Before I can begin to share the wonderful information about BixBow English Cockers, it is only fitting to share the relationships and friendships without which there would not be any BixBow English Cockers. I would like to begin with the story of one of the most special friendships in my life.

I first met Mr. Jerry Ray Cacchio in 1998 when he was consulting for Orvis and I was managing Wynfield Plantation in Albany Georgia. The reason I was so fortunate to have the chance to meet Ray was because of one of the most wonderful breeds of dogs known as English Cocker Spaniels. Little did I know that this would be the start of an amazing friendship. On rare occasions we meet someone whom we feel we have known all of our life. It is the feeling of knowing that a person is going to be a lifelong friend. It is rare and very special and hopefully we can all be observant enough to recognize this when it happens in our lives. Such was the case when I met Ray Cacchio. Shortly I will share an impressive list of Ray’s accomplishments, but for now I am going to share our story of friendship. I knew that Ray had a vast knowledge of English Cockers Spaniels and English Springer Spaniels. I had come into contact with the English Cocker bred in 1997 when I purchased my first pair of littermates, Millie and Charlie, from Mrs. Emily Williams here in Albany Georgia.

I was searching for a small body dog that could fit easily and comfortably between two adults on the front riding platform of our custom quail jeeps. Millie and Charlie captured my heart and eventually changed the way we were quail hunting on preserves in the south. However, this did not happen overnight or even in the first season.

Our quail hunting guides were reluctant to use the cockers on their hunts. No matter how hard I tried to show and share the advantages of these 2 cockers with our guide TEAM, I was the only person who would use them on a hunt during that first season. That is the reason that I asked Ray to come to Wynfield to help train our guides, so they would be comfortable using these wonderful dogs. He graciously accepted the challenge, and even though our guides listened to Ray, we still had not won the battle with them. That summer Ray invited me to his kennel in up-state NY, which was known as PondView Kennels, so he could help me further with my training. As Ray and I will both tell you, it is often much harder to train the human than the dog. We were up early every morning and we trained all day. I learned so much by listening, observing, and training with Ray. In the evening we would sit in the den and share story’s and laugh until our sides hurt. We took a few short road trips to meet other trainers while I was there that summer. This was all in an effort to train me. I think it worked! I went back home to Georgia with a new and much deeper understanding of just what these dogs were capable of doing in the field. I also knew that I must acquire more English Cockers by importing from England.

Later that summer Ray allowed me to send 3 of our guides up to PondView to train with him. That was the turning point that we needed. Finally the guides were beginning to understand how valuable these dogs would be to our hunting operation. Shortly after that Ray called me and asked me to call a gentleman by the name of Harold Bixby. Ray said that Mr. Bixby was considering giving me two of his English Cockers, but I must basically be interviewed by Mr. Bixby on the phone. I made the call to Mr. Bixby, and I guess I passed the interview because he said that I needed to send someone to Buffalo NY to pick the 2 Cockers up. Mr. Bixby made it “crystal clear“ to me that he was entrusting these dogs to my care and no one else’s. I never violated his trust in me, and in fact he and I became very good friends.

My son, Bill Bowles II, was 18 years old when he set out for Buffalo NY to meet Mr. Bixby. Of course we were in constant communication. He spent the first night right outside Washington DC. When he was about 1 hour from Buffalo he called me to ask if I knew how close he was to Canada. I laughed and asked him how the weather was. His reply was "cold and raining with sleet", and he was picking up the two dogs and coming back south as fast as he could. He called me from Mr. Bixby’s to say that he was bringing back one male English Cocker by the name of Barney, and one female by the name of Meg. It was not until Ray asked me to look up the history of these two dogs that I realized exactly what Mr. Bixby had entrusted into my care. I was almost in dis-belief. WOW!! Take a minute to research these two English Cocker’s. Barney -- FC Norbeck Arfer Mole and Meg -- FC Kenyee Donna of Windmillwood. To this date, Meg is the all-time high points English Cocker in the US. Owned by Mr. Harold Bixby and handled by Mr. Paul McGauh. Her record was set in 2003 and remains unbroken.

Mr. Bixby and I shared so many memorable conservations. He was clear and direct with his wishes for me to continue with the pedigrees he had trusted me with. We walked in the gallery at the Cocker Nationals in 2010 in Millbrook,NY at Dyson Orchards, and watched the offspring of Barney and Meg compete. We laughed with Ray Cacchio and shared priceless stories. With the medical care and oversight of the Auburn University Veterinary School, Meg and Barney were bred one last time. The litter of beautiful pups was whelped on July 16, 2008. There were 6 pups born. 5 were males and only one female. Mr. Bixby insisted that I keep the only female from that litter. Mr. Bixby told me that he wanted me to keep Barney and Meg’s pedigree going. As I am typing this story she is laying at my feet. She was named after our first born granddaughter, Avery. Sadly, but with dignity and peacefulness,Barney passed away at my feet after a short walk in the woods behind our home, on November 19, 2011. Meg also passed with dignity and peacefulness on October, 21, 2013. This was one day after Mr. Bixby passed away. I called his home number to share the sad news. His daughter Leslie answered, and I said what I always did, “where’s my buddy “. Leslie’s voice began to crack and she said that Mr. Bixby passed the day before, and she was going to call me on this day to let me know. I paused and tried to gather myself, and with tears coming down my face and a cracking voice I said, it is OK because they are both in Heaven and Mr. Bixby is throwing bumpers for her. Barney and Meg are resting side by said in our pet cemetery here at our home. The cemetery is fenced and landscaped, with a bench at the entrance for a place to sit and reflect.

Each Year at the Cocker National Championship Field Trial there is an award given to the trainer who has given the most back to the sport and to his or her fellow trainers. That award is called “The Bixby Award“. That is the respect and recognition that we all have for Mr. Bixby and he took great pride in sharing the fabulous breed of dogs all across the US. You can now easily understand why he entrusted Barney and Meg to me. He knew that these dogs could be successful in the south on quail hunts. After all, Mr. Bixby used to travel to Georgia and quail hunt, and he knew that no one had this breed down here. He wanted to share the English Cockers with the southern quail hunting people. So if you thought you knew how the English Cocker made its way to Georgia, as Paul Harvey said, “Now you know the rest of the story."

It has been my pleasure to continue sharing the English Cockers with friends and southern quail hunting plantations just as Mr. Bixby asked me to. He was very clear with me about his desire for me to share this wonderful breed of dogs with other people. I am proud and honored to continue in his spirit. I know that he is smiling down on me, and that is why I have dedicated so much of my time in this effort. I do remember one particular visit that I went on to a nearby private plantation of over 22,000 acres. This is one of the most beautiful plantations in the south and the staff is nothing short of amazing. I went to share the news of the success I was enjoying with the English Cockers on our quail hunts. I shared with them that I thought we were really turning a new leaf. We had a rich heritage of black labs sitting stoically on our quail wagons waiting to come out into the quail woods to pick up our downed bobwhite quail. My observation was that the Cocker was obviously smaller, quicker, and that it was not necessary to have a 70 pound dog to pick up a 4 oz. quail. They were very polite, but let me know that the English Cockers would not work for them.

Today they have a whole wing in their kennel with English Cockers. They have Cockers riding in their trucks, sleeping in their homes and on dog beds in their office. Thank you Mr. Bixby and Ray Cacchio!!! Ray Cacchio and I have traveled across this country mostly attending the annual Cocker National Championship Field Trials. We have consulted together, helping plantations re-model their kennels or building new kennels. We vacation together, train dogs and dog people together, vacation and fish together, and talk every week. He is truly one of my best friends and one of the smartest dog people I have ever known. He is well respected in all dog training circles. He is a 2 time National Championship Dog Trainer and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012. He has judged more field trials than I can count and everywhere we go other dog people always want to come up and talk with him and ask him questions.

I learn something from him every time we are together. I am blessed to know him and to be his fiend. Thank you to everyone who took the time to read this story. It was my pleasure to share this with you. It is our hope that BixBow English Cockers will continue to share this amazing breed of dogs with many people and for many years. This is what Mr. Bixby wanted me to do. If you are interested in owning a BixBow English Cocker, please respect our interview process and know that we care deeply about where our pups are going when they leave us.

Sincerely,
Bill E Bowles

Barney & Meg