Dr. Robert Reynolds of Salem is in the field with Luke, a national champion German shorthaired pointer who died at the age of 6 1/2.

SALEM — Dr. Robert Reynolds will be making a trip to Tennessee this weekend to attend the induction ceremony for one of his German shorthaired pointers that will be inducted into the Field Trial Hall of Fame.

The honor goes to dogs that are deceased, have a proven field trial record and have produced outstanding puppies. For Reynolds, the honor is a tribute to the breed he chose to make an important part of his life.

Reynolds grew up in Pennsylvania and graduated from Grove City High School in 1965. He set a goal of going into veterinary medicine and headed to Young Harris College in Georgia. He later transferred to The Ohio State University, where he finished vet school. Along with a vet friend, he opened a practice in Randolph, N.Y.

“I was there a few years before transferring to John Stefanik’s Veterinary Clinic in Hermitage, Pa.,” Reynolds said.

From Hermitage, Reynolds came to Boardman and helped open Applewood Vet Clinic at the intersection of U.S. 224 and South Avenue. A second location was opened on East Main Street in Canfield, named Doctor’s Park Vet Clinic. Later, the Boardman clinic was moved to South Avenue and Walker Mill Road. It was renamed South Mill Veterinary Clinic.

Plenty of clients and animals needed care, and Reynolds worked hard but also enjoyed unwinding with his bird dogs.

“I’ve had bird dogs since high school,” he said. “I enjoyed hunting with them, but after the winter of 1978-79, a lot of the wild birds such as quail and gross, died off.”

Reynolds also had horses when he was growing up, which he ended up showing until school and family took precedence. He continued to have pointers, but it wasn’t until the late 1990s that he decided to start showing and competing with the dogs.

His first German shorthaired pointer was Vader, named for the “Star Wars” movies. He started taking the dog to field trial events, but working as a veterinarian took time away from being able to travel with his dog to national events.

He said the dogs compete in field trials by running in fields where birds are set loose or known to exist. They look for birds and, when they locate one, they will go on point by freezing and point toward the bird. The dogs are judged on how they handle the field trials, usually by a judge on horseback.

Two types of field events are held for bird dogs. One is through the American Kennel Club, which has a half-hour competition to meet its standards for the breed. The other events are through the National German Shorthaired Pointer Association, which stages a one-hour competition in the field. Two dogs compete at the same time and for the full hour in competition called a brace. Normally, 12 dogs compete in six braces in a one-day event, according to Reynolds.

“Once you start competing, you start looking for a better dog,” he said. “I had a friend who had a pointer named Luke. He was building a house and couldn’t spend the time with Luke, so I bought him.”

Luke proved to be a great bird dog, but Reynolds’ career prevented him from traveling to the big national events. To handle that end, Reynolds hired Chris Geogan from Alliance as the dog’s trainer. He was responsible to take Luke to competitions.

The trainer and Luke’s abilities brought big titles. Luke won a National AKC title and won a prestigious pheasant championship three times, making him the first dog to achieve that.

Reynolds later turned to breeding German shorthaired pointers, and Luke sired puppies of which some became national champions themselves.

At age 6 1/2, Luke died from a kennel injury.

“It was a sad day, Reynolds said. “You’re never prepared to lose your best friend.”

Reynolds continued breeding and showing pointers, using Geogan as his trainer. Reynolds now has three pointers.

“Jamie is 6 and has won multiple championships,” Reynolds said. “Louie just turned 3 and has one championship and a busy season ahead. Jolene is 1 and had won the puppy class last summer. She will be competing this spring.”

Today, Luke will be inducted into the Field Trial Hall of Fame at the National Bird Dog Museum in Grand Junction, Tenn. A photo and history of Luke and his accomplishments will become a permanent part of the museum’s display.

“I’ve been very lucky with the dogs I have had,” Reynolds said.” Over the past 25 years, I have had 15 dogs. I had my first litter in 2003 and continued every other year since.”

He said it has and continues to be enjoyable and he loves spending time with his dogs. While he retired from the veterinary office, he still puts in one day a week to help. He said it is one of those things that after so many years, he just can’t walk away from it.

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