Dale Rollins figures he drove about a million miles in his career as an extension service biologist for the Texas A&M University system, what’s now called Texas AgriLife. Most of his trips were down seemingly endless West Texas highways. One December day in 1992, Rollins presented a program to the San Angelo Lion’s Club, and then headed for Childress (220 miles away) to talk with 4-H leaders. Along the way, he had an epiphany.

“As I drove along a lonely stretch of U.S. 83 between Aspermont and Guthrie, I contemplated that I could give such programs every day if I had the time and energy,” Rollins recalls. “Few of the programs required a PhD in wildlife management. I began mulling the idea of empowering youth as ambassadors for conservation awareness and the term ‘Bobwhite Brigade’ popped into my head.”

With the help of like-minded wildlife volunteers (and for the record, Rollins does have a PhD in wildlife management), Rollins organized the Bobwhite Brigade, a program that’s expanded to Texas Youth Brigades. The intense camps, usually held on large ranches, attract kids interested in quail, white-tailed deer, waterfowl, bass, and, new this year, ranch management for livestock. In 2014, seven Brigades are scheduled. Families who can’t afford the tuition can seek financial assistance.

About 2,600 “cadets” have already learned what it takes to maintain healthy fish and wildlife populations.

Hang on, boys and girls, for I am about to drop some theology and psychology on you and hint at a possible reason why God made dogs. Not having been spoken to directly by the Almighty, I cannot present this with the same degree of certainty as the Biblical prophets who pronounced, “Thus saith the Lord God . . .” Nevertheless, experience tells me this reasoning is sound.

The Creator is mysterious and beyond the ability of our little brains to comprehend, but dogs are not. They are simple creatures like us, and for the most part are easy to understand, particularly if you have had fellowship with them all your life.

My wife loves dogs, too, and they constitute a wonderful part of our lives. They are members of our household, like adopted kinfolk, who have the right to our love and nurturing and to the run of the house and property just as any family member would. Our home is their home. No, we don’t treat them like humans, but rather like treasures, like blessings, because they bring comfort and joy into our lives that one has to experience to understand. We feel a kindly sorrow for those who have a void in their lives when it comes to dogs.

While Ruth does not approve of my killing things and expresses sorrow for the few quail I bring home, she understands that my dogs and I are hunters by nature and by breeding, and that killing is part of what we do, though not the main thing. She understands that my dogs live to hunt, and that they love me best because I am the one who takes them hunting. I am the one who lets them do what they were created to do, so there is a bond that she cannot fully appreciate.

“If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything,” goes the saying, and here’s some of what I stand for: I love all horses, some dogs, and no cats. My feeling for horses and cats is simple, but when it comes to dogs, I’m a sticky wicket. I’m drawn to the athleticism, drive, and purpose of the working and sporting breeds, and at the end of the day I’m a card-carrying member of Setter Nation.

Not everyone is a setter fan, mind you, and I see it clearly during public conditioning runs. The older set remembers setters as America’s favorite dog and they fawn over my two tricolors and two orange beltons. The younger set is different, and they recognize poodle doodles (or whatever that mix is called) far more easily than my setters. The goat, cow, and sheep bells I place around the necks of my dogs are not recognized as tools indicating their bird-finding prowess. With the passing of time comes the changing of culture, and setters are less popular now than at any other time. Indeed, of about 140 American Kennel Club breeds, the English setter occupies a lackluster 70th position. The Labrador retriever has been America’s sweetheart (and number one) for a long while.

So be it for Setter Nation, and part of our strong affinity is that English setters have been a work-in-progress for centuries.