2018 Inductee – Risky Run for the Devils Jewel “DJ”
Owner: John Turnquist
1607 Champion Points
Legendary Status Champion
81x Champion
10 Super Major Championships
4 Major Championships
On August 18th, 2004, BDC Hall of Fame dog, Lexus, put a beautiful litter of 8 puppies on the ground. John knew he wanted a puppy from this litter. When he went to pick out his puppy, John decided he wanted the most aggressive, bird crazy, male in the litter. At 6-weeks of age, John picked up that dog, Risky Run for the Devil’s Jewel, aka, DJ.
From that day forward, DJ lived up to his name and John had a little devil on his hands. When it came to training, potty training was a piece of cake…two mistakes and he was trained. John thought, “This is easy!” He planted and shot birds over him at 8-weeks of age, and took him to South Dakota pheasant hunting at 12-weeks of age. However at the age of 6-months, DJ went in for his formal training with Terry Holzinger. Terry earned his money. To put it mildly, DJ was a bit hard headed. During force fetch, DJ preferred two collars. One collar really didn’t make him feel the need to comply. DJ completed training successfully, but Terry told John that he probably didn’t want to breed him unless he found a really level-headed female. John asked why. Terry laughed and said, “I don’t want to train any of his puppies”.
So the journey began. Living up to his name, DJ had no off switch; bouncing off the walls or sleeping where his only two settings. He had less than a handful of wild bird hunts, but instead was strictly a tournament dog and he loved the game. By the time he was 3-years old, he had already won NATHA Puppy of the Year, NATHA Dog of the Year, and the BDC National Championships in the Top Gun division.
One of DJ’s greatest attributes was his desire to hunt for anyone who had a gun, a vest, and a whistle, oh yeah, and the remote to the collar. He hunted and won with some of the best players in the game. Most of the time when you took DJ to the gate, you were going to get DJ the tournament dog, but every once in a while, DJ the athlete would make an appearance and would run amuck in the field. BUT, when you got DJ the tournament dog, if you could keep up with him, you had a shot to win every time. If you shot your birds, retrieves were great. If DJ trapped birds, he either got close to you, pitched the bird at you, and then headed out hunting again, or he would make a victory lap around you to show you his prize. Either way, DJ was DJ, and a lot of fun to hunt with. It was never dull and one could never question his drive.
Of the many special tournament hunting moments with DJ two stand out. The first was when John won with him at BDC’s most difficult tournament, The Invitational 2012, where DJ and John put together 3 good runs to beat a field of fierce competitors and dogs. The other special memory was when Cheyanne ran DJ at the National Championships in 2013. She also ran Hall of Fame dog, Cash. She returned from her Cash run really excited with a 2:00 run on three birds, all trapped birds, bettering the rest of the field by nearly a minute. John was happy for his daughter and Cash, but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little bummed with the thought that there would be no way she could better that time. Much to John’s surprise, Cheyanne returned grinning ear-to-ear after a 1:56 run, shooting all three birds, awarding DJ and Cheyanne with a Ladies Flushing National Championship win. Those are only two memories of the hundreds in the 10+ years that DJ gave to John and Cheyanne in the sport.
At home, DJ was a complete pecker head. He was not a lover. He did not cuddle. He did not want you to touch him. If you turned your back on him, he was getting into mischief. DJ once had run of the house while John was working. DJ decided to take on a can of squeeze cheese that was sitting on the end table. Keep in mind, these cans are pressurized. He punctured it with his teeth and cheese had sprayed up the wall and all over the ceiling. All John could do was picture cheese spraying up towards the ceiling and DJ trying to lick it on the way up there. DJ, without permission, also liked to take the occasional stroll around the neighborhood looking for ladies, but he always came back. DJ was very loyal to John. In fact, when Carla and Cheyanne started coming around the house, DJ was very standoffish and didn’t quite know what to think. It took at least 6-months for him to warm up to Carla. She was intruding! Cheyanne on the other hand, they had a very special rapport. If Cheyanne had a date, and her date would come to the house, DJ was extremely protective of her. He would not leave her side and gave the young man the stare down. And, although he wouldn’t cuddle with John or Carla, he would always cuddle with Cheyanne. If she was there, he always wanted to be with her. In fact, many tournament runs consisted of Cheyanne and DJ cuddled up, sleeping in the back of the truck until being told to get in the blind, and then off they would go making memories.
Every moment and memory with DJ will last a lifetime. Even though he would get called a few choice names in the field and at home, he was DJ and was the boss at the Turnquist hut who was loved unconditionally.
On this day, March 15, 2018, DJ enters the BDC Hall of Fame with 1607 Champion Points, 10 Super Major wins, 4 Major wins, an 81x and Legendary Champion, and ranked #5 in the Lifetime Flushing Dog standings who will always be remembered.