Bird Dog by C.T. Davis

Deep chest, slim flank, great heart to stand the pace
And that unerring wizardry of scent
To trail the quarry in its secret place;
Power and cunning, speed and vision blent —
these are the immemorial gifts that came
Out of forgotten time’s unfathomed gulf;
These are the fierce ancestral fires and flame
Undimmed, unchanged still — Son of Wolf.
Grave eyes, grave bearing, dignity of kings;
The gentleness and trust of a child;
The flawless poise that veils old savage things
But half remembered from the vanished wild —
These are the kingly qualities that come
On unremembered fields where sports began;
This is the clear glow of a steady flame
Undimmed, unchanging still —Comrade of Man.

1955 National Champion Lone Survivor (Leon Covington). Painting by Robert Lougheed