RIP Merle, Gone Too Soon

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CowboyBirdDogs
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RIP Merle, Gone Too Soon

Post by CowboyBirdDogs » Mon Mar 21, 2016 2:00 pm

RIP puppy boy. You were loved, you were a lot of fun and laughs, there's no doubt in my mind you were well on your way to becoming a phenomenal bird dog. In the short time we had you, you became apart of our family forever. Life just got a lot more dull, you were taken far too soon. We will miss you, Mama Tried Merle.

Hold your dogs a little bit tighter today, you don't know what could happen tomorrow and when they could be gone in the blink of an eye, no matter how young or old they are. He is gone at just 7 months old and it feels like I've had him forever. I shot over 2 dozen wild quail over his points this year. He was going to be a very good one and a dog that I had always dreamed of. He was like our kid, slept in between my wife and I every night. The house seems so quiet and empty without him.

It was a freak accident, I was at work yesterday and my wife had him on a leash bringing him inside from the storms, the leash clipped to part of the leather on his collar and slipped off when he pulled forward, he ran to the road and was hit before we could find him. It's horrible. It's devastating. It's not fair, and just flat out sucks. The day I picked him up from Ronnie Smith Kennels was one of the happiest days of my life, I was beyond excited, and only got more excited the longer the season went on. He found a lot birds this year and held them all great. Cherish the times you get with your dogs, even the puppies that are heck on wheels and chew up your favorite moccasins. Even when you hear barking at 10pm and see that they've gotten out and are swimming across your pond chasing ducks that for some reason won't fly off. Even when they wake you up by standing on your face at 3am because they want to play.

This group knows the pain more than any other group I could post on. I don't understand why it happened, it's heartbreaking. It flat out sucks.

RIP Merle, I hope there's plenty of birds and house shoes in heaven. I'll miss you more than you could know little buddy.
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deseeker
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Re: RIP Merle, Gone Too Soon

Post by deseeker » Mon Mar 21, 2016 2:20 pm

Sorry for your loss :(

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pooch897
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RIP Merle, Gone Too Soon

Post by pooch897 » Mon Mar 21, 2016 3:54 pm

Sorry for your loss.

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Sharon
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Re: RIP Merle, Gone Too Soon

Post by Sharon » Mon Mar 21, 2016 4:44 pm

I'm so sorry that happened. Dogs area great joy and also a great heartache .

ncpointers
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Re: RIP Merle, Gone Too Soon

Post by ncpointers » Mon Mar 21, 2016 6:03 pm

Sorry

Wa Chukar Hunter
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Re: RIP Merle, Gone Too Soon

Post by Wa Chukar Hunter » Mon Mar 21, 2016 11:15 pm

My deepest sympathy's.

It happened to me 30 yrs ago

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GrayDawg
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Re: RIP Merle, Gone Too Soon

Post by GrayDawg » Tue Mar 22, 2016 5:10 am

Not fair. Very, very sad.............
Keep your memories of him close & he will never be gone.

Keep your head up- my deepest condolences.

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NEhomer
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Re: RIP Merle, Gone Too Soon

Post by NEhomer » Tue Mar 22, 2016 5:33 am

Tears on the keyboard this morning Cowboy. So sorry for you and your wife.

(((Merle)))

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cohanzick creek
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Re: RIP Merle, Gone Too Soon

Post by cohanzick creek » Tue Mar 22, 2016 7:27 am

sorry

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MNTonester
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Re: RIP Merle, Gone Too Soon

Post by MNTonester » Tue Mar 22, 2016 12:15 pm

a very sad thing. condolences to you. amazing how dogs remain innocent throughout their lives

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marc
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Re: RIP Merle, Gone Too Soon

Post by marc » Tue Mar 22, 2016 5:39 pm

Sorry for your loss! :cry:

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greg jacobs
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Re: RIP Merle, Gone Too Soon

Post by greg jacobs » Tue Mar 22, 2016 7:33 pm

So sorry. My avatar is 9 months old and it's amazing how attached one can get in such a short time. Hunting breeds just live their lives on the edge. I'm sure they would have it no other way.

May a quick thought of all the good times you all had put a smile on your face and in your heart
Greg & Marla

TheIndian
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Re: RIP Merle, Gone Too Soon

Post by TheIndian » Wed Mar 23, 2016 3:26 am

I couldn't imagine.
Sorry for your loss Cowboy.
Chris

snapt
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Re: RIP Merle, Gone Too Soon

Post by snapt » Wed Mar 23, 2016 1:44 pm

So sorry to read that, was a beautiful pup.

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CowboyBirdDogs
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Re: RIP Merle, Gone Too Soon

Post by CowboyBirdDogs » Thu Mar 24, 2016 6:45 am

Thank y'all for your condolences. It's a tragic, heartbreaking, horrific thing. He was so young, full of nothing but potential. Susanna Love said it right, he was hard charging and hard headed, just like we like em.

He was like our kid (we have none, yet), slept between my wife and I every night with his head on my chest. The house is so boring without him. We live in a pier and beam house and whenever he came inside it sounded like a herd of buffalo running through the house and you could light hear the "tinking" noise of his collar. I catch myself laying in bed wondering why it's so quiet and where that noise is. Reminders of him are all over the house, from his toys being everywhere, his blanket, etc. The first night he was gone I made 2 bowls of dog food before I realized what I had done. I was so busy this morning getting ready for work that after I called my shorthair to kennel up, I actually started to call his name. Then it just hits like an avalanche. Feels like there's a 1000lbs on my chest.

It's hard to lose a dog, especially a hunting dog, no matter the age. But putting an older dog down when it's time is part of owning one, we know we signed up for that from the day we got them. But to lose one with so my dang potential at 7 months, to something so crazy and tragic just leaves me numb. He was the dog I have dreamed of having for almost 3 years, his build, color, motor, drive, and personality were perfect for what I wanted. I took him to South Dakota when he was 11 weeks old and he had a blast. Then for the rest of the season in Texas there were only 4 weekends all season that we missed. The rest of them we were in the field hunting. I bet he had over 100 points on wild quail with over 25 of them being coveys he found and held all by himself. He had 13 in one weekend, and 4 coveys finds in 22 minutes once. I shot his first bird over him when he was 4 1/2 months old, he locked up on a nice sized covey on the side of a small hill in west Texas and we knocked down a bird for him, he found it and brought back like he was the king of the world, and in my eyes he was. He had his faults, he was hard headed and his favorite word definitely was not "here". And he loved house shoes more than I would've liked. But I couldn't have asked for more out of him. I deserved 12-13 more years of him, but instead I'll wonder "what if" for the rest of my life. I'll treasure the 5 months we had him, and I'll treasure the hunts I had with him, but we both deserved more. He set the bar unbelievable high for my future dogs that's for sure.

He was our pride and joy, we are heartbroken. I hope he's running the endless fields and finding covey after with the best of them because this is one of the hardest things I've ever been through.

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NEhomer
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Re: RIP Merle, Gone Too Soon

Post by NEhomer » Thu Mar 24, 2016 1:17 pm

(((Cowboy)))

So sorry bro.

....and I hope this isn't too much to add. I know that it was your wife who had him when he slipped his lead. Just let her know that if she's beating herself up about it some kind old fellow on the internet gives her a cyber hug and hopes that she's not blaming herself. It could have happened to either of you.

BTW, my two previous bird dogs were britts ~

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CowboyBirdDogs
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Re: RIP Merle, Gone Too Soon

Post by CowboyBirdDogs » Fri Mar 25, 2016 10:50 am

Thank you. I really appreciate it.

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Mattu1665
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Post by Mattu1665 » Sun Apr 10, 2016 5:39 pm

Such a hard thing to experience. Sorry for your loss!

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