| '71 & '73 NAFC-FC Dee's Dandy Dude (Dude) was purchased, by Mike Paterno, from William Chilcott at the age of 2. Dude already had four Open points, at the time of Paterno's purchase, and, since snow had beset New York, he was sent to John Honore in Texas for training. The first trial Mike ran with Dude revealed what a formidable team they would be. Dude captured a 4th in the Open and a 2nd in the Amateur. Dude's hallmark was his consistency. During the course of his career he finished an average of 60% of the trials in which he competed. As Mike, himself, said, "He is a superb marker, who has only been handled on a mark one in 56 series of National competition. I really have every confidence in him. He can mark, and he will handle, and I can depend on him. I don't know when I will ever again have a dog that I can lean on the way I can Dude." Dude was, indeed, exceptional earning 362 All-Age points, 120 Open and 242 Amateur. |
