03/09/2026
Miss Virginia here has a message for the ladies on International Women’s Day.
Being a female doesn’t mean you can’t make it to the front. 🎀
I was a young woman who hadn’t yet fully grown into my self-confidence when my love of hounds took root. From the very first day, I never wanted to be a “female deer/coon/fox hunter.”
I just wanted to be a dog hunter. To make dogs that I was proud of. To be respected by those around me.
Every step I walked toward that goal was a step toward the woman I am today, at 40. Life with these dogs, walking within what has traditionally been a man’s world-it changed me.
It brought me out of my shell and taught me how to be assertive when needed.
It taught me that my emotional involvement with and deep love of these animals wasn’t a weakness after all. In reality, a lot of times it’s been “the secret sauce.”
It’s shown me my physical and emotional strength. And the hardest days taught me to not be selfish when it meant sparing them a single moment of suffering.
Most of all, every dog I ever hung my collar on has played a role in teaching me that I CAN do hard things. That just because someone says “you’ll never be able to do that” doesn’t mean you can’t prove them wrong.
Be a lady. Be prepared to have to work twice as hard to earn respect sometimes. Don’t expect special treatment. Love your dogs.
And watch this change your life 🖤
*I’d be remiss in failing to say that I’m eternally grateful for the houndsmen who took me under their wing, encouraged me, pushed me past what I thought were my limits sometimes, and always clapped the loudest even if my name was higher on the sheet than their’s. THANK YOU, for everything.
