unfortunately many hunters (and non-hunters) don't know what they're missing when it comes to dogs. there's a difference between a dog, and a good dog.
hera, my black lab, turned 12 back in may. we had her for about a year before my first child was born. hera was always careful around my daughter, and even in her hyper-energetic youth, never harmed the children. hera was there for #2 and #3 as well. she was an incredible family dog, and always kept an eye on the children. anytime a person got near the kids that hera did not know, she would put herself between that person and the kids. heaven help the person who tried to touch one of my kids before gaining hera's permission.
hera also hunted hard. hera and i would go out by ourselves for pheasants and usually have great hunts. she was the ultimate 'point and shoot' dog. she didn't wander aimlessly around fields, logging miles of unproductive walking. instead, she'd get into a field, cast about for a bit, then it was up to me to just follow her. we'd leave large swaths of fields untouched, yet we'd still limit on birds. she wasn't a great goose dog, but she could hold her own w/ geese. she was a great duck dog, but i never really got too deep into ducks, so she honed her skills on pheasants.
last fall, even though her endurance wasn't all there, we made a field and i figured the old girl would be ready for a rest in 20-30 minutes. my wife didn't want hera to hunt, saying she was too old. but i knew hera was good for a quick pheasant hunt. we got into the field and she started casting until she got to the field edge, where she sat and waited for me to catch up. 'get em up, hera!', and off we went. 15 minutes later she busted a rooster, and the 870 belched and feathers flew. hera made the retrieve, brought the bird back, and took off in a new direction. 10 or so minutes later i could see she was birdy again. she got 3 roosters up, i made a double, she made the retrieves, and we were on our way back to the truck. she was pretty proud of herself, a little prance in her step. it was great to see her so proud.
in january of this year we brought 'sabre' home - a 7-week old black lab female. hera had helped train several dogs in the ways of the world, and we thought having a pup around would be good for hera's old bones. sabre was an exciteable little thing, but hera taught her some manners, and taught her that the kids were off-limits. my son was playing tug-of-war with sabre, and when sabre went to re-grip the rope she accidentally got a little bit of my sons fingers. he started crying, and hera smashed sabre pretty hard, rolling her into the dining room chairs.
hera has made many miles, moving with us 4 times in s.d. and twice in wyoming. she's hunted pheasants, ducks, geese, grouse and doves in s.d., wy, ne, co, and mt. she's been a companion on scouting trips, and particularly enjoyed the missouri river. she once pulled a live fish from the missouri from probably 40 yards from shore, and she's snatched more than one live bird from mid-flight that dared get just a little too close to her jump height.
she was diagnosed with cancer this summer, and it was a sad day; but we carried on. friday morning she drew her last breath and we miss her terribly.
i hope sabre will be half the dog hera was. even if not, hera's memory will ensure i don't take a moment for granted.
i hope hera has found her release from her pain, and i hope she's found a good pheasant field.
hera, my black lab, turned 12 back in may. we had her for about a year before my first child was born. hera was always careful around my daughter, and even in her hyper-energetic youth, never harmed the children. hera was there for #2 and #3 as well. she was an incredible family dog, and always kept an eye on the children. anytime a person got near the kids that hera did not know, she would put herself between that person and the kids. heaven help the person who tried to touch one of my kids before gaining hera's permission.
hera also hunted hard. hera and i would go out by ourselves for pheasants and usually have great hunts. she was the ultimate 'point and shoot' dog. she didn't wander aimlessly around fields, logging miles of unproductive walking. instead, she'd get into a field, cast about for a bit, then it was up to me to just follow her. we'd leave large swaths of fields untouched, yet we'd still limit on birds. she wasn't a great goose dog, but she could hold her own w/ geese. she was a great duck dog, but i never really got too deep into ducks, so she honed her skills on pheasants.
last fall, even though her endurance wasn't all there, we made a field and i figured the old girl would be ready for a rest in 20-30 minutes. my wife didn't want hera to hunt, saying she was too old. but i knew hera was good for a quick pheasant hunt. we got into the field and she started casting until she got to the field edge, where she sat and waited for me to catch up. 'get em up, hera!', and off we went. 15 minutes later she busted a rooster, and the 870 belched and feathers flew. hera made the retrieve, brought the bird back, and took off in a new direction. 10 or so minutes later i could see she was birdy again. she got 3 roosters up, i made a double, she made the retrieves, and we were on our way back to the truck. she was pretty proud of herself, a little prance in her step. it was great to see her so proud.
in january of this year we brought 'sabre' home - a 7-week old black lab female. hera had helped train several dogs in the ways of the world, and we thought having a pup around would be good for hera's old bones. sabre was an exciteable little thing, but hera taught her some manners, and taught her that the kids were off-limits. my son was playing tug-of-war with sabre, and when sabre went to re-grip the rope she accidentally got a little bit of my sons fingers. he started crying, and hera smashed sabre pretty hard, rolling her into the dining room chairs.
hera has made many miles, moving with us 4 times in s.d. and twice in wyoming. she's hunted pheasants, ducks, geese, grouse and doves in s.d., wy, ne, co, and mt. she's been a companion on scouting trips, and particularly enjoyed the missouri river. she once pulled a live fish from the missouri from probably 40 yards from shore, and she's snatched more than one live bird from mid-flight that dared get just a little too close to her jump height.
she was diagnosed with cancer this summer, and it was a sad day; but we carried on. friday morning she drew her last breath and we miss her terribly.
i hope sabre will be half the dog hera was. even if not, hera's memory will ensure i don't take a moment for granted.
i hope hera has found her release from her pain, and i hope she's found a good pheasant field.
