这是别人的解读,得结合上下文理解:
This text is about a bird dog, who work to hunt game birds like pheasants and quail. (Millie is a spaniel in a PJ O'Rourke column.) There are three general jobs the dog does: "pointing," "flushing" (running toward the bird to make it fly away, allowing the hunter to shoot it), and "retrieving."
"hunts close" = the dog stays close to the hunter, so that whatever game the dog finds will be in range of the hunter's gun
"quarters well" = the dog runs in a pattern well (the dog runs side to side as the hunter moves forward in order to discover more game)
"points beautifully" = once the dog finds the game, it stays put and "points" — it freezes in the direction of the bird to allow the hunter to catch up before it goes and flushes the bird. Often, hunters will hunt with both a pointer (to find the bird) and a retriever to flush and retrieve it.
"staunch to wing and shot" = the dog is steady and does not get startled by either the birds flying up ("staunch to wing") or by the hunter shooting at the birds ("staunch to shot")
"retrieves with verve" = the dog is good at finding and bringing back any birds the hunter shoots
In the context of the broader story, it's a bit of a humorous description. (It's deliberately over-exaggerated — there's something old-timey and grandiose about declaring a dog "staunch to wing and shot," it's not a way someone would describe a dog outside a literary context.) O'Rourke is heaping lavish praise on his dog, exaggerating her good qualities as a hunter, as a contrast with his children, who can do none of these useful things.