My dad got this dog for me 18 years ago, he was the one that got me into hog hunting on my own, he was waaaaayyy more than a hunting dog, he was family first and took his job as our protector very serious, I caught just about every type of critter that roams around here with him, he was straight catch and never once backed down to any hog but would put his paws on a baby deer and hold it down and bay it, I caught several like that with him, he made a name for himself at the local catch competitions back in the early 2000's, I remember getting laughed at for bringing him to the ring to auction off the calcuttas and two men making me, a young teen at the time, the laughing joke, and yelling that this was a catchdog comp and not a baying, at the end of the night when he had placed in the top 3 in 3 different events and that scrawny teen was collecting close to 2k in winnings they had the gumption to want to know if I would sale him, I told them if they could get him off the leash they could have him, needless to say I should've wagered on that as well because the only two people that get him at night was my dad and myself....
I could write a small book on the adventures of that old spotted dog and the journeys and experiences I encountered as a teenager following and chasing him through the woods...