Indeed, court records show that in late 1987, the hounds maimed a family pet, a dog named Taffy. During a tour of the hunt's kennels, Farnham F. Collins, joint-master of the Millbrook Hunt since 1978, defended the hunt's record on animal welfare. Most of the time, he said, the hounds don't catch the foxes, or any other creature. In 20 years, only 13 foxes and 20 coyotes have been killed during the hunt, and most of them were diseased, he said. Besides, Mr. Collins added, the Millbrook area is one in which people love their animals.
Veterinary clinics abound.
Three times a week, from August to February, the hunt trots out its brand of pomp and sport for anywhere from one and one-half to five hours. During the hunt, accomplished male riders wear scarlet coats, called Pinks, with brass buttons featuring the inscribed initials ''M.H.'' Accomplished female riders wear black coats with green collars, with black buttons and white lettering. Community cooperation has always been the key to the hunt's survival, Mr. Collins said. While the hunt owns only about 20 acres of property in the area, it has oral agreements with 92 out of 100 property owners to hunt on their lands. The eight others have easements in their deeds allowing the same, Mr. Collins said.