Before I get into about how I got Chevron, I'm just going to ramble a bit about this year. 2020 HAS BEEN HARD. LIKE HAAAAARD. I'm not going to get into the details, but I had a falling out with someone I considered one of my best friends, and only RIGHT AFTER that was I actually able to get a depression treatment that...ya know...actually worked. And the circumstances surrounding that came to light a bit after, and....honestly, people suck. Well, some people suck, especially when they make you out to be the devil when they don't even know you and go destroying things without hearing the other side...but you know....whatever I guess. It's been 7 months and I'm still broken over that.
Even without that, 2020 has been hard for just about everyone, and, let's face it, we ALL kind of wish that this year just kinda didn't happen. Or at least most of this year.
Before that happened though, our roommate who had adopted a dog from the city's animal shelter, had a new-to-us stove delivered....and the people who brought it were that dog's previous owners. So they gave him back. Props to that roommate, hard as it was. Said roommate moved out, and a new one came in. And then, shortly there after, their bike was stolen out of the backyard. Which prompted me to go back to my searching for a dog (because of that falling out, I had started to, but lost steam because depression and upset).
So, with it being Covid-time, I knew, while I really, really wanted a dog to show, not to expect anything but a pet, especially with a limited budget. I wasn't really hitting on a whole lot, but expanded my search because not a whole lot was really resonating with me.
Cue me stumbling across a litter of Plott Hounds. That would also have papers. Ok. I love HOUNDS. Well, most hounds. And I've grown fond of having a Treeing Walker bawling in my face at work, so basically, this felt like destiny.
Here's the thing, the coonhounds tend to run pretty cheap all things considered. They're also MOSTLY in working kennels. There are some showlines, especially for Black and Tans, but for the most part, the coonhounds remain mostly in UKC, working lines, and aren't really health tested. I knew this, I know this, and I know that in such a case, that things are really a gamble. Like with breeds that aren't really seen outside of their country of origin, or never seen outside of their country of origin. The saying 'gotta start somewhere' really is the name of the game in those cases. And in this one, as well, along with the fact that....well, we need more stock to be brought over to the AKC. Plott studbooks are open until question mark, there isn't a set closing date, and I don't know if there will be one in the foreseeable future. This isn't a bad thing, given that AKC registrations are so low for the breed.
So, not requiring health testing and AKC show titles? This is ok, IF you understand that and accept it. I do, I did. So cue my partner driving me to nearly the middle of nowhere and getting lost twice, to go look at a litter of Plott pups scrambling around in an outdoor kennel. There were about three I eyed, two males and a female, and out of those, Chevron was the one I chose based on overall balance. He puked twice in the car, but was a little trooper, if confused and mopey.
And so came home a little hound puppy who mostly slept the first couple of days. And after the newness to the roommates wore off, that's when he started getting loud. I'm the only hound person in the house, apparently. I do not regret my decision. '^'
I do not regret my decision because even if Chevron is a little piranha at times, I see in him qualities of varying degrees that I loved in my Ibizan Hound, Dali. And he really is turning out to be a good dog with a lot of potential. I know there's a chance that he may not pass whatever health tests I throw at him, even though none are recommended in the breed, I still want to do at least the basics. I know he may never be a big contender in the ring. He's my 'start somewhere' dog, and he's making me fall in love with a breed I hadn't really considered before. I don't think I want to get massively deep into Plotts, but as a side breed....I'm considering it more and more with each passing day.
