Great Story, UncleBuck!
Here's mine:
I had a Bluetick/Beagle named Sport. Was a great pheasant, grouse and bunny hunter. I had to watch though, because he'd flush, not point and when he'd flush a pheasant that was super close to him he would jump and grab it. Just had to make sure when the bird flushed that sport was not in the line of fire. I trained that dog to run rabbits on my own when I was 14 years old. He picked up the birding on his own and he was my hunting buddy until I moved out when I was 19. Dad wouldn't let me take him with me. It's a shame too, because I think he only hunted about 1/4 as much as he would have with me.