If they could only talk

[Double Play]

The story below was posted by a member of a gun club I frequent. As a dog owner/lover it brought a smile to my face as I'm sure it will to some of our members here. Larry


My hope for this week was Bubba would point his final wild birds. Unfortunately he is worse than I thought and spends as much time falling down as walking. Leading me to question would taking him or leaving him home be more cruel. I did take him a few mornings just because he wanted to go. No way in heck he would ever point anything walking along beside me. Then today he locked up 6’ in front of me. A grouse flushes and I kill it. This is the wildest upland bird known to mankind sitting for a point 6’ from me with two other dogs ranging 50 to 125 yards in front. Bubba’s last grouse. I thanked God for wild places, grouse, cold cloudless days, shotguns, birddogs and the small miracle I just witnessed.

[Old and Reliable]

With due credit to Rudyard Kipling and his poem about the bittersweet part of being a dog's master- I have framed the piece by Ben Hur Lampman circa 1926- "Where To Bury A Dog"- believe it was featured in the first issue of Gun Dog magazine 1988??- Also, Dean- I am always moved and outraged when I read Corey Ford's "Just A Dog" happened in the Freedom NH area the year and month I was born Nov. 1941-- and it is still as inexcusable an act, albiet not intentional, today as it was 68 deer seasons ago- "Stops and beaters oft unseen, lurk behind some leafy screen- calm and steady always be and never shoot where you can't see" and both these articles were written well before the Blaze Orange safety clothing and headgear became the Law of the Land-

Dick Cheney must have been of the Sherwood Coggins school of careless gun handling- and the real keynote to such a tragic demise of Man's best friend- was that Mr. Coggins actual been shooting at a deer, he just might as well have missed- but a fine bird dog, or for that matter, a street Heinz 57 mutt- still the same- and when a gun goes off like that, it never misses the target--

It is a credit to Corey Ford that he kept on with his fine dogs, shotguns and coverts, and kept his writing skills honed- hard to decide between his "Lower Forty" and Robert Ruark's "The Old Man and The Boy" back the the 1950's with Field and Stream--A Rolls Royce or a Bentley--here's hoping the birds hold for you and that your "Tinkhamtown" never becomes besoiled by bikers or the quad running six-pack outlaws--

[Bill Murphy]

Larry, odd that you would post a story and picture about "the last point". Several years ago, Linda and I were visiting her brother in Georgia, walked with her last Springer, 14 year old Doser, the long path for the newspaper one morning. On a whim, she carried the camera. The road that runs past the driveway is a dam confining a large pond that is the border of her brother's property. The pond is home to a flock of rather tame mallards and some odd ducks. Doser spotted one of the ducks at the shoreline, didn't wait for the command to fetch, and went in after the duck. At 14, he swam across the entire pond, the duck switched directions and came back to where he started. My first thought was to start digging Doser's grave, but he was no worse for wear. That was his last live retrieve. Yes, we got suitable photographs of the event.

[Dean Romig]

Their bodies give out long before their hearts and minds do . . . and yes, I know I'm talking about dogs.

[Bill Murphy]

Yup, the body declines before the desire to hunt. Thanks, Dean.

[C.O.B.]

Gunner is at that stage in his all to short duration here with me where he has the heart of a pup but the stamina of the older dog that he really is. At 13 he can go for short hunts of an hour or two. He is hard of hearing now and the beeper collar helps to keep track of him.

He has earned his couch time but try to tell him that especially if I head down to the man cave and start rummageing in the safe. He sees a gun and his tail (whats there anyway) starts wagging and he gets all excited. Irregardless of if he can go out for two hours or two minutes I hope he is here for a long time as I like to have his head on my lap and scratch his ears.

If they could talk I'd explain the difference between getting a rifle and shotgun from the safe and the difference of going out for clays and hunting. This would avoid the sad look in their faces when they can't go with me and be less traumatic in trying to get out of the house.