"The Rumors of My Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated ..."

Since the mid-1990s, John and I have been highly amused by the resultant "rumor mill" ~ such "stories" in circulation (for whatever reason and with most originating with those who certainly knew differently!) that John was "bought out," "no longer breeding," ad infinitum, ad nauseum.
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Yes, some even going so far as to suggest that John was dead! (Don't worry though, we know who you are ~ and have received even more reports of these rumors as recently as last week!
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As Mark Twain once famously remarked, "The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated."
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With a family heritage of five generations of breeding exceptional English Setter gundogs to maintain ~ and even though such matters as family affairs and other business interests frequently intruded ~ John still worked diligently in protecting, perfecting and improving upon the George Ryman-based lines the Fetters Family had become known for.
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As John has stated before on our pages here, there are no "short cuts" to breeding quality shooting dogs in a consistent manner ~ and once achieved, the lines must be protected and improved upon with the introduction of the occasional "right type" of blood.
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One of the results of John's endeavors are shown in the photo above in the bottom photo, Fetters-bred "Grouse Greta," at 16-months old in 2009 ~ along with a comparison photo of Ryman's Racket Boy, a setter bred by George H. Ryman himself.
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Though female and male, they are near mirror images in conformation ~ and the other standards George H. Ryman set and which the Fetters Family has maintained ~ are present as well.
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To learn more, see John's most recent piece, "Breeding the Lines, a Successful Long-term Strategy" on our "Fetters Setters ~ History and Heritage" page, easily accessed by clicking here.
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New Blog Page ~ Our Dogs ~ Hunting Scenes and Other Photos

Long overdue, however better late than never, is the addition of the newest Fetters Setters page, Fetters Setters ~ Our Dogs ~ Hunting Scenes and Other Photos, which can be found by clicking here.

As stated elsewhere on our pages here in the past, many of our records and other items were placed in storage sometime ago due to extensive travels necessitated by both business and family affairs. One of the wonderful aspects of having a number of these items under-foot again is that it has been almost like re-connecting with family and old friends in a sense.

We have been in the process of retrieving these treasures and unpacking, re-sorting and re-organizing them for sometime. The initial photos on our newest page are only the beginning of a vast amount of material which we plan to share here.

We have foregone any captions on the initial batch of these as most are relatively self-explanatory. We may or may not add written information in short doses at some point in the future, depending on when we feel the need and as time allows.

While styles and fashions come in and go out with time, the beauty of a well-conformed English Setter in the field and at home near the hearth are indeed timeless.
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Beauty as well as stunning ability are attributes the Fetters Family English Setters have been known for through five generations: a setter must possess brain and stamina to hunt everyday under adverse weather conditions and in any type of cover encountered. These outstanding qualities are continued in the bloodlines we breed and maintain to this day.

We hope you enjoy these photos as much as we have enjoyed going through them and sharing them with you here.


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