Buddy's First Hunt

 










Buddy has captured my soul!!!

 

Today, January 4, 2014, I took Buddy Brittany hunting for the first time. He has only been with us for a short time so I didn't know what to expect. Was he going to just run off?; Would he listen when I called?; Would he just try to do his own thing?; Would he fight with Gary's dog?; or would he just hunt for a little and give up?

 
To say that the hunting was going to be tough would be an understatement. We were hunting for grouse. The toughest and most regal of game birds. Aldo Leopold said "There is two types of hunting; regular hunting and grouse hunting?" I figured if Buddy could handle this, he could handle anything. The snow was about 6" deep and over a foot in others. There was also a thin layer of ice under the snow that made it difficult for me to walk, let alone a dog in a wheelchair. We started off climbing a long, steep hill covered with 20 to 30 year old pines that the grouse often use for cover. Our first grouse, wildly flushed out of one of these pines before man or hound got within 100 feet. Doesn't he know that he is supposed to hide and wait until we get close, let the dog smell and point them, and then flush when I have chosen his escape route and prepared my old Winchester 16 gauge to fire. Why do they rarely follow the script?

Monica Rutt said that occasionally Buddy would get stuck or tip over in his wheelchair and wait. That convinced me that a beeper was in order. I didn't know if he had ever wore a beeper and shock collar before, but he was about to get used to one. As we were climbing the hill through the pines, the climbing got steep at times. There were times that I took a step forward and skied backwards three. Buddy had claws that helped with the ice, but the added weight of the wheelchair and snow made the going tough. One time he just couldn't go anymore and since the beeper goes off when a stationary position is held for about 30 secs., the hawk scream sounded and Buddy was startled. Next thing you knew he had tipped over. Sure enough he just laid there, without a whimper, until I helped him right himself.

 
As we moved from the pines into the poplar and grapevines it was not going to be any easier, but Buddy looked up to the challenge. Another grouse flushed wild, but this looked like a birdy place. I thought I could hear a grouse chirp in the tangle of briars and grapevines. This will come into play later. Gary's dog Jim worked the next bird, but never got a point and hold. I spied the buff color for a brief second as he headed for thicker cover. We worked back through the woods and where I had heard the grouse chirp earlier, one erupted in front of Gary and Jim. As Gary drew and started to squeeze the trigger he slid backwards down the hill. No feathers, no grouse!!

 Buddy got tangled numerous times, flipped twice, but kept on working. When Gary shot I was curious to see Buddy's response. His ears perked up, I watched as he scoured the horizon looking for a falling bird, and I think he smiled. He actually got very excited as we moved on.

 
We moved to a tangle of rose, green brier, and grapevine. Buddy actually went on point at the edge of the tangle as I eased forward. I was starting to put pressure on the safety as I was confident a grouse was about to flush. As I stared into the tangle I heard "Turkey!" I relaxed my grip since this species isn't allowed to make my heart rate increase for at least 3 more months. Still it was a point and a hold!!

I can hardly wait to get Arianna Evans behind Buddy on point. Until then I guess I'll just have to do.

 
The wheelchair made by Eddie's Wheels for Pets held up better than could be expected. Sometimes when he got stuck I made him work through it. Sometimes he backed up; Sometimes he finessed around it; Sometimes he simply bulled through it; And sometimes I just had to lend a hand.

 
Until next time!

 

 

  After a long hunt Buddy convinced me that he deserved some La-Z-Boy time. Years ago I watched a show on the TNN(The Nashville Network) called "Hunting With Hank" with Dez Young. At the end of each show Dez would proclaim to "Never, ever, spoil your birddog!" and since I loved his show and thought that I would love to emulate his life I knew I had to follow his advice. No spoiling here!! I'm just using him to keep my legs warm!