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Home of "AKC Fd Ch, ARHA Gun Dog Pack FC Covington Cocoa Star"

	February 2004

Along about 1989-1990 I decided I wanted to start rabbit hunting. I was 17-18 eighteen years old and didn't know any rabbit hunters, but I knew I needed a good pair of beagles. I called the AKC and shortly received a small red book: "Beagle field trial rules and procedures."  I read that book many times over the next several days. Now along about that time, I found out about beagle clubs. It turns out there was a big one (Foothill's Beagle Club) within a few miles of my house. When I visited Foothill's, a gentleman told me about another beagle club just forming a few miles on the other side of my house. This club turned out to be Tokeena Beagle Club.

I found out Tokeena is a group of men who were interested in starting a club to hold AKC field trials. I visited the gang assembled around an old house at the prescribed meeting time. I found them all very friendly and welcoming. As luck would have it, they were getting ready to have there first fun trial the very next weekend. In the discussion, it came out that I knew the rules for a field trial (remember the little red book). Somehow, I got volunteered to judge the very first field trial I ever attended! I have to say, it worked out well, as all I had to go by was the AKC rule book and judging standard. The trial went just fine and the next week I got a call. It's someone from the Tuckasegee Beagle club in North Carolina. They wanted me to come up and judge a field trial at their club. Well the rest is, as they say, history. I've judged over a hundred lic trials over the years and the National Championships twice. It is a great feeling to see a young dog at a trial do really well, maybe even win, and then hear a few months later the dog finished or is nearly finished. I've had the opportunity to watch many beagles run a rabbit. I've seen some very famous hounds run and wish I had the opportunity to see more. Kinda makes me feel old to see a dog 3 or 4 generations back in a pedigree and know I judged that dog 10 or 12 years ago in a field trial. In the late 90's, I slowed down on judging and got more involved with competing and handling dogs at field trails. I've had the pleasure of competing as a handler and against some of the best. I'll not try to mention names, in fear that I'd leave some out. As best I can calculate, I've handled or handled to some of the wins on over a dozen 13" male Field Champions.

Our Dogs

First let me say, I have to like a beagle to keep it. If I've had it for any length of time, you can rest assured that the dog has some quality. The other thing, a beagle should look like a beagle! You won't find any 40 pound, four foot long, dogs in our kennel. I've noticed a few of the popular stud dogs right now are throwing dogs that look like Walker hounds on beagle legs! I'm not at all interested in this type of dog.

For more on my dogs, click on the Beagles link on the left hand bar.

FC Covington's Cocoa Star

There's more information about Star on his page but I wanted to run down a few of the basics.

Star, First Place

Star is a no nonsense rabbit dawg. He runs the trail with incredible accuracy and moves like he intends to catch the rabbit. In fact, sometimes he does. I don't mean like some the these jack leg half bird dog-running beagles that catch a rabbit when he sits too long and get up and runs into a dog, I mean he runs it until the rabbit cramps and gets stiff! This doesn't happen every time but a couple times a season. Star jumps more rabbits than any dog I've hunted with. He hunts different than you might expect for a "jump dog"." He's not whistling around like a kid off Ritalin, but he searches deliberate and thorough. He puts his nose under every briar and clump of pine needles he sees.  We killed over 200 rabbits last season in front of Star. As my hunting buddy Greg says, "As long as Star is down, you don't have to worry about losing the rabbit." When the check seems like it is taking a while you can bet Star will open and race will be back on. When I first started going down to Walterboro, South Carolina to hunt with Rev. Jeff Griffith (Preacher) I would take Star. This was before he finished. Preacher told me a dog trader came to show him some dogs one day and when they were running he asked Preacher, "What does Star have that these dogs don't have." The Preacher, being new to rabbit dogs, answered, "I'm not sure, but if Star is on the ground Scott don't lose a rabbit." He finds it where it was lost, not 100 feet out or another rabbit all together. Star has never run deer or fox; he won't even run a house cat. To be honest, Star is six years old now and I am desperately trying to replace him. His oldest pups are now two years old, and we have some that look like they can make it. The derbies are incredible. I'm afraid they may not be "rough enough" for the run off, but they are eat up with grit and desire to run a rabbit. Star has only been breed a couple dozen times.

And most of that has been to local rabbit hunters. Let me tell you there are a dozen other 13" male FC's within 20 mile of me and most of them are racy and over aggressive. Why are the hunters breeding to Star? GRIT,GRIT,GRIT. Like I heard a man say a few days ago, "There's just something special about those Star puppies."

I have a limited amount of video tapes with Star and some of his pups running a rabbit. I will send you one for $12 to cover my cost. There is about an hour of video. Fill out out contact form to request one.

We have added a Satisfied Customers page to tout the beagles we have sold.

Also, see some random pictures.