Remembering Junior, Molly, & Boomer - A Tribute
This is a tribute page to my very first hunting retriever, Murphy Junior II, or as everybody knew him, just plain ol' Junior.
Here's a little history on Junior. He was given to me when he was 9 months old by a lady that my father worked with down at the Navel Hospital aboard Camp Lejeune. I knew nothing of training a retriever and Junior did not know his own name. I started reading every retriever training book I could get my hands on and watching any and every video about training a retriever I could. Junior and I started training each other so we could be ready for the next dove season.
The next dove season arrived and Junior and I headed to the fields. The birds did not cooperate at first. Then I started getting shots and dropping birds. Junior was sleeping. Wouldn’t even look up. I was livid to say the least. Then a dove flew in right in front of his face. I shot the bird and it went down and away Junior went. He made his first real time hunting retrieve. He broke of course but I was still happy. After a couple years of training alone Mr. Bob Reckart showed me how to actually train a retriever. Then I started working on Junior. That dog has retrieved more birds then you can fit into a semi truck trailer. Junior was amazing. Not only would he retrieve downed birds, but he would also track and hold down a wounded deer, as well as guard the house and my wife. He was the only Golden that I knew of that would attack on command! Junior loved playing with children and just hanging out. He was the greatest dog that ever lived, in my book. No, he was not a national field champion, nor a master hunter, but he was my first and greatest dog.
Junior & Ryan Strickland after a pheasant hunt in North Eastern OH.
Junior, Griffen, Hodge & Oakley hunting wood duck in Duplin County.
Junior in his younger days: approximately 2 years old in this picture.
The great Golden Retrievers: Molly, Junior, Boomer and Spot.
Junior and Glyde. You can see they were buddies.
This is a picture of Junior and Molly in the house, just kicking back.
Junior's final photograph, after one of his last hunts.
This is also a tribute to my second retriever, Strickland's Molly Rocket, "Molly".
Here's some history on Ms. Molly. I bought Molly from a guy in Jacksonville back in 1996 when she was six weeks old. When I brought her home Junior peed on her head. She was a sweet dog, that was very easy to train and loved to retrieve.
Molly wasn't a Field Champion, or a Master Hunter, but she was a great dog. She always had a friendly wag for everyone she ever met. She loved the kids and even helped my two learn how to walk. She would stand and let them grab her fur and they would pull themselves up and then start walking. Molly was also an excellent hunting dog in her prime. Hopefully Molly is in that big duck marsh in the sky chasing ducks with Junior right now. Molly has also kept the buggyman out of my oldest son's room for years. She will be missed terribly.
Here's Molly giving you that classic are you sure I can't eat that look.
This is Molly putting up with my son Dylan.
This is a picture of Molly with a few Buffleheads she retrieved during a hunt on the Neuse River outside of New Bern,NC.
This is a picture of Molly just hanging out with Dylan when he was a baby.
This is also a tribute to a great dog Strickland's Big Bam Boomer, "Boomer".
Here's some history on Boomer. I got Boomer as a stud fee off of Junior. Boomer was a great dog. He loved to play, retrieve, hunt, and ride in the truck. But once his father Junior died truthfully I couldn't handle having him around. He was too much like Junior.
Boomer also had a little low friendly growl just like his dad that he always did when he greeted someone. I knew I had to place Boomer in a good home. So, I called up my good friend and hunting Partner Robbie McLamb. Robbie agreed to take Boomer and co-own him. This turned out to be great for Robbie, his family and Boomer. Boomer had two great kids to play with and was hunted every time Robbie and Josh went out. Boomer truly had it made down in Burgaw with the McLamb family. He will be missed!!
Here's Boomer not long after he first came to live with me.
Boomer was always good at letting you know when it was time to eat.
This is a picture of Boomer after his very first hunt ever. We took him down to a Duplin Co. Swamp and put da smack down on a few woodies. He did a nice job picking them up. He handled the cold like champ to.
This is a picture of Boomer after he was adopted by Robbie and Josh. I took them down to my favorite Duplin Co. swamp and showed them how to shoot properly!
This is a picture of Boomer playing with his ole pop Junior in the snow!
He is hard to see in this picture but Boomer is looking up at me in the boat blind like are you cold, Boss!!