Jerry Crownover – One smart dog

just athought What’s On Your Mind, Ozarks?

Life Is Simple By Jerry Crownover Life is Simple By Jerry Crownover I ’ve known a lot of dog owners who will swear they either own, or have owned at one time or another, the smartest dog in the world. Most of these proclamations need to be taken with a grain of salt, but… Jim, my old bird hunting buddy from 40 years ago, always had a good bird dog, so it was a pleasure to be invited to accompany him and Sally on weekend hunting trips. Sally Jerry Crownover farms was a Brittany Spaniel that could always be depended upon in Lawrence County. He to find any covey of quail, within a 3-mile radius of where is a former professor of you let her off the leash. She would come on a solid point Agriculture Education at and wait, for however long it took you, to catch up with her Missouri State University, and get within shooting distance. Once you were in position, and is an author and she’d break the covey, and then proceed to hunt singles for professional speaker. the next hour, just as diligently as she pointed out the covey. To contact Jerry, go to

One Saturday, at the end of the hunt, Sally was nowhere to ozarksfn.com and click be found. We searched and searched for her for several hours, on ‘Contact Us.’ all to no avail. Darkness finally forced us to go home, but Jim assured me that he would find her the next day. The next afternoon, he called to excitedly report that he had, in fact, found his beloved Sally. “I found her about a quarter mile from where we last looked,” he proudly stated. “And, Jerry, she was still on point, right over a covey of close to 20 birds!”

This brings me to the subject of the dog that currently owns me.

Bernie (no, she’s not named for the politician, but rather a shortened name for her breed – Burnese Mountain dog, crossed with an Australian Shepherd) came to live with us about seven years ago. She replaced the best cow dog I ever had, but because of her mixed heritage, my expectations for her were very low. I was just hoping to get a dog that I might be able to train to be a reliable protector of the farmstead, and be someone to ride along with me, as I checked cows and calves each day.

Over the years, she has far exceeded my expectations, becoming a constant companion and a pretty decent cattle dog, while alerting us to any uninvited guests, whether they be human or animal. Unfortunately, she has been afflicted throughout her entire life with chronic ear

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31 ST EDITION BULL SALE Offering 85 Bulls 75 Charolais • 6 Halfblood Akaushi 4 Fullblood Akaushi

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About the Cover

Three generations of the O’Dell and Dukes family work to breed quality cattle. Read more on page 15.

Photo by Cheryl Kepes

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor accepts story suggestions from readers. Story information appears as gathered from interviewees. Ozarks Farm & Neighbor assumes no responsibility for the credibility of statements made by interviewees. © Copyright Ozarks Farm & Neighbor, Inc., 2020. All rights reserved. Printed in USA.

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