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Life has gone to the dogs for Phil and Shirl DeVore. Luckily, the dogs keep giving back.
As the proprietors of Chesagrove Kennels and DeVore Labradors Inc., the Lithia couple is devoted to the breeding and training of championship dogs on their 61-acre spread east of FishHawk Ranch. They have a combined 48 years in the business and a wall full of ribbons and plaques from shows and competitions for their work primarily with Chesapeake Bay retrievers, Labradors, Nova Scotia duck tolling retrievers and Boykin spaniels.
Over lunch at the FishHawk Beef'O'Brady's, the DeVores talked about their passion for hunting dogs, their affection for Lithia and their lack of vacation time.
Pull up a chair and join us.
ERNEST: A lot of dog owners speak of their pets like their kids. Do they have human qualities?PHIL DEVORE: There's a lot of parallels between humans and canines. I know we've trained a lot of people's dogs, and after we get finish training the dogs, they come and ask us to train their kids.
SHIRL DEVORE: They definitely understand a lot of vocabulary. When Phil and I first got together, he asked me why I talk to them like humans. I said I always have and I always will. Now he talks to them like humans. After a while, they understand that same sentence. We say it in sentences, but they may pick up on that one word, like "out."
And you have a television in the kennel?SD: They love the TV. If there's dog things on TV, they will look at it, they will watch the dog or they'll bark at the dog.
Is training more profitable than breeding?SD: Definitely. You make about 17 cents an hour off of breeding. Every two hours, the beeper or the cell phone goes off in your ear at the side of your pillow to wake you up to go check puppies that first week.
What are some common misconceptions about puppies?SD: The biggest common misconception is that people want to treat a puppy like a baby. From Day One, they need to establish Alpha to that dog, and their children being Alpha, the boss. People also have a misconception of correcting a dog after what went on. A dog has no idea of what it's being corrected for if it's not in the act.
You're not just breeding and training, but you're using your dogs to go hunting?SD: The birds are delicious, and most of them are lower in cholesterol. If it's cooked right, it's delicious.
PD: Like quail and dove. You wrap it with a little bacon and put it on the grill.
So hunting is more than just sport for you guys?PD: If you're not going to put it in your stomach, don't pull the trigger.
You moved from Venice to here in 1995. What's been the best thing about coming to Lithia?SD: All the friends and the camaraderie. We have met more wonderful people and their dogs. People helped us out this weekend (at the Frank Sargeant Outdoors Exhibition) and there was no money involved, just friendship. It's unbelievable. It brings tears to your eyes because they're really nice people.
Do you guys ever get to go on vacation?SD: Once in a great while. We went over to Clearwater Beach for my daughter's wedding and stayed the whole weekend three years ago. I think that's the last big hurrah. He's gone on a trip to his buddy's house and I've gone to dog shows.
PD: Somebody needs to be there most of the time. Just like right now, we have over 1,000 pounds of dog food that are going to be delivered in a half-hour.
SD: And I've got a lady who wants us to do artificial insemination with her two dogs.
What does it say about your passion for the kennel that you hardly ever go on vacation?PD: Being out in the country is kind of like being on vacation. Our ponds are full of fish and sometimes I'll just grab a fishing pole and catch a catfish ... especially if I'm having a difficult time with a particular dog on a particular subtask in training. I'll need to think about that dog and what's going on and come up with a solution.
SD: Because no dog can be trained the exact same way. They all have their own individual personalities just like people. You have to be able to alter what you're doing with them.
You grow attached to these dogs and then at some point they have to die. How do you deal with that?PD: It's horrible.
SD: It's never easy. I've had to send him to the vet with one of my dogs because I could not go. And then he brought her back and we put her in the ground.
And you learn to cope?PD: You just thank God they make new ones.
SD: You get one of the puppies out and start playing with it, but everyone deals with it differently. Some people want a dog right away. Some people need a year or two.
How much longer are you guys going to keep doing this?SD: It's hard to tell. We've talked about it, but we haven't come up with a date or time or anything yet. Maybe we'll just keep it going and hire people.
DESSERT: A postscript from Ernest Shirl is a former obstetrical nurse, and the experience comes in handy in breeding. She has assisted her veterinarian, Dr. Michael Marks, with a Caesarean section. Phil and Shirl met through a hunting club Phil started while living in Sarasota County, and they've been married for nine years. They offer two- and three-month training sessions for basic obedience, hunting, tracking and even show participation. It's not limited solely to their specialty breeds, but they do avoid aggressive breeds. The costs can go as high as $675 a month, but Phil says that if your dog lives to be 13, that's less than $100 a year for a great dog.- Ernest Hooper also writes a column for the Tampa & State section of the St. Petersburg Times. Lunch With Ernest is edited for brevity and clarity. To suggest lunch partners, call Ernest at 226-3406 or e-mail hooper@sptimes.com