Gauge Wins State Championship

Matt Behe of Smithfield poses with his 13-month-old Boykin Spaniel named "Gauge" and the championship trophy they won Friday at the NC State Flushing Dog Competition in Catawba.

As the saying goes, “A man’s best friend is his dog”, but in this case it is also his state champion dog. Smithfield resident Matt Behe and his dog, Gauge, won the North Carolina state championship Flushing Dog Competition held Friday at the White Farm Hunting Preserve in Catawba. Gauge, a 13-month-old Boykin Spaniel, was the youngest dog in the competition, Behe said. The dogs and hunters worked as a team in the competition. Dogs, which included labs, springer spaniels, golden retrievers, cocker spaniels, and Boykin spaniels, were judged on finding and retrieving birds. The quicker the birds were bagged, the higher the score. Behe and Gauge have competed in more than 20 competitions since September and had won smaller events in Indiana and Ohio . Behe said the Catawba win was the biggest thus far. Behe has owned Gauge since he was just 8 weeks old.