Category: News From Tom

Crime and Punishment in the Bird Dog World

March 25, 2026 | News From Tom, Other Things, The American Field | Comments
In the summer of 2003 there appeared in the venerable American Field Magazine, founded in 1874, an announcement that would shake the rafters of bird dog kennels across our continent. Henceforth, the FDSB would require DNA proof of FDSB registered parentage to recognize a dog’s wins in FDSB sanctioned trials. The evidence required would be in the form of a cheek saliva swab, to be analyzed by a company in the business of such analysis. Read more

Memories of the Invitational

November 24, 2017 | News From Tom | Comments
Tomorrow begins the Quail Championship Invitational, the three-day contest for the twelve top all-age pointing dogs measured by their Purina points collected over the preceding twelve months. It’s unique format — races of an hour, an hour, then two hours, all judged as one performance — measures the consistency of contestants and reduces the luck of the draw. The trial celebrates the true all-age contender, a dog with range, drive, Read more

The People We Meet

November 13, 2017 | News From Tom | Comments
What shapes our lives? To a remarkable degree, it’s people we meet, largely by coincidence, not by anyone’s plan. Reflect on that. Think back on the people who came into your life purely by coincidence, and how they changed your life, for better or worse. Which changed you most? I’ll tell you of one from my life, now seven decades long. I met him in the late 1980s, on a Read more