The Last Hunt

Ducks, Geese, Turkeys, Quail, Chickens, Grouse, Doves, etc.
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Don Fischer
3 point
3 point
Posts: 381
Joined: Sun Jan 02, 2005 6:46 pm
Location: Antelope, Oregon

The Last Hunt

Post by Don Fischer » Thu Jan 06, 2005 10:15 pm

This is not about big game but rather a very special bird dog. I got Hannah when she was 10 wk's old and wild as a march hare. She turned into a great hunting dog and a pretty fair field trial dog. Most of her life we hunted with my old friend Jack, who owned her sire. We'd always bet a beed on the first bird and Hannah always's seemed to win. A new guy came along with us one time and brought a Britt, dumb and worthless as the day is long, but he didn't think so he got in on our bet. The first bird was Hannah's. She'd made a short cast into a dirt field to loosen up and went on point on a small clump of grass. The new guy was sure that it was a false point and wanted to raise the anti, even tho Jack tried to talk him out of it. That cost him dinner to boot; Hannah didn't false point; Jack knew it, I knew it and now the new guy know's it!! He hunted with us quite a bit after that but wasn't into betting much any more.

Over the year's Jack and I hunted a lot, with a lot of dog's. then at some point Jack switched to setter's, I guess he got tired of buying beer, it didn't help.

When Hannah was thirteen she got pregnant by mistake. I came home from work one day and found her more dead than alive. I called our vet and let him know I was coming and loaded her in the pickup, fastest trip I ever made to town, it's 35 miles. They said that there was probably little they could do for her. The pup's had died inside and were decomposing, one had punctured her uterus. They went ahead and opened her up and had to completely disembowell her to clean her out. She was a week in the hospital and then home. She progressed well all summer and opening day of bird season she threw a fit when we loaded up the rest of the dog's. So I loaded her up too and took her along. though I'd turn her loose in some easy cover for a short hunt.

There's a small valley where we were hunting that's always good for a pheasant or two so I turned her loose there. Jack turned loose his two setter's and my wife turned loose Hannah's daughter, Tiny. Hannah got her two pheasant's and then took off up the hill's. She knew that huns and chuckar's were UP hill! Up on top she went bird to bird until I'd shot a limit. Jack and my wife stayed low. As it turned out, she was the only dog to find bird's that day. That was the last time she ever hunted.

The day before her sixteenth birthday, I had the vet come out and put her to sleep. She still had the heart but all her organ's were shutting down, she hadn't eaten for about a week and the vet said it was time. That was the only time in her life she laid on my lap. GOD I MISS HER!!!!!!!!!!

If the photo make's it, that's her and I on that last hunt
, she was thirteen.
Image

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