ROXBURY – Paul Hanscom and his champion English springer spaniel, Crosswinds Jake Bentley, have a special bond forged through hours of training, competition and companionship.

Now, there is something more. Hanscom believes when Jake placed second at the English Springer Spaniel National Open Championship in November, the dog may have gotten a little help from a friend looking down from above.

Hanscom and his family had been good friends with Patrick M. Reddy, a postgraduate student and hockey player at Bridgton Academy, who died in a car crash early in 2007.

Patrick’s hockey jersey number was 88, and when Jake received the same running order number at the national open, it occurred to Hanscom that something might be up.

“Every time I stepped to the line, I looked to the sky and said ‘Okay Patrick, we need some help,'” he said.

To finish all five stages of the national open is an accomplishment, but to place is astounding. And, said Hanscom, for an amateur like him to finish second borders on miraculous.

“They never thought it was going to happen again,” he said, pointing out that the last time an amateur placed in the top four against the pros was 10 years ago. “Most amateurs don’t have enough time to train their dogs.”

The 117 dogs at the national championship, which took place this year in Howard, N.Y., are the best of the best from North America. The competition consists of five field series and two water series, in which dogs must retrieve a bird as quickly as possible with minimal direction from the handler. Barking is frowned upon by the judges, as are handlers who give too many commands to help the dog.

“The longer you survive, the harder it is to place,” said Hanscom.

Professional handlers had warned him that it would be impossible for an amateur to place, but Jake proved them wrong. “They were shocked,” said Hanscom. “I do 10 percent; it’s the dog that does the rest.”

When Hanscom and Jake received their award, they took it with them in a box that the national open secretary had provided. Written on the side were “Hope” and “88,” both symbolic of Jake’s achievement and his connection with Patrick.

Jake drew the same number at the U.S. Amateur Championship in Ohio earlier this month, and Hanscom has named a puppy “88” in honor of Patrick. Jake wound up in fourth place at the amateur event.

Keeping a springer spaniel fit for field trials is a full-time job, enjoyable but intensive. Hanscom has a kennel at his Roxbury home where he keeps his dogs well fed, clean, healthy, and happy.

The dogs eat a particular dog food and take formulas for joint care and muscle recovery to ensure that Hanscom’s springer spaniels stay in competition form. At most, the dogs have 2 percent body fat.

“He’s been in a lot of trials,” he said of Jake. “He’s been playing pro ball all his life. He needs to take all natural elements to help his joints.”

Jake, now 7 years old, was a triple champion by the age of 2 and will likely be inducted into the bird dog Hall of Fame, said Hanscom.

“It’s not only what he’s doing; it’s what he’s producing at his age.”

Hanscom has other dogs that have turned into prolific award winners, including Jake’s son, John Henry. At 3, John Henry is just three points shy of being ranked the top English springer spaniel bird dog in the U.S.

Generally, training is done in places where there isn’t much snow, meaning Hanscom and his dogs will soon be heading south to prepare for trials in January and beyond. “It’s constant handling, retrieving, and marking,” he said of the ongoing preparation.

In December and July, the dogs will get some time off “to be dogs,” said Hanscom, who owns Camp Kennels in Roxbury.

The places he has seen, and the people he has met through competing with his dogs have made the work and traveling worth it for Hanscom. Often, on his travels, he stops to visit others he’s become acquainted with on the field trials circuit.

“They have the same invite when they come this way,” said Hanscom.

Then, of course, there is the reward of the love and respect between dog owner and dogs. “All they want to do is please,” Hanscom said. People have told him that if they are reincarnated, they would like to come back as one of his dogs because he takes such good care of them.