2020 Inductee – Breanna’s Von “Caz” A Raz
Owners/Handlers: Brad, Jackie, and Breanna Jentzsch
894 Champion Points
Legendary Status Champion
45x Champion
5 Super Major Championships
6 Major Championships
What are the odds that lightning can strike in the same spot more than once? For the Jentzsch family, the odds were in their favor. Not only were they blessed with 2018 Hall of Fame Inductee, Shrek, they also had the privilege of owning another one-of-a-kind, Caz. Duane Buster’s Jessie, and Mark Sweeney’s Hall of Famer, Gauge, had a proven track record when it came to litters on the ground, and Caz was a product of that breeding.
Born in July 2011, Caz had a bit of a slow start. He had a very goofy demeanor and was a fun dog to be around. Because of this, he was referred to as the Polish Shorthair. His favorite thing to do besides hunt, was sit in his kennel where he would always have his front paws crossed, almost as though he was praying to be taken to the field. Craig ‘Steiny’ Steinbach coined him with the nickname, “Cazabogowski” because he was so goofy. Steiny said, “you couldn’t help but love him”. Caz had intense training. He was extremely smart, but was also a bit bullheaded. However, when it finally clicked for Caz, it clicked in a big way and the party was on. Caz didn’t care who was gunning, when you stood at the line with him and looked him in the eyes, he gave you a crazy look and it was go-time. Brad began competing with Caz in 2013 and took the tournament hunting world by storm.
Caz won 3 Major events that year. He won the Puppy Division at the New York Bird Dog Series Championship and he won the Singles Division in both the Summer Hummer and Wisconsin Hungarian Championship. Caz did not make the podium in 2014 but earned Champion Points at nearly every event attended. Caz may have been saving up his energy for 2015 when he won three Super Major titles at the Player’s Championship alone. Once again showing his willingness and desire to just go find birds, Caz won the Masters Division with Gary Henrichs, the Doubles Division with Brad and Steiny, and Amanda Bruder along with Chris Barnsdale also won the Mixed Doubles Division. Caz also finished 3rd in the Singles Division. Every class that he could enter at that event, he either won it or highly placed. Caz was on a roll. A couple months later, he would earn two Major titles by sweeping the Holiday Classic and winning the Singles and Doubles Divisions respectably. In 2018, Caz started the year off on a mission. Steiny took him to the National Championships where they had stellar preliminary runs that earned them a spot in the finals in both Singles and Doubles Divisions. Going head-to-head against tough dogs like Puckett and Russell (Birkenholz), Blaze (Teune), Dani (Ricks), or One Hop (Behe), Caz didn’t care that the field started with 92 dogs and they were down to 16. He and Steiny did their thing, crushing five birds in just over 4 minutes. They beat out Maverick Birkenholz and Puckett by 8 seconds in the Singles Division. In Doubles, Steiny and Zac Foss had a couple looks at the field, and although Steiny and Zac took home hardware for 1st and 2nd place, Caz was beat out by Bella (Foss) earning Caz the runner-up spot. They were just 42 seconds from another sweep. Caz was not done however, he had more to prove. A week before his 8th Birthday, Caz and Brad earned another Major title at the 2018 Summer Hummer where Caz and Brad took the top two placements competing against some of the best dogs in the country like Letz (Steeno) and Clutch (Bruder) in a 32-dog match play format. This would be Caz’s last event. Unfortunately, just over a month later, Caz died unexpectedly from a blood clot. This was heartbreaking for many in the bird dog community because those that knew and loved Caz knew full-well that he was just hitting his stride and coming into his own.
Today, March 12, 2020, Caz enters the BDC Hall of Fame with 894 Champion Points, 5 Super Major titles that includes a National Championship, 6 Major titles, and a Legendary Champion listed in the Top 20 Lifetime Pointing Dogs. Abraham Lincoln said, “And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” Caz certainly made the most of his life in the short amount of time he had. One can only imagine what he would have accomplished if he had the time.