"Home of REAL Treedogs"

Hello once again to all the faithful readers of FULL CRY and this month's column of Out and About. Well I guess us tree dog enthusiast could call this part of the year the off season. I guess there are some still hunting squirrels and running dogs, but it is starting to warm up here in southeastern Indiana and all leaves are as green as can be. Our season here goes out at the end of January and we can't harvest squirrels this time of year anyway. I understand some states have a spring squirrel season. If you live in one of these states, give me a call for crying out loud! (Ha-ha). I get real antsy once season ends here. I try and keep my dogs as active as can be; I take them out of the kennel once a week to let them stretch their legs, even if it is tying them on a 20 foot cable in the yard. Doing this seems to break up the monotony for them a little bit. Right now my darling wife Amy has been doing most of the feeding and caring for the dogs since I am temporarily working a different shift than usual. The letters and calls seem to have died down this time of year as I am sure most folks like me, have slowed down waiting on fall. I still hear from the local tree dog folks and stay in touch with quite a few diehards that no matter what love to talk tree dogs. I spend some time on the internet over on Squirrel Dog central chatting with good people that have some good dogs. I had a conversation with Chris Powell the other day, I was shocked when he told me that he had sold his dog SQ CH Lot's a Grit What's Up Doc. Chris was awful fond of Doc, and I personally never thought I would see the day Chris would part with his top dog Doc. He tells me Doc will go down South to North Carolina. Chris says that he has a couple of young dogs that he will concentrate on and hopefully have some success with come season. Good luck Chris, I am sure with as hard as you hunt you will create a top-notch tree dog from one of those pups you are feeding now. I had a long conversation with Danny Craig of Elrod IN on the phone the other day. Danny as well tells me that he has sold his top notch female Craig's Darling and is going to concentrate on a young dog out of her this year. I hate to see Darling go, I had some good times hunting with the old female. I am sure that whoever owns her now is well pleased. Danny tells me that Darling was getting up in years and he wanted to bring a new younger generation of curs into his kennel and breeding program. Good luck Danny, I am sure you will do just fine.

I know that in last month's column I told you that I would have to put off the next question and answer interview until this month. I apologize for not having it in last month but as I said, I cut the turn in time very close. Besides I wanted to finish my conversation with none other than Mr. Claude Thomas. Well in this months column I plan to do just that. I will give you a quick re-cap of my conversation with Claude back in May's issue of FULL CRY. Claude was going to have some minor back surgery and was worried enough to pace the floor if he could about the upcoming "Spring Round Up" at the Elnora Hunt Club. Well, to bring you up to date Claude had his back surgery three days before the Round-Up and still managed to stop by the club house the day of the hunt to see how things were going. I was there but did not manage to see Claude the day of the hunt, I will say that it did not surprise me in the least that despite his ailment he was in attendance. This is what makes Claude Thomas truly one of the great figures in our sport.

It was Sunday May 29th around 5:00pm when I called the Thomas home Claude answered the phone.

David: Hello Claude this is David how are you doing?

Claude: Hello David I am doing pretty well today, how have you been?

David: I have been busy but well, I was wondering if I could finish up a few questions for Out & About.

Claude: You sure can.

David: Claude, just how long have you been hunting tree dogs?

Claude: Oh, most all my life I recon. Around 60 years I guess. I used to follow my dad through the woods chasing the dogs. I remember when my dad got me my first dog when I was 13 years old. I called him Pee Brain. He was truly a great cur dog; he was half Black and Tan and half Pointer. That dog was good for just about anything I wanted to hunt him on. He was a great squirrel and coon dog but we also used him to run rabbits and fox. He was a multi tasked type hunting dog that's for sure. As a boy I spent countless hours in the woods with Pee Brain.

David: And Pee Brain was what you considered a Cur Dog?

Claude: That's what curs were, mixed breed dogs. I guess I called him a cur even though he was half hound half pointer. I liked him regardless and he did me a fine job.

David: So have you hunted Cur Dogs ever since or did you own some hounds?

Claude: Oh no, I had some hounds as well. I leaned more towards Cur Dogs around 1950. I just liked them more I guess. I had a nice female we called Jessie that was out of the Catoosa Rusty line of Cur dogs. She was not an Original Mt Cur but she was real close. She was another fine female that I owned.

David: Did you end up breeding her at all?

Claude: No unfortunately I didn't she was spade. She was that way when I got her. (Claude chuckles)

David: I wanted to ask you more about the line of curs that you hunted, the most notorious I guess that I can remember you called Tom's Sycamore Snappy, a Canadian Cur.

Claude: Snappy was sure enough a good dog I like him a lot, he suited me just fine.

David: Now as far as I can remember Snappy was a Canadian Cur dog, can you explain just what a Canadian Cur is and how they originated?

Claude: They originated in Ontario Canada, Bob Richardson and I used to go there and hunt dogs with these folks for 10 years or better. They were bred for nose and treeing ability, Snappy was a loud hard tree dog. I ended up getting a female I called Ginger, I bred her seven times to Snappy and she had some nice full litters. Every pup that left here never came back, and I never did hear one complaint. I remember one year we were in Canada hunting Snappy and I had just bought Ginger she was a started dog and there was another hunter there from Kansas that wanted to see these dogs in action. Well we went to the woods and had a great hunt, the fellow from Kansas told me that he owned, hunted and handled Leopard Curs. Well after that night he booked the first two pups out of Snappy and Ginger.

David: What is out there now out of Snappy?

Claude: Well, I guess there are not a whole lot of folks that campaign the Canadian Curs. Actually it is getting kind of hard to find a full blooded Canadian Cur anymore. My good friend Corky White has a dog that he calls Cork's #8 Pencil; he is pretty well known in the hunts and has made us proud. He is direct out of my old Snappy dog he is three quarter Canadian Cur. Dean Ross in Minnesota still has a few Canadian Curs, also Eddie Rogan in New York. Kenney Sprinkle and Bob Richardson have some Canadians. They are around, but like I said they are getting harder to find. I would still have one or two good ones around if it weren't for my health. I liked the Canadian Cur dog breed they never let me down.

David: You don't worry about pedigree or the certain registries out there when it comes to your dogs?

Claude: If it is a Billy Goat, and it hunts and handles the way I like and hold up its end of the bargain in the woods, I would proudly hunt and feed that Billy Goat. As long as it suits me I don't care what it is. There are some good ones out there in all of these registries, but I will hunt what I like regardless of its color or pedigree as long as it suits me.

David: Well Claude, I must agree with you. If I like what I hunt and that dog does me a good job that's all that matters.

Claude: I never did worry too much about that kind of stuff, I just loved hunting what I had.

David: What line of Cur is out there now that peaks your interest or should I say what have you been keeping your eye on?

Claude: Well there are several, but I have been out of the loop for a while and like I said, I don't get the chance with my health to hunt like I used to. But I suppose the Beaty bred Curs or Feist are making some nice dogs. But there are several out there that are doing well in their breeding programs.

David: I would say the Cur dogs have came along way since Pee Brain.

Claude: Yes they sure have.

David: Claude, I would like to shift gears and talk about Clubs and Organizations you are involved with if you have time. (Knowing that Claude makes time for the hefty amount of calls he receives at home)

Claude: Ok, I am not in any hurry.

David: Thanks Claude I don't want to hold you up all night, I just have a few more questions. Tell me when you became involved with the Elnora Hunt Club?

Claude: Elnora Hunt Club was chartered in 1950 I came on board in 1954. They had hunt and events mostly Hound stuff and Coon hunts. In 1988 we held our first Cur dog event. And in 1989 we had our first NKC sanctioned World Hunt and it's been moving along ever since.

David: You mentioned the NKC (National Kennel Club) how long have you been associated with them?

Claude: I got involved with the NKC in the early 80's and have worked with different clubs helping them get NKC Cur and Feist events set up, it has came a long ways.

David: How about the NCFBA (National Cur and Feist Breeders Association).

Claude: Well it was the National Cur Breeders Association in 1988, and then Don Price approached us and told us about the support from the Feist owners out there so in 1989 we changed it to the National Cur and Feist Breeders Association. And I am glad we did. Don Price was right he brought quite a many Feist into our association. The NCFBA also worked with NKC and brought forth the rules that we use today in the NKC sanctioned squirrel hunts and Cur and Fiest events.

David: I am sure there are some other things I am forgetting to ask you Claude and I do not even know with a man that has been around the sport as long as you have if I have even scratched the surface. But I hope that I covered most of the things that folks reading this column would like to know about a gentleman that has gave so unselfishly to this sport for several years and I am sure that will for several more. Claude I appreciate you answering my questions, I will see you at the Elnora Club in October as I do every year for the World Hunt.

Claude: Thank you David and it's no problem. If you ever need anything do not hesitate to call. I will see you in October.

We hung up the telephone and I sat and looked over my notes that I took during our conversation. For those of you that know Claude Thomas, what can I say about this man that you don't already know? He is an open book and shoots from the hip, he is a true asset to the Cur and Feist World. And for this Column writer I am glad to have him as a friend.

Well that is going to about sum it up for this months column, I hope you have enjoyed my ramblings. And be sure to check out next month as I move onto another interview with someone I would call a key figure in the sport. And someone that has had an impact on most every cur owners kennel for the last 15 years or so. ANY IDEAS? Well hopefully this interview will take place and you can check it out here in FULL CRY.

Until Next time, KEEP LOOKIN UP!

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