Local Dog Wins Nationals

[fwp]

For all you field trialers and trainers here is what happened at this years nationals. Local guy's dog wins the big one.

Congratulations go out to Gary McIlwain, whose dog FC-AFC

Dewey's Drake of Moon River won the National Retriever Championship In

Montgomery, Texas on November 13. Drake was handled in the Championship by

Bill Eckett of Blackwater Retrievers.

Drake, a yellow male who is six years old, has won about 100 all-age points

in his career and has qualified for the National Amateur Championship in

2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005. This year he was a finalist, an honor in

itself. He has qualified for the National Open Championship in 2002, 2003,

2004. And now the winner!!! This is a great accomplishment for Gary and is

very well-deserved because of all his years of dedication to our sport of

training and trialing retrievers.

Gary is a member of the Iron Range Retriever Club and lives in Calumet.

You can follow the National competition on the internet on Working Retriever

Central <www.working-retriever.com/04nrc/index.html> and the American Kennel

Club <www.akc.org>. On the AKC site click on the National Retriever

Championship. The AKC site has some great photos of Drake on Friday and

Saturday.