Blackhawk’s Augustus McCray (Jack) is a dog who has left behind a legacy far beyond most dogs in pudelpointer history. Jack was a product of Tom Deckert’s first litter for his Blackhawk Kennel. The litter paired Tom’s Versatile Champion female, VC CEDARWOODS ORPHAN ANNIE, with CEDARWOODS QUICK RELEASE. The rest of Jack’s pedigree was just as stellar with thirteen of the fourteen dogs listed on the pedigree achieving either a Utility title or the European equivalent. Blessed with superior genetics, and residing in Iowa, it would only be fitting that Jack would grow up to be a legendary wild pheasant and quail dog.
Jack ran his Utility Test and scored an impressive 198 points and a Prize II. At such a young age, Jack had not yet been force fetched and it was in the retrieve of shot bird that Jack received his only deductions. This would later seem ironic as Tom reports Jack was the most reliable retriever he has ever seen, and had completed a streak of several hundred wild pheasants without a loss.
As a sire, Jack had a huge impact on the breed today. Jack was utilized by seven different kennels, with eight different females, for a total of thirteen litters. Jack’s puppies ran in 54 NAVHDA Natural Ability Tests with the average of those tests being 105.8. What is truly remarkable is that 46% of those tests resulted in maximum 112 scores! That may be a percentage which is unmatched in our breed. Those puppies would go on to pass thirteen separate NAVHDA Utility Tests. The most impactful of these pups is likely Hidden Acres Atlas, a maximum 204 NAVHDA Utility performer and top sire in his own right. Hidden Acres Atlas was renowned for his cooperation and his steadiness, traits which he no doubt inherited from his father, for you see, Jack was not just a typical bird dog. He stood steady, for years while hunting with falcons!