Sissy, a two-year-old mixed red bone coon hound, lab, and golden retriever mix from Saint Ignatius, MT, is the beloved companion of her dad, Matt, who works in the shop.
A few years ago, he was searching for a black puppy when a customer came into the shop with one and informed Matt there were still three left in the litter.
He was intent on leaving with the only all-black puppy remaining. When he arrived, however, the woman selling the dogs was running late, allowing him to interact with all of them. Sissy immediately caught his attention by coming right over to him, sitting on his foot, and refusing to leave.
“I was like, ‘Okay, I guess you’re coming with me,’” Matt said. “Then she proceeded to throw up five miles away from the house in my brand new truck.”
Sissy follows Matt everywhere he goes. Like most dogs, she senses something special about Rock Creek. On a recent trip back from his hometown in Texas, Sissy started whining with excitement as they neared the Rock Creek exit off the Interstate. She loves accompanying Matt to fish up the creek.
“She’s pretty good about it,” Matt said. “She’ll stay kind of in the shallow area. Although, last year when runoff was going on, I caught this really good brown trout up at Valley of the Moon. I released the fish, and when I looked up, two geese were running through the water to take flight. Behind them was Sissy just running on this gravel bar at full speed, chasing these geese. And it’s runoff, so the water’s really high on both sides.”
Sissy finally listened and left her geese-chasing escapades for the safety of the bank. If you come into the shop, expect to be greeted with sweet, playful energy. Anyone is welcome to give her treats and see her handful of t
ricks.
“She’s working on her manners, so she shouldn’t jump, but she might,” Matt said. “Other than that, she’ll just want all your attention and walk you around the fly shop.”
