David Abramson has spent nearly all his life outdoors— from growing up on a dairy farm and building bridges and roads, to hunting every minute during his off time. David’s first love was a beagle named Doc. At just 10 years old, David trained Doc as his hunting dog. Since then, he’s trained some hundreds of dogs to accompany him on his many hunting excursions, whether in his backyard or around the country. So when David retired 13 years ago, he and his wife Faye bought an 1830s home on a farm in Florence with plenty of room to raise hunting dogs. Today the couple, with help from their son Zac, is raising a family of beagles like Doc, including eight puppies, along with a handful of American Pointers and a few rescues. When David and Faye got married 55 years ago, his first purchase was a $50 hunting dog, which would cost thousands of dollars today. His new bride and high school sweetheart was more understanding than most. “I didn’t have the sense enough to get mad,” laughed Faye. “Faye hunted a lot with me at first,” said David. “She was a good shot.” Throughout his career as owner of Abramson and Sons, Alabama Bridge Builders, and Bellew and Roberts, David squeezed in hunting trips before work or on weekends, spending as much time as possible in the woods. He and Faye even spent their vacations traveling the country to hunt. They covered a lot of territory, from North Alabama and South Texas and from Alaska to Canada, hunting everything from rabbit, quail, and doves to deer, elk, and caribou. After one hunting trip, David brought home a pet deer for Zac, who was in sixth grade at the time. “I could never hunt after that,” recalled Zac. “But I loved being around all the animals.” The deer was just one of hundreds of animals the Abramsons have raised. Besides dogs, the family has had a raccoon and a possum. Today they have donkeys named Obama, Michelle, and Hillary after their favorite Democrats, along with some two dozen hunting dogs. Zac, who lives in downtown Florence, comes to the farm every day to help his father take care of the dogs. David sells a hunting dog occasionally, but he really just raises them for himself as a hobby and to have company on his hunting trips. Facing page: Abramson with one of eight beagles he’s training; Preceding page: Robin Marie Herald, friend of the family, loves spending time with the beagle puppies.
“Getting them to mind, getting them to come, you have to spend a lot of time with them,” said David. “But now that I’m retired, I have plenty of time, and I love doing it more than anything in the world.” David, who’s 74, is still energetic and active, rising at 4:00 a.m. to drink his coffee and check on the dogs. Then he’s gone by sunrise, whether it’s to hunt in the fall and winter or to fish in the spring and summer. One of the Abramsons’ beagles recently had eight puppies that David is busy training. They are three months old now, and at six months, they’ll be able to run rabbits.
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