Published: April 23, 2008 01:05 am         

Nothing like a hound dog

CELESTE — There ain’t nothing like a hound dog.

But hopefully they won’t be cryin’ all the time of the 23rd Annual Southwest Hound Show scheduled this weekend at Hunt County’s Cloudline Farms near Celeste.

Because close to 100 hound dogs howling in one location could make quite a racket.

The hound dogs, and their owners, of course, will be arriving in Hunt County on Friday and begin preparing for the show scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday.

“It’s strictly the same as a dog show, but it’s all hunting hounds,” said retired Col. Rex Denny, a Celeste resident, who is one of the show’s chairmen.

Each year for the past five years, Denny said, his farm hosts the show, which draws hounds from across the Southwest from states like Arizona and New Mexico and Texas.

“There are different hounds every year,” he said.

Denny himself is a lover of hounds. He said he owns 60 . He also loves hunting with his hounds.

In honor of his 84th birthday, which happens to coincide with the this year’s hunt, Denny has planned a special off-season hunt Sunday that will take place in Hunt and Fannin counties.

Denny said the hunt has become a tradition for the past 14 years after he told his wife on his 70th birthday he was going out hunting because he might not be able to do it the next year.

“It got to be everyone expected it, so we do it every year,” he said.

The participants will be primarily hunting coyotes and perhaps a few foxes.

The show is free and is held in conjunction with The Master of Foxhounds Association of American and the Foxhound Club of North America.

Denny said he encourages everyone to come out.

“It’s free and people who love hounds and dogs and (want to) see them first class, the will enjoy seeing (this),” he said.

Cloudline Farms is located one mile north of Celeste at 6705 County Road 1048, just east of Highway 69 in Hunt County.