A Hunting Family of Strong Sturdy Hounds Bred To Run A Rabbit (taken directly from one of Willet’s brochures)
FOREWARD (as written by Willet Randall, founder of the Patch Hounds, in 1969)
The Patch Hounds – what are they?If you are a beginner, this will be your first question.The answer is, they are a family of strong, rugged hounds bred for the express purpose of running rabbits.They are the oldest established family of beagles in the US bred that long by a single individual.This great family had their origin away back more than 70 years ago when I was just a “boy.”I’m in my 93rd year now and still breed them, hunt them every weekend and like it better every year – that’s what keeps me young.
Many of the great hounds you know today came from the descendants of these early hounds.The PATCHES made early beagle history - the record shows for itself – you will find it in such works as “The Beagle in America and England” by H. W. Prentiss.
The Patches are strong in bone and muscle, nice type and long low-set ears; handsome to look at; theirgreatest asset is their ability to run a rabbit; they have the nose and brains and inbred wallop to give you an all day’s hunt-and repeat it the next.
There are no weaklings among them. Even so they are not the super hounds you read about.There are no perfect beagles; if you are looking for one, don’t buy a PATCH.Yet, in all fairness to the strain we can truthfully say there are very few poor ones.Many of our early hounds were mostly white in color and we still have them as well as black blankets, open marked, red and gold, tan and white so you can choose the color you like best.The black blanket craze of a few years ago all but ruined many good beagle families.Today, beaglers insist on a hound that can deliver a rabbit, rather than squabble over the color of his hide.
The trend now is for the lighter colored, especially those who hunt cottontails. Keep in mind it is not the INDIVIDUAL but the FAMILY you must look to.Breed from only the best and stick to the family you start with.Don’t be chasing across the continent to breed your bitch to the latest “champion” and repeat it next year until you have a mixture of all bloods; you can’t produce a hunting family in this way.If you start with the PATCHES stick to them.If you start with any other of the good families, stick to that one.Only in this way can you produce a hunting family that will breed on, and reproduce themselves.There will always be throwbacks – pups that are not up to your standards-but we find this in all species of animals.If this were not so, how easy it would be to reach our goal, and we would all have the perfect beagle.