March 2024 All-Star: Clay Owens; Cypress Creek Retrievers

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Our March Joy All Star goes to Clay Owens; owner of Cypress Creek Retrievers, located in Island, Kentucky. Clay has had a passion for working dogs his entire life. His passion began as a child, running rabbit dogs. In 2016, Clay got his first duck dog, a labrador retriever named Beau. This lead to making the decision that would change the course of his life when he decided to train, and compete with him. Beau is a dog that loves to train, hunt, and he aims to please. After people seeing Beau work while hunting, Clay started having people approach him to take them on as clients, training  their dogs. After several people approached him, Clay took the jump and officially opened his kennel in 2018, Cypress Creek Retrievers. “We have been truly blessed with the success we’ve had” Clay said during his interview. 

 

At Cypress Creek Retrievers, Clay offers several services, including training basic obedience, gun dog training, and running HRC & AKC hunt test including The Grand and Master National. During the interview, Clay and his wife Jaclyn reflected on the past, “It’s surreal to look back and see how far we’ve come in such a short time. We’ve been extremely fortunate to have the great clients and talented dogs we’ve had over the years.” Clay’s greatest achievements and memories as a handler were at the National events, HRC International Grand, and The AKC Master National. Although there have been plenty of proud, fulfilling moments; there have also been plenty of ups and downs. Throughout it all, Clay has always kept pushing, kept working hard, and continued to grow as a trainer. 

 

Last spring, Clay was researching a new brand of dog food. He had tried a couple brands, but had not been satisfied with the results; that is until he found out about Joy Dog Food. A good friend and veterinarian, Dr Tony Schumann with Erlanger Veterinary Hospital recommended Joy Dog Food to Clay. Dr. Schumann explained the nutritional benefit in Joy Dog Food and how it was a great dog food for not just labrador retrievers, but all working dogs due to it’s premium ingredients and calorie-dense formulas. “Since switching over to Joy Dog Food, my dogs as a whole look great. Their coats are shinier, teeth are cleaner, and their stools are more consistent, too. I absolutely love Joy, and I know my dogs do, too” - Clay Owens, Cypress Creek Retrievers.