By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
He's a picture of canine perfection
Beaux
This picture of Beaux on Savannah’s famous riverfront was named an “Editor’s Pick” in Garden & Gun’s 2020 Good Dog Photo Contest. - photo by Photo submitted
I tell everybody that he is the Patrick Swayze of dogs. I mean he can hunt and he cleans up good.
Holly Jenkins
Wyatt Jenkins
Wyatt Jenkins, 14, poses with Beaux, his three-year-old AKC grand champion German Shorthaired Pointer. Beaux is as comfortable lounging on a couch as he is traipsing through the woods is search of quail. - photo by Mark Lastinger/staff

RINCON — Beaux Jenkins is a man’s man — except that he’s a dog. The German Shorthaired Pointer is a handsome sort who is as comfortable lounging on a couch as he is traipsing through the woods.

Oh, and he’s an AKC grand champion adored everywhere he goes for his exceptional looks and pleasant disposition.

“I tell everybody that he’s like the Patrick Swayze of dogs,” said Holly Jenkins, who purchased Beaux for her son, Wyatt, from a breeder in Ocala, Florida, in 2017. “I mean he can hunt and he cleans up good.”

Beaux was welcomed into the Jenkins family because Wyatt, 11 at the time, wanted a bigger dog.

“They gave me first pick of the litter because I was young,” Wyatt said. 

Beaux proved to be an excellent choice as he was an editor’s pick in Garden & Gun’s 2020 Good Dog Photo Contest. The magazine published a photo of him on Savannah’s famous riverfront that was taken last summer.

Wyatt said AKC judges have deemed Beaux, who was also ‘Mr. October’ in a Savannah Kennel Club calendar, “structrually perfect.” That is not why he wanted him, however.

“It’s kind of funny,” Wyatt said. “He had these big (brown) spots on him and all the other dogs didn’t. I just liked the spots.”

The breeder was hesitant to sell Beaux because she was aware of his potential.

“She knew Beaux was a good-looking dog and she wanted him to become a champion,” Holly said. “In order to get him, Wyatt had to agree to do it and show him.”

Beaux proved to be a natural at AKC events.

“At the first show we went to, it was ‘game on’, ” Wyatt said. 

Beaux quickly amassed the 25 points needed to become an AKC grand champion. He got the ones that pushed him over the top at a New York show while the Jenkinses were on vacation.

A entry can win a maximum of five points per show.

“When you go and become a champion, what they are saying is that this dog is as close to the breed standard that is here,” Holly said. “Beaux meets all their standards in terms of height, form, structure, color, hocks, eyes — I mean everything. He is gorgeous.”

Wyatt didn’t adapt to AKC shows as easily his canine counterpart.

“It’s all fine and dandy when you are there (picking out a puppy,” Holly said. “It’s like signing up for Weight Watchers and you think, ‘Oh, I’ve got this.’ Then it’s your first day and you think, ‘I’m hungry.’

“During Wyatt’s first day of practicing, he was crying, ‘I just wanted a dog.’ It was a good lesson for him about commitment because when you say you are going to do something you have to follow through with it.

“He learned how to care for something, how to take your time and practice, and how to lose because when you first get out there and the dog is young, they don’t always perform in the ring or do their best. Beaux is not the only good-looking dog when he is out there competing. He didn’t always win and that was hard for Wyatt because he loves his dog and that’s his heart.

“It’s like somebody not picking your kid at a contest. It’s emotional.”

Wyatt doesn’t regret any of his hard work because he has his dream dog.

“He’s a good dog,” he said. “He’s playful and everything. He is the sweetest thing.”

Beaux’s competitive days are likely over. Now he enjoys quail hunting with Wyatt and his father, and hanging out in Wyatt’s room, especially on his bed.

“Having Beaux brought this whole family closer,” Holly said. “It taught Wyatt life lessons and gave us something to do where we are all invested. I mean we went to New York! We went all over.”

The Jenkins clan is on the verge of expanding. Beaux and his girlfriend, a younger Jenkins pet with strong AKC credentials, are expecting puppies Jan. 12, 2021.

“Some people have dogs that all they do is show,” Holly said. “We are not like that. Our dog is family.”