This wonderfully crafted life-sized piece named, “Hunter,” is made of butternut with copper trim by James Mellick, a superb craftsman, artist and Weimaraner breeder.

The Weimaraner is thought to have been originally refined by the Grand Duke Karl August around the late 1700s. He (the duke, not the dog) was the Grand Duke of Weimar, Germany (hence the name Weimaraner), a country that had large wild game requiring a strong, versatile hunting dog. Some experts believed that a hound (possibly the St. Hubertus Brachen) was also part of the Weimaraner’s ancestry. The breed was rigorously protected from the rest of the outside world for many years and because it was developed under strict guidelines, the Weimaraner became a superior hunter.