Wirehaired Pointing Griffon • Born March 6, 2019 • Bozeman, Montana
Boone BrownSupreme Gundog. Allegedly.
A Wirehaired Pointing Griffon from a ranch near Billings, with AKC papers, a docked tail, a beard that dries itself on your pants and a father named after a bird he probably never caught.
The Short Version
Meet the Dog
Boone is a Wirehaired Pointing Griffon. His AKC papers call him Boone Brown, male, Brown & Gray, born March 6, 2019, on a ranch near Billings. On formal occasions he is Mr. Boone Brown, distinguished gentleman. Around the house he answers to Mr. Dingus, which is not on the papers.
You may have met him elsewhere on this site. He has a comic-book alter ego in the American Mustache universe and his own arcade game, Pocket Boone. This page is the real one: the breed, the history, the paperwork and the beard.
He is not a doodle. That is not a joke. That is documentation.
1873 • The Netherlands • Germany • France
A Dutchman, a Prince and a Very Specific Idea
The breed starts with Eduard Karel Korthals (1851–1896), a young Dutch sportsman who, according to the American Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Association, began breeding in earnest in 1873. He wanted a hardy, close-working dog that could hunt anything, anywhere, including the polders, the soggy low ground of the Netherlands.
The geography gets complicated fast. Dog historian Craig Koshyk, on Project Upland's Hunting Dog Confidential, points out that Korthals was a Dutchman who built the breed while working for a prince in Germany, and that France is its modern home. Most of the world still calls it the Korthals Griffon. North America went with the longer, more descriptive name, because of course it did.
By 1887, Korthals and sixteen other breeders had signed and published a breed standard, per the AWPGA's timeline. Twenty years of selective breeding for nose, endurance, a weatherproof coat and a dog that actually listens.
A Dutchman spent two decades building the Land Cruiser of bird dogs.
1887 • Clerical Error
America Registered Him as Russian
The first Griffon in the AKC stud book was a female named Zolette, in 1887. Nobody in America knew what she was, so she went in as a "Russian Setter (Griffon)," registration number 6773, per the AWPGA. The AKC didn't formally recognize the breed under its real name until 1916.
Nobody knew what it was, so they wrote down the nearest guess and moved on. Griffon owners at the dog park are still living that experience.
Double Coat • Beard • Eyebrows
Built Like Outdoor Gear
The coat is the whole point. The AKC describes a double coat: a harsh, wiry outer layer over a soft, insulating undercoat, straight and never woolly. It sheds very little and drags a respectable amount of Montana back into the house.
Color matters too. The breed standard, as quoted in ShowSight magazine, marks solid brown, all-white, or white and orange as less desirable, and a black coat disqualifies a dog outright. Boone's papers say Brown & Gray. Right where the standard wants him.
Then there's the beard. One breed guide notes, with the weariness of experience, that Griffons with soaking-wet beards are reliably drawn to clean navy pants.
The beard is not decorative. It is a sponge with opinions.
Docked • Breed Standard
About the Tail
People ask about the short tail. It isn't a natural bobtail; it's docked, per the breed standard. The American standard calls for docking by a third to a half, and an undocked tail isn't permitted in the show ring, according to ShowSight. Orvis gives the working reason: it prevents injury in heavy cover. In countries that ban docking, Griffons keep the whole thing.
Short tail. Long story. Mostly paperwork.
The Job Description
Supreme Gundog. Close Range.
Orvis lists the breed's nickname as the "supreme gundog." The pitch is versatility: point, retrieve, swim, and work close to the hunter instead of disappearing over the next ridge. The AKC adds that the double coat lets them handle swamps and cold water, and that the breed was built to cooperate rather than freelance.
The trade-off is energy. This is a dog designed to work all day on all terrain, and he does not consider a walk to the mailbox to be work.
Clean dogs photograph well. Dirty dogs have stories.
AKC Registered • Pedigree
The Papers
- Registered name
- Boone Brown
- Breed
- Wirehaired Pointing Griffon
- Sex
- Male
- Color
- Brown & Gray
- Born
- March 6, 2019, on a ranch near Billings, Montana
- Sire
- Chuckar Running Gus
- Dam
- Sage V
Start with Dad. The chukar is the upland bird hunters complain about most. The Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife notes that chukars live on steep, rocky slopes, run uphill faster than a hunter can follow, then fly downhill at high speed. So "Chuckar Running Gus" is either a hunting résumé or an honest account of how most of his days went.
Then Mom, Sage V. The "V" suggests a sequel. Somewhere out there, Sages I through IV are presumably doing fine.
Off Duty
Mr. Dingus, Riding Shotgun
When he isn't working, he rides shotgun in Veleno, the black 2018 Fiat 124 Spider Abarth, with eye protection, because he is a professional. The rest of the time he is a seven-year-old with a beard, a bed and very firm views on who sits where.
Sources: AWPGA history and timeline; AKC; Orvis; ShowSight; Project Upland; Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife.
More Boone
Want More Boone?
He has a comic character, an arcade game and opinions about both. Pick one.
Never Lift.
Drive Fast · Take Chances · Never Lift