Beautiful Dog, Black Mouth Cur

Black Mouth Cur (60 - 70 lbs); looks like Augustus

As pictured, this the exact Black Mouth Cur (BMC) that I want: approximately 60 to 70 lbs, red coat, black muzzle, muscular build.

The Black Mouth Cur, aka BMC, is an uncommon dog breed in Nebraska. They are commonly found and firstly bred in the Southern United States. Blood lines of BMC were qualified for specific duties pioneers, ranchers, and homesteaders required from their close companion. Some obvious duties included: hunting (pointing, retrieving, tracking, flushing, treeing, baying), guarding, companionship, herding, traveling with men on horseback, and (as many job descriptions often state) other duties as needed.

Black Mouth Curs were one dog bred to do it all, and still are.

For two or three years, now, I have been researching BMCs. And, ever since I saw my first picture of one on Dog Breed Info I have been in love with them.

Well, today, I saw my first BMC in-person!

I was taking a nap in the car, waiting for my wife to finish working with a patient at one of the City’s universities. Unable to sleep, I sat up. In front of me was a gentleman walking directly towards me with a dog.

As he was about to walk past the window of the car, I politely asked, “Excuse me, sir. What kind of dog is that?”

He was not sure what kind of dog it is, so I said it looks very much like a Black Mouth Cur.

“You know, not a lot of people know about them,” he said with wide excitement. “Some people have suggested they think he is a Black Mouth Cur, but no one seems to know for sure, and I do not know for sure. Most people think he is some kind of cross with Labrador.”

I laughed. People who do not know Black Mouth Curs would think the dog is a mutt mixed with a Labrador.

He and I talked for about an hour with his dog patiently reining his need to pursue his mission: carry the pack on his back to the destination his master leads him to.

Found as a stray in Michigan, his owner had this to say, “This is the first dog I have ever owned, and I feel like I have struck the lottery.”

I told him, “Yes, you did!” He certainly did strike the lottery with Augustus.

Adult and puppy BMC

Oh, the dog was so beautiful! I even said those words to my wife when she finished, and she could have seen the dog if she would have come out just five minutes earlier.

The dog’s name is Augustus. His coat was red, which is the same coat color I want my BMC to have. Weighing sixty-five pounds, Augustus is a medium-sized dog. However, this sized BMC is also well known for jumping six-foot fences! His head was broad and thick just like his body. His tail had a slight upward curl near the end, also known as crank. And, despite the dog’s muscular body, his body movements exhibited power, speed, agility, and capability with his smooth walk and acute awareness.

He was a beautiful dog!