Ms. Millie: German Short Hair
Ms. Millie was chosen from the puppy pile. The kids wanted fat boy, but Ms Millie became the chosen one. If you know anything about GSH you’ll know they do have their energy. It’s true, we were kicked out of puppy school. She had her moments.
By the time she was two she became a first class hunter. What a nose. It took me a while to learn it didn’t matter where I wanted to hunt, follow the nose. Sometime we would walk for miles, she always on the move, nose to the ground, a distant scent, a fleeting wisp of air, a recognition, a point, a breaking bird, a shot, a retrieve. She was good.

When there was just the hint of fall in the air and I would break out the shot guns for another cleaning, she was there by my side, ready at a moment’s notice. If I happened to grab the keys of the jeep, and yes, she did know the difference, she knew it was her time. While hunting was what she was built for, yet she was as much a member of the family on any occasion.
Millie girl and I hiked as lot. Whether it was just a Sunday morning romp up Smoot Hill, or an overnighter in the Selkirk’s she was always with me. As a matter of fact, one day my wife wanted to go with me and Millie. Of course we were taking the jeep. Ms Milllie got in her usual seat, the front one. Not so good for me when she wouldn’t give it up for the true MRS’s. Millie and I always had adventures. There was the time when we were hiking and we unknowingly got between a bear and its cub, now Millie is fast, but this was the first time I actually out ran her down the mountain. Another time we were walking on a game trail in some pretty heavy brush when she stopped cold in her tracks. As I lifted a branch that was covering the trail, I am face to face with a moose. I lower the branch, neither of us runs. We stand there on the other side of what could have been our death for what appeared to be hours. When I finally have enough courage to lift the branch again, the moose is gone, just like a ghost.
Yesterday, the day after Millie’s passing I took another hike in the Selkirk’s. Millie was still with me running along the trails, never out of sight, always looking and sensing what was around the next bend. I was sitting on a rock by an alpine lake when out of the corner of my eye I see a moose walking towards me and the lake. I sit quietly not wanting to disturb her or me. The moose walks within 10 feet, looking straight at me, she then casually turns and walks into the lake for a swim. She consciously looks over her shoulder as she makes her way across the lake, as if to say, we’ll miss her too….

Barry J.