Uncle Earl's Is A Family, Not Just An Event

As I approach another Uncle Earl's this year, I am always, as usual, thinking of the "family".

The Uncle Earl's family was created by a man(and his wife) who claimed what made the Uncle Earl's possible, and thus happen every year, was us, the hog hunters who brought our family, dogs, and MONEY to Winnfield to be a part of something that got so big, it turned into a 5 day event. 

Now, let us look at this for a moment: what makes and defines the Uncle Earl's according to Jimmy Young? three words...

"we the people"  

Now on that note, a lot of discussion has been going on about what is wrong with the Uncle Earl's and how to correct it.

Shortly after the fiasco that was the UE2011, someone told me that it would only take one person to stand up and make "the change".

Well, my response to that is I am only one person, but "we the people" can move mountains if we have the faith of a mustard seed! So, I began to stir the pot, because...

"I" alone, am not gonna change a damn thing!

So.... on that note Jimmy has always wrote, published and advocated that we personally and collectively claim, exercise, take a stand and fight for our right to hunt, fish, use dogs, worship as we choose, speak freely, vote, etc...

Well in honor AND DEFENSE of our sport, event, and family, I did take a stand against the fraud and "the people " committing those crimes at the 2011 UE. And based upon my conversations with Winnfield elected officials after the UE2011, I and a whole bunch of the audience who witnessed that "rigged" so called competition, were disgusted with what we had to watch and I will not get into details here again. Those who need to know, are already embarrassed enough with all the grizzly, bloody details. And we are not going to go there again here in this article, or hopefully do we need or want to see anything like that ever happen again! 

Although some key players tried to turn me against Jimmy and other innocent, yet influential people in Winnfield after the Uncle Earl's in 2011, I am not against anyone who owns up AND CONFESSES, and Jimmy has nothing to confess in my opinion.  But I am not sure who all is guilty, because I was never advised of the meeting date, and was thus NOT allowed to go to Winnfield in January 2012 and address the issues in front of the board of directors. Shame on that person who I once trusted, who lied and deceived me to prevent me from being there, as I was led to believe we would ALL be there to confront and hopefully resolve the problems that I first alone, stood up and called out as a crime!  And when I called her out on that one, for hiding the date of the planning meeting, her reply to me was: "Oh well, hind sight is 20/20!"

Yah, you right baby, I can now see you as the liar that you are! Thus...and furthermore I am happy to say I am glad you did not get the contract to produce the UE 2012.

But one thing is for sure, there is a lot of money on the line to be gained at the Uncle Earl's, if you win. But what is in it money wise for the people who are loading the chutes and controlling who wins OR LOSES? Or, are they just doing this for their friends benefit of profit and glory?

No!, and here is why:

Well, if you sold someone a puppy who now wins at the Uncle Earl's, you as the breeder who sold that puppy years ago, that now went on to become the winner of the Uncle Earl's, you(the breeder) can now command a price of about $1,000 per puppy to the people who think they can just "buy" a future winner of the Uncle Earl's and stand in the winners circle, and get your picture on the cover of a magazine, AND take home thousands of dollars, etc...

That's where the real  big money is, in winning at the Uncle Earl's, and thus the motivation to load the chutes to control the outcome of the competition by people who seem to have no profit motive otherwise! And that potential (backdoor) income is not limited to the 5 days in Winnfield, because that kind of notoriety goes on creating profit for years.... 

Now, how did I figure all this out? Well, three of my close friends who I used to speak to on a regular basis, started ripping each other to shreds after I began to stir the pot after the UE2011, and I wondered why, because they were to my knowledge, all the best of friends.  

Well, in time I figured it out: " simple....there is no honor among thieves"!

Now let me see if we can address a very similar problem we all face in this country, which bears the same solution as fixing the Uncle Earl's:

"Our Constitutional rights are under attack.

While we sleep, local and state elected officials are legislating away our freedoms by implementing federal legislation which lawfully does NOT apply constitutionally speaking to the several states.

The President is acting as a king -- issuing "decrees" called Executive Orders -- which we are led to believe deny our God-given birthrights and overrides the Constitution for the united States of America, bypassing the system of checks and balances contained in that constitution for which Americans have sworn to defend and have fought, bled, and dies for in service to us, which is "we the people".

Corrupt courts practicing commercial law, then unlawfully prosecute innocent people on false charges to extort money, all of which ignores the right to due process of law.

To what may we attribute the impending death of our once great republic nation where individual rights were constitutionally protected and the current slave status of once-free Americans sovereigns?

 Who is truly to blame for her state of bankruptcy and vulnerability?
We the people are, by our silence. Our lack of involvement is our acquiescence."

 BTW, "acquiescence" is legalese for acceptance...

Time to stand up people, AND PROTEST, because it is our Uncle Earl's, and it is our country.

It is the least that I, or should I say we can do to honor the hard work, dedication and perseverance that Jimmy AND Sharon Young have freely, generously, and voluntarily given to us in the Uncle Earl family after all these years.

Jimmy and Sharon, thank you for being a shining example of what one man(and his wife) can do to make this world a better place by serving others...

to be continued!

The Typical Catahoula Hog Dog Buyer

The Typical Catahoula Hog Dog Buyer?

What kind of title is this?

Well this article is written in defense of my friends, the dogs, AND the breeders of the best hog dogs in the world: Catahoula. But more so, this article is in defense of the dogs who like the breeders, have suffered heart ache, abuse, disrespect, and neglect in the hands of humans who do not understand Catahoulas(or MOST other living beings). How have we(humans) collectively speaking, gotten so out of touch with nature?(and other living beings, human or otherwise)

The typical Catahoula hog dog buyer wants to buy a finished dog, and this is the same complaint I hear from almost every other breeder of the top dogs too. It is like 95% of the people who call me wanting to buy a "hog dog", want it finished, and think this is an "easy" way to be up and running?

Well the truth is, a well bred, WELL RAISED, properly trained, AND finished CATAHOULA that was raised, trained and hunts hogs hard, for someone whom they love and know they can trust to back them up when it gets down and dirty will most likely not hunt for "a new owner" anytime soon, if ever.

 And...

"Why?", you ask.

Because the dog doesn't know if the new owner will be like the only person they have ever loved and TRUSTED ENOUGH TO RISK THEIR LIFE in the service of hog hunting!

Because the dog doesn't know if the new owner will BE CONSIDERATE ENOUGH to take them into the house when it is freezing outside for 72 hours straight, who will be glad to pay whatever it takes at the vet office to put them back together again AFTER GOING INTO HARMS WAY TO SERVE THAT PERSON THEY KNOW AND TRUST.

 

 Because the dog doesn't know if the new owner will ALWAYS bring the dogs into the skinning shed AND the camp interior after a hard cold AND SUCCESSFUL hunt especially after "THE DOGS" ARE bringing home the bacon(that you are now bragging on!).

 

 Because the dog doesn't know if the new owner will be their best friend year round allowing them to run around the yard HOPEFULLY every day to get some much needed exercise while we(their servant who feeds them AND CLEANS out feces from their kennel)even if "we" can't hunt because it is too hot in the summertime.

 

 Because the dog doesn't know if the new owner will understand that a dog with 3 broken ribs STILL NEEDS TO EAT, AND will most likely NOT hunt FOR YOU OR ANYONE ELSE for AT LEAST 6 months because they NEED TO heal up after the last train wreck THAT YOU drove them into(and they were willing to risk their life to serve you?).

That's why!

 

The One Dog Wonder?

Most people have no clue what a one dog wonder is?


And the most profound question that presents is: Why?


Maybe because they are so rare? No, actually, there are many out there but the people who have them and breed them like I do, are so frustrated with un-educated buyers wasting our time that we disqualify most people who call us to buy them, and we would rather keep the dogs for our friends and family, who are already qualified buyers, than to try to educate the public one new customer at a time, because it is a big waste of our time. Whereas on the other hand the people who are qualified buyers, confess that after they learned what a superior gene pool produces, they are reluctant to refer most people to me as a buyer because they claim their friends do not deserve these dogs, because they would run them with a pack, instead of as a one dog. and running these dogs with a pack usually results in the death of the dog.








Although 95% of the people shopping for a hog dog want a finished or started dog, most of them don't know what defines a finished dog and worse sometimes most their understanding of hog hunting might come from watching Youtube videos of a pack of dogs gangbanging a hog!



 Again and again we old-time breeders have suffered the regret of selling a newbie a great dog, and then hearing them disrespectfully blaming us for selling them a finished or started dog that won't hunt for them(the new buyer). The problem is the new buyer doesn't understand upfront that a finished dog finished by someone else will never be the same with a new owner and usually doesn't hunt for a new owner right away, or worse it may never hunt for anyone but the man who raised it as a puppy.








 Now there are some people with these same dogs(like I have) that are getting around a thousand dollars for a puppy, because they haul them to trials and win, but sorry to say, it looks like those folks are only in it for the money.






Now that being said, I confess: I have purposely priced my dogs way below (what I and my customers know) is the real value of the dogs I breed. Why? Because, I am not in it for the money, and I did not want to attract those who are. Yet, there are people I owe that must be paid. Like the people that own the gas pump, feed store, vet supply, and the people who have helped us(me and the dogs) get through tough times, etc...






All that being said, basicly, I was testing the market to see where people sense of value was at.



Here is my findings:


There are people who think that registration papers are everything, and boy do they have a lot to learn when it comes to the NALC or any registration papers!!!




There are those who have never had a Catahoula AND truly want to learn and these people will acquire the greatest value from owning a well breed Catahoula, IF they work with the breeder and learn how to handle this unique breed. A breed completely different than any other dog breed, and the closest thing I have ever found to a pure bred wolf! Just like my wolf is not an AVERAGE dog(compared to most domesticated dogs), and does not make a good pet for most people, so it is with a Catahoula, as it is not easy for most people to "own" them unless they understand the dogs need to express their working abilities.




Because the dogs expression of working abilities are often dependent upon a relationship involved in daily activities with the master, only certain people actually qualify to handle them.




I just spoke to some one who had a one dog wonder, and called me because he read some of my stuff, and wanted another one.


A one dog wonder does everything, and does not need help....




I have to publish this now unfinished...but I promise to re-edit and finish this article later....


gotta go,

I am writing a book...

I have with intention and purpose not published much for the last few years because I am writing a book about Catahoulas...


not published yet...


but here is a tidbit to chew on for now!




If you want to get the most from a Catahoula, never presume to own them because they may regard you as merely a slave driver. But, if they know you respect them as a valued member of the family(pack, tribe, etc), then they know that you will always be there to back them up, and then, they are willing to lay their life on the line to serve you, because they know you are willing to get elbows and knees in the dirt to help them if they are ever in a bind!


In the eyes of my dogs, I may be just the chauffer of their Chevy truck, but they tolerate my inferior humanity and want to go every where I go, even into harm's way.


For... "there is no greater love than to lay your life down for your friends"


more later...