Bruce Day - Our Condolences...

[John D.]

I've learned a lot while running public web forums since 1998. A couple of those things include....

- You can disagree about politics, religion, what is "good fast food" - or not..

- You can critique a man about his hunting style, his clothes or his choice of ammo...

- And you spend days with someone in the field, duck blind or hunting camp - and not really know the man... But - you will get to know his dogs.

Bruce, Charlie Herzog just told me about your loss today of your pup Shortstop and sent along these pics.

We are so sorry for your loss today of Shortstop...

Give Triple a hug from me...

John

[StubTwist]

Sorry to hear about your loss Bruce. Hang in there!

Frank

[Steve Kleist]

Bruce,
We miss our hounds as much as we love them. I suspect there are some wonderful days afield that will be remembered forever. Cherish them.
Your friend, Steve Kleist

[Autumn Daze]

Bruce, Sorry to hear of your loss.

[Dean Romig]

What is a dog?

Unconditional love;

Unconditional dedication;

Always ready to have fun - whether at work or at play;

Loves approval and accepts admonishment... reluctantly;

But comes back happily when you say "Okay, come on - let's hunt!"

And then, too soon, they leave us... feeling pretty empty.

I'm sorry for your loss Bruce.

[Mike McKinney]

Bruce,
Very sorry about Shortstop, a very hard day, they are very good friends and leave us with good memories.
Mike

[Bruce Day]

Thank you my friends. A very hard day. He was my friend and constant companion for 13 years. A big running, open prairie Elhew pointer, out of the fabled Snakefoot and Agitator lines. A never stop, alpha dog and sometimes our only bird dog for a line of five hunters. He hunted for people who are now themselves gone, Roger Giles, Sam Shepard. We bagged hundreds of birds over him, fed him steak scraps from the cattlemen's cafes and rolled down the windows. He had been failing but we got him a few hours on birds last fall. I knew it would be his last, so go we all.

[Holeshot]

Sorry for your loss, It seems like dogs should live a little longer. I'll bet you have plenty of cherished memorys. Dave

[George Lander]

" Those of us who surround ourselves with lives more temporary than our own
Live within a fragile circle that is easily and often breached. Yet knowing this
We still would choose to live no other way." Irving Townsend

God gives us these true friends for just a little while and then he takes them home.

Bruce, I'm sorry for your loss..........George

[Old and Reliable]

Originally Posted by George Lander

" Those of us who surround ourselves with lives more temporary than our own
Live within a fragile circle that is easily and often breached. Yet knowing this
We still would choose to live no other way." Irving Townsend

God gives us these true friends for just a little while and then he takes them home.

Bruce, I'm sorry for your loss..........George

--"And when the Vet's advice runs towards needles or a chamber, there is no other course you can take- then you'll realize the final harsh lesson, that you've given your heart to a dog for to break" Rudyard Kipling "The Power Of The Dog" 1894--Bruce, I too have buried many fine four legged friends- too many now that I look back over 60 years of days afield (other than my 10 in the USMC) the dog makes the hunt more than just killing birds awing, whether with a fine Parker or Smith, or a Iver Johnson Champion. All the fine walnut and blued steel can't ever come close to the lick of a tongue, his panting breath in your face as he struggles, in his pup years, to bring back the big Rooster you knocked down- the thumping of his tail against the side door of your Jeep on the long drive home, the whine of a dream in his memory path as he lays sleeping at your feet in front of a cabin fireplace-- Of all the great writers- Nash Buckingham, Corey Ford and Gene Hill probably have written it best- others described their dogs as I might a Bridgeport Mill to an apprentice- form, function, purpose- but those three greats knew the heart of soul of the noblest creature God ever blessed man with- I am sadden by your loss, but hopeful the new pup, over time, will assuage somehow Shortstop's passing-