The Stephens Cur (aka Stephens' Stock Cur), is a scent hound that belongs to the Cur dog breed. They were originally bred by the Stephens family in southeastern Kentucky. The dogs known as "little darkies" were bred by generations of that family for over a century. In 1970, they were recognized as separate and distinct breed of Cur. The dog is mostly black with white markings, but more than a third white is not permissible. It's good for hunting raccoon and squirrel, but can also be used to bay wild boars. They are registered with the United Kennel Club, and the Continental Kennel Club.
History
Hundreds of years ago, the term "cur" referred to dogs of mixed ancestry, but it came to be used for a working type of dog in the Southern United States. The dogs that came to be known as Mountain Curs were used by early settlers for hunting and as guard dogs in Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky.By the 1940s, the Mountain Cur was close to extinction. Four breeders started programs to save the breed: Hugh Stephens of Kentucky, Carl McConnel of Virginia, Woody Huntsman of Kentucky and Dewey Ledbetter of Tennessee. They founded the Mountain Cur Club, later renamed the Original Mountain Cur Breeders Association (OMCBA), and continued the breeding of Mountain Cur strains. The Treeing Cur and the Mountain View Cur were developed from these strains.
