Knox Williams handling Butch to a SBIS win in 1990. In line behind him are his son, Ch Lil’ Creek Briarcrest Top Gun who had won BOW, and his daughter, Ch Lil’ Creek Raisa The Red who had gone BOS. Photo by L .Sosa.
various other styles in the bitches that came to him—and there were quite a few. Bette remembers, “While we didn’t breed more than 2 or 3 litters a year gen- erally, we did have a lot of bitches sent to us for breeding. We most often got pick of the litter as stud fee so the ken- nel did fill up.” Knox had a bit of the inventor in him, so he designed and built a breeding rack to secure the bitch during the initial phase of the breeding. It had a moveable center to accommo- date various lengths and side arms to help support the male during the pro- cess. Butch liked the ease of mating that this device provided, so he became a most eager and happy stud dog whenev- er a bitch came for breeding. According to Bette, “I think a copy of his design appeared in either the Hound Crier or The Bugler , a Basset magazine.” Butch had that knack that some stud dogs possess for knowing exactly when a bitch was ready to be bred. Bet- te recalls that, “…we didn’t have to do much, if any, testing [before breeding].” Knox even used Butch as a “teaser” stud to ensure that a bitch was truly ready to breed before one of the other stud dogs in the kennel actually mated with her. Both excellent quality dogs and bitches are among Butch’s progeny, and his kids proved especially good out of Santana and Lyn Mar bitches. Butch was able to impart his good front assembly on many of his get as well as sound, easy movement. Bette Williams remembers that all of his offspring had wonderful temperaments and showed well. One of his more noteworthy males was Ch Lil’ Creek Briarcrest Top Gun who won the Hound Group at Westminster in 1992. Bette remembers the great joy she, Knox, and the Christiansens (Gunner’s breeders) had when they watched the Westminster Show and saw Gunner win Butch’s son, Gunner, aka, Ch Lil’ Creek Briarcrest Top Gun, is shown winning the Westminster K.C. Hound Group in 1992, handled by owner Danny Jones. Bred by Dotty Christiansen & Knox Williams and owned by Danny & Julie Jones. Photo by Ashbey.
Arguably the handsomest of Butch’s sons, Kicker, aka, Ch Briarcrest Kicker O’ Lil’Creek, is shown here winning his second Group 1 in 1992 handled by Pat Willer. Photo by Cott.
Early on, the Williamses joined the BHCA and attended the National Spe- cialty nearly every year. At one such Spe- cialty in 1982, Knox spotted a beautiful bitch, Lochopt Fantasy (aka Fancy). She was 7 months old at the time and owned and bred by Rick and Barbara Cromley. Knox put that “silver tongue” of his to work again and talked the Cromleys out of the bitch—who promptly came home with Bette and Knox! When Knox and Bette moved to Austin, they set up their kennel there; however, both had such time consum- ing work demands that they just did not have the time needed to show and breed. The Williamses knew that Fan- cy was too valuable a bitch to just sit in their kennel, so they contacted Bob and Mary Jane Booth of Hi Flite Bassets and asked if they would like to have Fancy. Of course, the Booths agreed. Fancy produced well for Hiflite, and from Fancy’s last litter, born in April of 1987, emerged a very promising male puppy whose sire was Ch Switchbark’s Ashmore. By 12 weeks of age, Bob and Mary Jane realized that this pup was the best dog that they had ever bred and promptly offered him to Knox and Bet- te. When the Williamses saw him, they both knew that this was the best Bas- set pup that they had ever laid eyes on. Bette remembers, “He had the structure that we thought met the breed standard in every way, and he had the bloodlines that we wanted.” After studying the pup, Bette remarked, “He reminds me of Butcher Boy.” Promptly named Butch, Hiflite Briarcrest Extra Man, went home with Knox and Bette to become their beloved house dog and one of the most prepotent Basset Hound stud dogs in modern history. While Butch himself was something of an outcross, he nicked well with
One of Kicker’s best sons and a Butch grandson, was Ch Lil’ Creek U-Haul O’
the Hound Group. “There were calls of congrats from all over. I think we may have opened a bottle of Champagne.” Another outstanding son was the multiple Best in Show winning Ch Morningwood Ulysses S Grant, but to Bette Williams’ eye, the most handsome of Butch’s sons was Ch Briarcrest Kick- er O’ Lil’ Creek. This prepotent and top winning son went on to produce many champion offspring of his own. This excellent quality son of Kicker, Ch Lil’ Creek U-Haul O’ Briarcrest, dem- onstrated the genetic influence of his grandfather, Ch HiFlite Briarcrest Extra Man. U-Haul was bred by Gerald Chris- tensen and Susan Camp, and his dam was Scamp’s Chanel who was a daugh- ter from Butch’s first litter. Another notable son via frozen semen by Butch is Ch Benchmark Briar- crest Butch, out of the bitch, Ch Bench- mark FTM Great White and bred by Jack and Linda Gruene. This son was such a Briarcrest, shown here with his handler/owner Danny Jones. Although just his handler at first, the Williamses gave U-Haul to Danny who went on to show the dog to many more prestigious wins. Photo by A. E. Keil.
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