"Lone Oak's Ebony Ace"

When I volunteered to author an article spotlighting a single retriever in Arkansas, my mind was flooded with a thousand questions on what would make one retriever worthy of such recognition. Do I write about one of the more famous retrievers like Chris Akin’s dog Boomer? Maybe I should write about the “common mans” dog who faithfully works day in and day out for his owner. What about a dog that retrieves 500 birds in a single season? How about a Hunting Retriever Champion or National Field Champion? The questions were endless! After thumbing through a list of contacts that I have made in 14 years of water fowling, I realized that I knew a dog that was worthy of such a spotlight.

Lone Oak’s Ebony Ace or “Ace” is owned by Pat Pitt, a lifelong Arkansas hunter, former guide and founder of the L’Anguille Lounge Duck Club. Born in July of 2000, Ace is the son of a HRC/MH female and Abe’s Ebony and Ivory, a National Champion male. Ace spent the first two years of his life in training with Chris Akin of Web Footed Kennels, located in Bono, Arkansas. When asked about Ace, Chris Akin said he could remember exactly what Pitt said when he called about a dog, “I want a dog that likes to retrieve birds as much as I like to kill them.” Ace retrieved his first bird for Pitt in 2002 and since, the team has been relentlessly pursuing every species of North American waterfowl. Ace hunts every day Pitt does excluding Pitt’s occasional trips to Iceland, Mexico and New Zealand. Hunting with Pitt translates to between 90 and 100 days on the road each season ranging from Canada to Arkansas. With 6,066 lifetime waterfowl retrieves, Ace is a hunting dog. “I never cared anything about running retriever tests and trials with him” Pitt said. Pitt was also quick to note that all of Ace’s retrieves were on waterfowl, as he does not use Ace to retrieve doves. While most hunters hope their retriever has the opportunity to retrieve 500 ducks or geese in a lifetime, Ace regularly exceeds that mark and has had more than one season retrieving over 1000 birds including a single season high of 1176 retrieves. Although 6,066 retrieves is certainly amazing, what is more astonishing is the amount of banded birds the team has harvested over the last 7 years. After a quick look in Pitt’s detailed log book, he noted that since 2002 he has been with 131 harvested birds that were banded including 5 neck collared geese. Over half of those banded birds were harvested by Pitt himself and three quarters were retrieved by Ace.

If the sheer number of days hunted each season and total retrieves were not enough to qualify him for time in the spotlight, his retrieving work for well known waterfowl artists, authors and conservationists certainly make him the clear winner!  Since 2002, Ace has hunted with more than his fair share of water fowling celebrities. When asked about Ace, author Doug Larson said, “It is almost as if Ace is of a different species, a stronger, more determined, brand of dog with a singular drive to bring ducks back in a way that will get him to his next duck as quickly as possible.” If being glorified by a well known author was not enough, consider the fact that Ace has hunted under photographers like Delta Waterfowl’s Fred Greenslade, wildlife photographer Gary Zahm and most recently, Ace made an appearance in the October 2009 issue of Field and Stream. Just in case the previously mentioned were not enough, Ace has also retrieved harvested birds for Federal Duck Stamp winning artists Dave Maass and Scott Storm and waterfowl conservationist Rob Olson and John Deveny, both of Delta Waterfowl. The reality is that we have all knowingly or unknowingly hunted over Ace. In 2007, Ace was immortalized by Cynthie Fisher in her painting “Cache River Mallards.” Both Fisher and Ace received one of the highest awards that can be bestowed upon any artist or retriever when “Cache River Mallards” was chosen for 2008 Arkansas State duck stamp. There is no doubt that a retriever of Ace’s caliber is deserving of a spotlight in this publication!

At the end of day, Ace is more than just a retriever to those of us who have had the pleasure of spending time at the L’Anguille Lounge Duck Club. Ace is the dirty, tired dog that stays in the corner of an old block camp house, he's the dog that doesn’t want his owner to have a mid-day nap in his old blue chair and Ace is the dog that wants nothing to do with anything other than retrieving waterfowl. More than anything, Ace is the beginning of a smile from a demanding owner, the source of pride for a hunting family and the subject of quiet jealousy for those who witness his ability.

 (Written By Stephen Shepherd and Featured In the 2009 Arkansas Life Hunting Resource Guide)