Growing up in Manotick, on a property that backs onto the Rideau River, Kevin McEwen spent countless hours as a kid fishing from the family dock. His childhood was also shaped by weekends at their countryside cabin near a large pond, where opening day of duck season with his father, Doug, became a cherished tradition.
Kevin and his brother were soon tagging along to field trial weekends after Doug got his first pointing dog, a German shorthaired pointer. They named the pups from its first litter after characters from their favourite show, The Dukes of Hazzard.
Around the time Kevin was 13, Doug switched to raising Brittanys — another type of pointer — which only deepened Kevin’s desire to have a bird dog of his own one day. That dream was realized years later with Hugo, a large and spirited Weimaraner.
Over the past year, Kevin dedicated himself to training Hugo with professional help, working to shape him into a reliable upland pointer. Before we get to that part of the story, however, we need to go back to the accident that changed everything.
In 1996, at just 17 years old, Kevin was involved in a devastating accident that left him classified as a C6 quadriplegic. He lost use of his hands, had limited upper-body strength, and no sensation from the chest down. Then, in 2010, he faced another setback: an ATV rollover that nearly cost him his left hand.
Though the hand was ultimately saved from amputation, the reconstructive and healing process was long and complex. Despite these enormous challenges, Kevin showed extraordinary resilience. He learned to drive specially adapted trucks, designed his own accessible home, got married, mentored other people with spinal cord injuries, played wheelchair rugby at national and international levels, hunted deer and wild turkey with friends, and helped raise two children.
Hugo came into Kevin’s life four years ago — at a time when Doug was facing serious health issues. Following a series of surgeries, Doug became housebound and depressed. Kevin made a point of visiting several times a week, launching bumpers off the dock into the Rideau for Hugo to retrieve and cheering up his dad.
The routine helped Doug recover both physically and emotionally, and soon, the father-son duo were back in the field as hunting partners. Hugo had a lot of natural ability but needed work. Kevin got help from Julie Abbott, a physiotherapist he has known for 30 years. She introduced him to the Ottawa Valley Pointing Dog Club.
At the time, Kevin’s regular wheelchair was suitable for tossing dummies off a dock — but not for handling a far-ranging bird dog across rugged terrain.
Julie told Kevin about a program called Track2Wing, affiliated with the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association. It offered custom all-terrain wheelchairs designed for hunters with mobility impairments. With Julie’s help and a letter from her and the club president, Kevin submitted an application that included photos, video, and a letter detailing how he’d like to join his dad again on their annual upland hunting trip out west.
He thought it was a long shot. But the Annisfield-Wilson Track2Wing Project took his application seriously. Kevin received a phone call around Easter from a dealer asking for his preferences on colour and features. The custom Action Trackchair was delivered on Father’s Day. For Kevin, though, the chair wasn’t the biggest win.
“The reward for me is seeing my dad so happy and watching my dog doing what he is meant to do,” he said.
Originally published in the Nov.-Dec. 2025 issue of Ontario Out of Doors
Contact Information
PO Box 2800 / 4601 Guthrie Dr.
Peterborough, Ontario Canada K9J 8L5
Phone: 705-748-OFAH (6324)
Fax: 705-748-9577
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