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This year is the 20th anniversary of the Plott Hound's designation as state dog of North Carolina – a fitting time for Libby Bagby to bring Lucky to Shiloh Elementary in Monroe for a presentation on the Plott's history.
“Are you ready to meet a Plott Hound?” she recently asked about 110 excited children as Lucky barked from a back room.
Libby Bagby, a retired Myers Park High and North Surry High educator now at Roaring Gap, says she and Lucky are “on a mission to teach people around our state about the Plott.”
Since 2007, they have visited over one-fourth of North Carolina's 100 counties, with a goal of eventually visiting a school or library in every county.
The story began on a freezing January afternoon in 2002 when Bagby was driving near Lowgap in the N.C. mountains near the Virginia state line. She wasn't expecting to pass a young black brindle dog lying helplessly by the roadside. It had been hit by a car and seemed to be dead or dying. But then, the dog raised his eyes and stared beseechingly. With husband Rick's help, Bagby scooped up the wounded dog.
The prognosis by the veterinarian was discouraging. The dog suffered two broken legs and severe dehydration and had breathing problems. But Libby was determined to adopt him and have him join her family pack of five other dogs. Before long, “Lucky,” as he was named, was nursed back to health and romping with his new animal friends. But, as Bagby learned, there was more to Lucky's story. The veterinarian told her he was a Plott Hound.
With her background as media specialist and educator, Bagby researched the breed. The Plott was named the state dog in 1989 because of the dog's loyalty, determination and courage.
Henry Plott of Waynesville created the breed in the early 1800s to be hunting dogs for the pioneers, tracking bear and wild boar.
Surprisingly, there were no books on the Plott. So Bagby wrote a children's book, “Lucky's Plott,” in 2008 and a nonfiction book, “Tracking Plott Hound History,” due for September release.
Word got around. Children at Cedar Ridge Elementary in Lowgap asked Libby and Lucky to visit, and from there Libby and Lucky began making presentations on the Plott Hound to schoolchildren all over North Carolina.
“People should know the Plott's story,” says Bagby. “So few know it's the state dog. There's a lot of work yet to be done. And Lucky and I enjoy it. He knows his part. He just loves the attention, he feeds off their excitement. It's fun to see the children turned on to reading and history. It makes it real, makes it relevant.”
