Bittersweet Dove Hunt
Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2017 12:53 pm
Earlier this month, I went on my annual dove hunt, but it just wasn't the same. The birds were flying and I got my limits...no complaints there. However, this was my first year without my GSP keeping me company because I had to put him down due to terminal liver cancer back in December.
It felt really odd leaving behind the dog crate and all the other gear while loading up the vehicle for the trip.
Unfortunately, the sadness really hit me when the first bird dropped and my dog wasn't over there running to pick it up. I miss watching his little tootsie roll tail wag a mile a minute. He was truly happy out there and loved going with me. Lost birds were rare and any crippled birds were caught quickly. He was an awesome retriever and would never quit when he heard "dead bird".
Back at the hotel, I ran into some other dove hunters and struck a conversation in the parking lot with one of them. We got on the subject of dogs and when he found out my dog had died recently, he mentioned going through the same sadness when his dog passed away at the age of 14. We exchanged memories of our dogs which sounded eerily similar. Sure enough, he had a GSP and our two dogs seemed like they were cut from the same cloth. It was hard to describe...but we each knew exactly what it meant to lose a faithful hunting companion.
Upon returning home, I grabbed several tail feathers I saved from the hunt and placed them on my dog's grave and thanked him for being such a great dog.
RIP Mustang- You will never be forgotten.
It felt really odd leaving behind the dog crate and all the other gear while loading up the vehicle for the trip.
Unfortunately, the sadness really hit me when the first bird dropped and my dog wasn't over there running to pick it up. I miss watching his little tootsie roll tail wag a mile a minute. He was truly happy out there and loved going with me. Lost birds were rare and any crippled birds were caught quickly. He was an awesome retriever and would never quit when he heard "dead bird".
Back at the hotel, I ran into some other dove hunters and struck a conversation in the parking lot with one of them. We got on the subject of dogs and when he found out my dog had died recently, he mentioned going through the same sadness when his dog passed away at the age of 14. We exchanged memories of our dogs which sounded eerily similar. Sure enough, he had a GSP and our two dogs seemed like they were cut from the same cloth. It was hard to describe...but we each knew exactly what it meant to lose a faithful hunting companion.
Upon returning home, I grabbed several tail feathers I saved from the hunt and placed them on my dog's grave and thanked him for being such a great dog.
RIP Mustang- You will never be forgotten.