As host of Kentucky Life, Dave “Mudcat” Shuffett knows that he has one of the best jobs in Kentucky—and he loves doing it.

“There’s no better state than Kentucky to produce a show like ours,” Dave says. “We’ve got the history, the crafts, the nature, the great people and places—and we likely won’t ever run out of stories to tell.”

A native of Greensburg, KY, Dave graduated from Murray State University in 1982 with a degree in communications. His early career took him from television news reporter in Bristol, VA to bureau chief at WLEX-TV18 in Lexington. From 1989 to 1995, he served as both host and producer of Kentucky Afield before moving on to pursue his own television series and production company. The resulting series, Outdoors with Dave Shuffett, was nationally syndicated.

The first five seasons of Kentucky Life were hosted by Byron Crawford. Dave returned to his Kentucky roots to join the show in the summer of 1999, for the series’ sixth season. In 2005, he was nominated for a regional Emmy Award for his role as host of the award-winning special edition Kentucky’s Last Great Places.

Dave is frequently accompanied by one or both of his two canine “co-hosts.” Sadie, a mostly black border collie adopted from an animal shelter, combines an easy-going disposition with her breed’s passion for rounding up scattered creatures, including occasional humans. About 3 when she joined the show and the Shuffett household in 2001, she adapted well to both and seems quite at ease on camera. She’s so relaxed, in fact, that sometimes the hard part is getting her to stay awake in the studio. But Dave got a little help with that task in the spring of 2005 with the addition of a happy-go-lucky golden retriever named Charlie Boscoe. Charlie made his Kentucky Life debut as a rambunctious 2-year-old in the spring of 2005, joining Dave and Sadie for a visit to Reelfoot Lake in the special Wild and Scenic Kentucky. The photo above was taken on that trip.

“I’m the luckiest fellow,” Dave says. “I get to travel all over Kentucky with my dogs learning interesting things.”

One interesting note about Dave himself: He’s had the nickname “Mudcat” since he was about 6 years old.

“Getting dirty was what I did,” he recalls. “I had to have baths constantly. The name stuck back in my hometown. To this day, no one calls me ‘Dave’ back home.”

Mudcat now lives in rural Franklin County with his wife, Diann. They have two children, Willie and Miranda.

Byron Crawford
Host of Seasons 1-5