Breeding Quality Retrievers For Beauty, Brains, And Temperament For Over 20 Years
 

Hello, welcome, and thanks for stopping by our BEARCOUNTRYFCR website!  Let us introduce ourselves; we are Sherie and Clint Catledge and we, plus the assorted dogs, cats, horses and other critters highlighted in the attached links, are very happily situated on 40 acres approximately one hour north of Nashville, Tennessee in the small, rural community of Oak Grove.  The following is a brief synopsis of who we are and how we got there.  Enjoy!! 

The Bear Country Kennel prefix was started by Sherie, in the early 1980’s while she was residing in Hollywood, Florida.  Her first dog was a golden retriever named Sinbad that got her hooked on obedience and conformation, even though Sinbad was well short of being competitive in the breed ring.  He was a pet store golden and was deep red in color, but he was the cause of her addiction to the retriever breeds and sporting dog competitions.  Her next golden, Bear (CH Sandpiper’s One Helluva Bear CD) was to be her first bench champion as well as her introduction to field.  She briefly owned a black cocker spaniel (Teddy) that was a bench champion and specialty show winner, and later, a sheltie (Chipper) that she was very competitive with in obedience. Sherie acquired her first Flat-coat, Rodney, in 1986, from Patty Kennedy Pace, who ultimately became AM/CAN CH Sandpiper’s Lickerish Stix CDX JH CGC.  Clint was competing in conformation, obedience, and field, with his second golden retriever, Puff (Meadowpond Hi-Flite Destiny UD JH TD), when he and Sherie first got together.  In a deviation from the sporting group of dogs, Sherie and Clint had the opportunity to co-own, train, and campaign to a bench championship, a white bull terrier named Banjo (CH Athena’a Alabama Banjo).   Clint and Sherie were wed in December 1988, in Miami, Fl.  Puff was the “flower dog”, that walked down the aisle along with Clint’s daughter, Kristin, the “flower girl”.  Sherie’s son, Raymond, was the ring bearer.  Piper (CH Wildwood’s Sandpiper Destiny CD JH WCX), was acquired from Patty Pace as a 6 year old, and all of her suffix titles were added by Clint and Sherie, thereafter.  However, it was the purchase of Windy (Renaissance Tropical Storm MH CD WCX), from Linda Randall DVM, that really got Sherie and Clint deeply involved in the fieldwork.  Windy was initially pro-trained by Gates Kirkham and James Brengosz of Thomasville, GA, and demonstrated lots of talent, desire, and speed.  She was ultimately co-owned with Kass Goulding who helped campaign her to a Master Hunter title (our first ever). 

Sherie and Clint relocated to Oak Grove, Tennessee, in October, 1995, only to find that Middle Tennessee was a “hot bed” for retriever field training and very convenient to many conformation shows.  Best of all, “no alligators”!  They then, bought a black male flat-coat in 1997 from Margot and Mitch Brown who has become HRCH UH CH Hardscrabble Feath’r Fetch’r MH WCX (Jamie).  Jamie was completely trained and handled to his titles by Clint.  Along the way, Eleanor Trew offered Fever (CH Twin Oaks Spring Fever MH WCX ***) to Sherie and Clint in 1999 at the age of 6.  The bench championship, master title and working certificate excellent were all earned during her stay with them, prior to an untimely accidental death at the tender age of nine.  Additionally, in 1997, Sherie and Clint bought their first lab that has also earned his Master Hunter title, and has competed in two Master Nationals (handled by Sherie in Indiana, and Clint in Oklahoma).  He is Big Mac of Ebonstar MH (Mac), and is now co-owned with good friend and Clint’s coworker, Jack Overholser.   

Both Clint and Sherie were involved in establishing the South Florida Retriever Club in about 1985 (around the inception of the hunt test program), and she was also the secretary for that club.  Sherie is a past president of both the Everglades Golden Retriever Club and the Dog Obedience Club of Hollywood, and was a member of the Board of Directors for the Golden Retriever Club of America.  Both were members of the Miami Obedience Club.  Clint is also a past president of the Everglades Golden Retriever Club.  Sherie is the past president of the Middle Tennessee Amateur Retriever Club, and currently serves on the Board, as well as being the club’s perpetual hunt test secretary. 

In an effort to continue their canine education over the years, both Sherie and Clint have attended field seminars and workshops by such individuals as Perry McDaniel, James Brengosz, Jim and Phillis Dobbs, Dennis Voigt, Mike Lardy, Jim Van Engen, and Evan Graham.  Additionally, they have attended conformation seminars by Quentin LaHam and Patricia Trotter among others; obedience/behavior seminars by Connie Cleveland, Robert Self, Nancy Patton, Ian Dunbar; and puppy evaluation seminars by Pat Hastings.  Sherie and Clint are both AKC Hunt Test & Field Trial judges.  Sherie was instrumental in working with the American Kennel Club in organizing the first AKC Advanced Hunt Test Judges Seminar which they both attended in 2004. 

Beyond the dogs, they both enjoy a love of horses.  Currently, six quarter horses, a paint, and an appaloosa live at the Bear Country farm.  Sherie and Clint employ techniques from Pat Parelli’s Natural Horsemanship to train their equines.  They have attended workshops with Carol Coppinger (certified instructor), in order to polish those techniques. 

Other animals you might find on the Old McCatledge farm include grey toulouse and buff geese, ducks, barn cats, and two indoor cats. 

Since October, 1995, Clint has been employed as an Air Traffic Controller at the Nashville Air Traffic Control Tower, having been transferred from Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center which he was first employed by the Federal Aviation Administration in 1984.  Prior to that, he was a licensed aircraft mechanic.  He holds a bachelors degree in Aviation Administration from the Middle Tennessee State University.  Sherie currently works in Contracting/Provider Services for Cigna Healthcare, and prior to that, worked in banking in south Florida. 

Sherie and Clint’s long term goals include competing in the field and conformation at the highest levels with all their dogs.  They love music, dancing, and spending time together doing whatever comes to mind at the time.  They have embraced their son Billy’s love of NASCAR, and enjoy attending races with him.  They also wish to continue enjoying life on the farm with their horses.