In July of 1995, our wonderful hunting dog, Max, was hit by a car and killed. In order to have a dog that could hunt that fall in the big waters of Canada, we purchased a "washed out" field trial dog named Yukon's Tank Williams Jr. from Fred and Monie Cundari. Will was a 24-point Derby dog and was QAA.

The month after we purchased Will, we worked our first field trial at the Blackhawk Retriever Club, Inc. at grounds near LaFarge, WI.  Joyce Williams (owner/handler of NFC AFC Candlewoods Super Tanker) came looking for us.  She wanted to meet the people who had purchased "her Will".  She had raised Will as a pup and sold him to Cundari's.  That day, we got to know Joyce, we got to pet FC AFC Honest Abe (Joyce was running Abe at the trial and Abe decided he wasn't going to do the water blind across the swamp.  Abe went back to the minivan to eat broasted potatoes-his favorite), and we watched Joyce win the Amateur with BeBe (FC AFC Candlewoods Gotta Be Good)-what a way to learn about field trials!  We asked Joyce if she would consider us for a BeBe puppy.  A couple of years later, Joyce called about her Lean Mac x BeBe litter.  Through Joyce and BeBe, we met Mary Candlewood Howley.  The rest is history.

Will turned out to be not only an awesome hunting dog, but also a wonderful family and competition dog. Will passed away in 2004 at the age of 14-1/2 and we miss him still. He introduced us to the world of NAHRA, AKC Hunt Tests, and AKC Field Trials. Because of Will, we have purchased seven labs. What started out to be a pastime has now become a passion.