MOULTRIE — World War II veteran Earnest Coggins, 90, of Tallapoosa, Ga., has been participating in stock dog trials for about 50 years.

“I’ve been all over the United States and Canada. ... You get started and it’s hard to quit,” he said.

He said, laughing, that his wife didn’t even like dogs and when he wanted to buy his first dog he told her he would take her back to her parent’s home and leave her there for good if she wouldn’t let him get the dog. He said she tolerates them now because of him and he’s had up to 15 dogs at a time.

The American Grand Finals have been at the Sunbelt Expo since 1988 and Coggins said he was there from the very beginning. Handlers from all over the Southeast compete in the Expo’s stock dog trials, which run continuously throughout the day. Visitors can watch the trials underneath the shade of a shelter, built over bleachers.

Coggins added that he helped to get the Expo’s stock dog trials to include herding cattle.

This year he competed with Jenny, a 2-1/2-year old border collie, and he said this was only her third time running a trial.

Jenny responded to Coggins’ signals, which consisted of whistles and shouts of simple commands, and herded sheep through an obstacle course and eventually into a pen. He seemed pleased with her progress, as he looked down at her lying at his feet.

“This border collie deal is like being an alcoholic, you get hooked on it,” he said.

However, he did say that this would be his last year of stock trials because of health concerns.