The American Kennel Club (AKC) has released its annuallist of "the most popular purebred dogs in America." As expected, for the 19th consecutive year the Labrador retriever tops the list.
Think German shepherds are the only dogs fit for duty? English springer spaniels and other hunting breeds increasingly are the dogs of choice for bomb sniffing, narcotics detection and search-and-rescue operations.
There were two bird seasons when I was a young teenager: grouse in the fall and starlings in the spring. The starlings would invade as soon as the weather started to turn, congregating in noisy flocks near the corncribs on my grandparents’ farm.