MEET THE LADIES
BEHIND THE BRAND
AMy HEBEN
Owner and Operator of Full Circle Pursuit Co.
Amy Heben is one of the fearless leaders of Huntin’ Dix. She is a hunting guide and vet tech by day and personal trainer/yoga instructor by night. She believes in Runnin’ and Gunnin’ at life. Which means morning meditation in tree stands, running dogs in the afternoon, and back up into a tree for the last sit as the whole woods turns in for the night. With some strength training on the off days.
The bed of her truck is usually full of 4 bird dogs ready to run: Trigger, Logan, Dixie and Sioux.
She found the love of bird dogs and hunting in 2013 and hasn’t let the twist and turns of life slow her down yet. Amy has traveled to the west for mule deer and wild birds but digs her heels down deep in her home state of Pennsyltucky. She follows her gut with a good beer through life and her laughter echos off of the next valley. She is continually striving to make herself and others better through the outmost love in her heart.
“People call me crazy but I just smile and say, some of the best ones are.”
Be sure to check out the next adventure on her INSTAGRAM
@amiehebe32
BETHANY FORD
Bethany Ford is training her first bird dog Boone, but that doesn’t stop her at kicking ass. She is killing it with events such as Chukar Challenges and doing guided hunts for clubs that she’s a part of. She enjoys pampering her bird dog as well as, horseback riding/training, archery hunting, shed hunting, and upland hunting.
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NIKKI SPENCER
Owner and Operator of Lonesome Willow Gundogs LLC
Nikki Spencer is the owner and trainer at Lonesome Willow Gundogs (Dog Training/Breeding). She might be a newbie at the professional dog training world but that doesn’t stop her from pursuing her dreams. She began her dog journey when she was younger running beagles in field trials with her aunt and uncle. She fell in love with the connection you get with a working dog. She then fell ill with childhood ovarian cancer and was unable to continue with field trials. In her adult life she found out about Shorthairs from her Husband’s friend. She then got her first bird dog and heart dog Monroe. He is the reason for everything she strives to achieve. That fall started the first hunting season. It also was the start of founding the Lonesome Willow Gundog Club. Since then, she is always striving to learn and see how other people’s training differs from her own and how to improve. Anything birddog she loves to learn about whether that be a podcast, seminar, hand-on, books, or events. Always a student “There is a thousand ways you can teach one command.” She enjoys training her personal dogs for hunt tests, dock diving, shed hunting, as well as taking them out upland hunting and soon to be waterfowl hunting. This will be Monroe’s 5th season and her two younger dogs Archer and Ramsey’s 2nd season.
Learn more about Lonesome Willow Gundogs and Nikki by visiting her website LONESOME WILLOW GUNDOGS (lwgundogs.com)
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marie madaras
Owner and Operator of Silver Lion Kennels LLC
"Have dogs. Will travel"
Marie Madaras is the owner and operator of Silver Lion Kennels: building and breeding a gun dog to be proud of. Marie specializes in puppy/young dog development and the companion hunting dog; she also trains and competes retrievers for AKC & HRC hunt tests and versatile bird dogs for the NAVHDA circuit. During hunting season, Marie and her personal dogs guide both upland and waterfowl hunts across the Northeast Region, along with enjoying the woods, fields, and water chasing a variety of quarry. She enjoys traveling with her dogs, hunting new areas, and connecting with fellow dog people and hunters.
Marie is also a Certified Veterinary Technician specializing in canine nutrition and physiology, hobby equine trainer, dabbler in K9 protection training, and self-appointed gear tester.
Learn more about Silver Lion Kennels and Marie by visiting her website Silver Lion Kennels | Gun Dog Trainer
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KATE DESMARaiS
Katelyn is a total newbie to the gundog world, embarking on her first training season with her black lab, Rosie, and Wild River Kennels in the summer of 2023. Growing up, Katelyn never had ‘working’ dogs; her family dogs were better off classified as house cats. Into her adult life, she couldn’t wait to get a retriever of her own, but the household rule was: “You can get a dog when you own your own house”. Well, bring on 2020! She bought an 1800s farmhouse, “The Half-ass Homestead,” in northeast Connecticut with plenty of land for her two miniature donkeys, Diezel and Dozer. It wasn’t long after buying her house that she would be visiting a breeder and walking away with, quite possibly, one of the best investments of her life. Together, Rosie and Kate have tried their hands (and paws!) in several canine sports, from dock diving to scent work, and most recently, hunt tests. What started as a "just-wanna-check-it-out" kind of thing at Wild River Kennels' Thursday night retriever training, turned into weekly group training nights, private lessons, and a daily grind of obedience and trying to learn the ins and outs of this new sport. Rosie may have had no interest in picking up ducks two months ago, but now, she’s the drive behind it all. This is just the beginning for this duo; what started as something fun to do together, turned into much more than that: an inseparable bond, friends that became family, and an ever-growing love for the outdoors.
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