JUST WATCH THEM ON A HUNT Fionavar’s springers are also great for families


By FRANCIE HEALY When Ed Hassett was only 13, he knew a good dog


when he saw one. By the time he was 15 or 16 he had his first Field Trial Champion. Now he and his wife, Vera, raise and train some


of the finest English Springer Spaniels in Ontario at Fionavar Kennels near Clayton in Lanark County. Their house, kennels, and another business they


own – Banin Uplands Game Farm, with pheasants, quail, and chukar partridge – sit on hundreds of acres. It’s a calm, comfortable place where you feel


welcomed by both people and dogs. Daisy Mae, one of the Springers, comes to you for


a pat, then lies down at your feet as if to listen to what you have to say. Others are nearby, in the house or in kennels in the


barn, which you can see out the window of Ed’s and Vera’s sunny kitchen. Ed has been training dogs since he was a boy in


12 BOUNDER MAGAZINE


Photos by ED HASSETT


The Pas, Manitoba. Vera, on the other hand, was one of 13 children growing up near St. Margaret’s Bay, Nova Scotia, and there was no time or place for dogs. (“The odd cat might have gone through,” she laughs. “But dogs? Not a chance.”) Vera is as devoted to their Springers and to their


way of life as Ed is. She married him when she was barely 20. He still had Banin, the champion English Springer from his teens. If Ed gave her the love-me- love-my-dogs line, she obviously didn’t need much encouragement. Now she has been breeding and raising these exquisite animals almost as long as Ed has. They met in Manitoba when they were both


in the Canadian Armed Forces. By the time they retired (he was an electronics technician; she was a communications operator) they were on their way to breeding and training dogs as a profession. They bought


www.bounder.ca continued on page 14


www.bounder.ca


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64