2018 Inductee – “Tikka” Hunter of Wildlife Lane
Owner/Handler: Jerry and Chris Brost
4166 Champion Points
Legendary Status Champion
209x Champion
29 Super Major Championships
32 Major Championships
Born into this world on August 3rd, 2006, was a dog, unbeknown to them, that would change the lives of Jerry & Chris Brost forever. Her name given by them would be Tikka – Tikka Hunter of Wildlife Lane.
First order of business for this young pup was wild bird hunting at which the team of Tikka & Jerry would harvest their very first ruffed grouse together when Tikka was only 11-weeks old. That day would change the look in that little pups eyes every time she stepped afield. For the rest of that winter they would spend endless hours working together which included driving 2 hours to a place called Big Rock Game Preserve once a week chasing birds. This would set the stage for the years to come.
At just 16-months old, Tikka would make her first mark in the BDC by winning the Amateur Championship. Throughout the 10 years to follow the name, Tikka, would be a norm when it came time to handing out awards. She would go on in her career to win 8 National Championships in 3 different upland series including BDC, PHU & NUCS, with at least one win in the Top Gun event in each of them. Tikka earned the title of BDC Dog of the Year four times under two different formats. Tikka had multiple wins in other events as well as Dog of the Year titles in the Wisconsin Championship Hunting Series. On December 17, 2016, Tikka would surpass 4000 Champion Points by winning the 2-run combined doubles event at the Wisconsin State Pheasant Championship placing her at the top of the Lifetime Flushing Dog standings.
Some of the most memorable moments of Tikka’s tournament career include winning a Major doubles event with 7-birds bagged in a 6-bird set by over 2 minutes. Yes, it was so fast neither the judge nor the players could keep count. Another special moment was at the National Championships when a shot was missed and the chukar landed in a cedar tree in the field. Tikka stepped up on lower branches to grab the bird off a higher limb. In the spring of 2014, she won the Dakota Gun Dog Series season championship doubles event by 2 minutes and came out of the field on 3-legs because she had just torn her ACL somewhere in the field. Tikka would have TPLO surgery and spend that summer and early fall doing rehab. Tikka’s first tournament back, the World Championships, after not seeing a bird in 5 months, would win the World Championships doubles event. The list of these moments is endless.
Tikka competed in wild bird competitions at which she posted 2 wins in the Ringneck Festival held in Huron, SD as well as a win in the Ruffed Grouse Championship hosted in Land-O-Lakes, WI.
The memories of Tikka wild bird hunting would take hours to tell. She could track and retrieve winged pheasants like no other, and she could find winged ducks that would sail great distances. Tikka was also known to bring back grouse that a person thought they never hit.
Tikka’s most impressive attribute was her demeanor. With most dogs hunting, whether tournament or wild, is a job, with Tikka it was simply a game that she had fun with. The smile on her face was visible. She could excel in the duck blind one day and win a quail tournament the next. It didn’t matter the circumstances, weather or species of bird, she was always Miss Consistency. She had fun at everything she did, including carrying the egg basket to the hen house for collecting eggs. She was in no way a selfish dog and always aimed to please others.
In very simple words, Tikka let her actions speak for themselves, and through those actions, she would touch many lives by the new friendships she helped create during her journey here on earth. Although she may be gone, the friendships she created will last forever. We find it very humbling that God blessed us with her and are grateful.
December 18, 2018, just 10 days after her cancer diagnosis, Tikka would pass from Hematoangiosarcoma in the arms of Jerry & Chris at her home. In the days following her diagnosis Tikka would find enough energy to head back to the woods for one last grouse hunt, the place where it all started.
Today, March 15, 2018, Tikka enters the BDC Hall of Fame with 29 Super Major wins and 32 Major wins, and was a 209x Champion with Legendary Status. Tikka also finished with an amazing 4166 Champion Points, a benchmark that will be difficult to surpass. A dog that changed how the Flushing Division was shaped and forced others to be better, Tikka will forever be remembered.