Near the banks of the Missouri River in northwest Missouri is where Jay Gore spent the first 18 years of his life. At age 10, he hunted small game in woodlots at his families’ farm. He hunted the millions of ducks and geese that used the Missouri River as a corridor for migration. This horde of waterfowl gave Mr. Gore the spark to pursue a career in wildlife management. He obtained BS (1963) and MS (1965) degrees at South Dakota State University and the University of Maine respectively. He was a senior waterfowl biologist for 6 years with the Tennessee Fish and Game Commission. He had a 30-year career with three Federal agencies, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and USDA Forest Service. His first Labrador retriever possessed him at age 26 while living in Tennessee. He often wonders why people make the mistake of owning dog breeds other than Labs. After all, Labs are the perfect dog, not that he’s biased or anything like that!