Class a 17 



I have never seen in print. In the final heat of 

 this championship stake Joe Gumming was to 

 run for first with Dave Earl. Joe had severely 

 injured his foot, and Mr. Titus, his owner and 

 handler, who was always tender-hearted with his 

 dogs, decided to draw him. The judges, however, 

 were anxious to have the dog finish the competi- 

 tion, and Mr. Titus's friends persuaded him to let 

 Joe go on as long as there was a fighting chance. 

 The development showed how closely a dog can 

 come to winning a championship without reach- 

 ing the honor. This was the fortune of Dave 

 Earl. When they were put down Joe went lame 

 for a few minutes, but soon warmed up, forgot his 

 foot, and began to show nearly his fastest and best 

 form. At that, handicapped as Joe was, Dave 

 Earl had a shade the best of the heat and seemed 

 likely to win the championship. It was a long 

 three hours for an injured dog which was com- 

 pelled to show championship speed and bird 

 work. Toward the end of the heat Dave Earl 

 ranged up to a clump of bushes, nosed at it an 

 instant, and passed on, A few minutes later Joe 

 Gumming swung over to the same clump of 

 bushes, hesitated, dashed around to the leeward, 

 and made a stanch point on a bevy. Of course, 

 nothing is a more decisive incident in a field trial 

 than when one dog misses a find and the other, 

 with precisely the same opportunities, makes a 



