We moved from a somewhat rural area surrounded by civil war battlefields to an even more rural area surrounded by civil war battlefields. Many things come along with living in a more rural area. Huntin’ dogs hadn’t really come to mind.
Until a couple of weeks ago when a pack of dogs came pouncing through the area.. They were howling and baying and sounded like they were hot on the trail of something, most likely deer. The kids were quite interested in what the ruckus was outside. We didn’t think much about it until we were coming back from sushi with Trina that night to find a pair of eyes staring back at us from the road about a mile from house. At first we thought it was a deer, but it turned out to be her. A call to the number on the collar and she was quickly scooped up.
Later that night, we saw the same truck go up and down our street with an antenna sticking out the window, so I guess there were still some hounds loose.
A week after that, I was bringing Stella back from a vet visit. Almost at the same spot as the week before, another dog just standing in the middle of the street. I quickly pulled over, opened the back door, and he jumped right in. Stella was not happy. How dare I ask this stinky wet dirty dog to be in the same car with the Princess.
The kids didn’t want anything to do with this smelly outsider. I met his owner and he was dumped in the back of an F-250 in the cold rain. He said he had been lost for a week and a half, and having lost his radio collar, couldn’t track him anymore. Said his name was Chester, and he was a worthless hunting’ dog, and wanted to know if I wanted to adopt him. I almost called Kris to see what she thought, but I knew if we did, we’d have people dropping off huntin’ dogs in our back yard at the end of every hunting season.
What a shame that man couldn't see the beauty in that hound. It's sich a shame that stunning dogs are just treated as a thing and something that can be got rid of so easily.
ReplyDeleteWell, it must have been nice to meet someone who loves dogs so much - not!
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame that to some people, animals are just things, to be judged on how well they perform - like a piece of machinery, so sad.
At least they had a bit of comfort and love while they were with you.
Lynne x
Aww! I think I'd have kept him anyway! I hope he ends up in a good place, poor guy!
ReplyDeleteI hate hearing about the dogs, but I know it happens.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up in a very rural hunting area helped me earn a healthy disrespect for the behavior of SOME hunters. Like greyhounds who can't run fast enough, hunting dogs who can't hunt are often discarded. Fortunately, the greys have strong adoption support networks. Those poor hunting dogs don't. Can't think about it too long, it hurts my heart . . .
ReplyDeleteYes..welcome to Hanover. You will probably see more. I know Lin deals with it a lot.
ReplyDeleteWe live in a rural area too. So far, we haven't had any hunting dogs show up. I never really thought about that either.
ReplyDeletePoor guy. I'm sure that's hard to see. It looks like he had a good time at your place. At first I thought you kept him. :-)
ReplyDeleteIt certainly sounds like a catch-22. The opportunity to save one hound probably would have led to the unexpected and unwelcome opportunity to save 20 more! I'm glad there aren't a lot of huntin' dogs up our way. I must agree with Lynn, it surely does hurt ones heart.
ReplyDeleteI can't understand how someone can have such a stunning lack of compassion. How can he not feel something, even the slightest tug in his heart, while driving through a cold rain with the dog in the bed of his truck? There's something fundamentally wrong with that. If someone is capable of doing that (or worse) to a dog, what are they capable of doing in their human relationships? Stunning. It's nice to know this dog had at least a little time with good people.
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