: Gun Dog 2.jpg Mike and Annie]

	Finnessee All Jazzed Up (Rio), CDX RAE JH MJP MXP ThD VCX WC WCX, March 9, 2001 - July 24, 2012. Owned by Carol and Kevin Stone. Click here for tribute.

	Grousemoor Phoenix Fawkes, MH (Foxx) Owned and greatly missed by Doug and Sheila Nelson.

	K.C.’s Sassafras of Weilerbach (Sassy), UD RAE AX AXJ WC WCX May 3, 1997 – June 10, 2009. Click here for tribute.

	It is with great sadness that I say goodbye to Michael's Jesse Bear JH. You won't see a lot of initials before or after his name nor will you read about him in any record books. He never caused folks to be in awe of his intelligence, speed or precision in the hunt test world but his desire to hunt ran as deeply as mine. God brought Jesse into my life when a true, loyal friend was what I needed to survive; he was all that and more. He learned how to retrieve from the worst trainer in the world....Me! He lived on a steady diet of "book" drills and trainer incompetency and somehow still learned obedience and how to "go get whatever I shot." He was a meat dog in every sense of the word and my best friend. He didn't run laser-straight lines nor did he care to. When the truck started, he was in it and he lived life as I do; without a leash! When we walked hundreds of yards in the mud to a sloppy blind he was there, right by my side, never complaining and always ready for the whistle of wings just before daybreak. Jesse retrieved his first duck at the age of 4 months and he retrieved his last at the age of 12 1/2 years. I was privileged to have Jesse in my life for over 15 years. I was honored to be there for his first breath and heartbroken to be there for his last. Never have I met a tougher dog and his eagerness to please was unyielding. When Jesse was 11 1/2 years old he and I competed in our first hunt test and he went on to achieve his JH title with four straight passes and two straight Senior passes; he never knew failure. Jesse's favorite pillow was my boot, whether my foot was in it or not. His manners were second to none, as long as you let him lean against you when he was tired. These are just some of the memories I will keep of my best friend. It is often said that we ruin our first dog but our second dog ruins us. Jesse has a spot in my heart that can never be replaced by another, he did a fine job of "ruining" me! He was never a Master Hunter or a Grand Champion but he was my retriever, my companion and my best friend his whole life. A dog doesn't have to have Titles, Ribbons or Championships to be great, all they have to do is be themselves. I miss you Jesse with all of my heart and I pray to someday see you again. If, when I leave this world, there are no dogs in Heaven, I will kneel and humbly ask God to send me where ever they are. Michael Evans, owner.