2019 Inductee – Big Rock Von “Deion”
Owner/Handler: Bernie Birkenholz
1145 Champion Points
Legendary Status Champion
57x Champion
7 Super Major Championships
4 Major Championships
Big Rock Von Deion was born on May 29, 2006, and is a son of Reggie’s. We have so many great memories of his tournament years. Deion was quite the tournament duo with Foreman back in the day which gave Bernie a lot of chances to win with either dog.
Deion was a natural retriever from day one, which is a big advantage in this game, and it also made him very easy to train.
Deion started off his winning ways by winning the Puppy Division at Nationals. Next he went on to win the Puppy Division at the Top Guns before moving to the big leagues and winning PHU Nationals Top Gun, US Open Top Gun and then that fall winning Worlds Doubles all as a puppy. The next year he backed up his PHU Nationals Top Gun win again.
Deion is definitely one of Big Rock’s best foundation dogs. He was one of the first dogs that Maverick ran in tournaments because Deion was so easy to handle in the field, and they had a lot of success together late in Deion’s career. Back in 2015 when Deion was 9 years old and Maverick was 14, they won the BDC Nationals Amateur Division. And then they went back to the BDC Nationals in 2016 and won the Hunter Division National Title. They also made it to the BDC Nationals Top Gun Finals that year, so that was really cool for a 10-year-old dog and a 15-year-old boy as we all know the level of competition in that division.
Deion has always been an easy keeper, and just wants to please. At times he was almost too loyal in the doubles competitions which was a disadvantage in the game. This dog asks for nothing, and gives so much. He will be 13 years old this coming May, and is still doing great for an old-timer. He is retired and has a few aches and pains, but he still gets excited to think he might be going hunting, so Bernie takes him to a couple of events each year just so he can travel with the pack and feel like he is still the one.
Deion enters the Bird Dog Circuit Hall of Fame as a Legendary Status Dog with 57 Championships, 1145 career Champion Points, 7 Super Major wins and 3 Major wins. He completed his career in 2016. Deion ranks 9th overall in Pointing Lifetime Dog achievement. Deion is just one of those dogs that we will always cherish. He is a true gem that was happy just to walk in Reggie’s shadow.