WEBVTT - Ep. 153: THIS COUNTRY LIFE - Dog Stories 0:00:05.160 --> 0:00:09.200 Welcome to This Country Life. I'm your host, Brent Rieves 0:00:09.920 --> 0:00:13.680 from coon hunting to trot lining and just general country living. 0:00:14.080 --> 0:00:16.040 I want you to stay a while as I share 0:00:16.079 --> 0:00:18.479 my stories and the country skills that will help you 0:00:18.560 --> 0:00:22.360 beat the system. This Country Life is proudly presented as 0:00:22.400 --> 0:00:25.880 part of Meat Eaters Podcast Network, bringing you the best 0:00:25.920 --> 0:00:29.960 outdoor podcast the airways have to offer. All right, friends, 0:00:30.160 --> 0:00:33.080 pull you up a chair or drop that tailgate. I 0:00:33.120 --> 0:00:40.160 think I got a thing or two the teaching dog stories. 0:00:42.320 --> 0:00:46.879 Nothing will pull at your heartstrings, make you laugh, aggravate you, 0:00:47.479 --> 0:00:51.320 or make you proud quicker than your dog. Since the 0:00:51.400 --> 0:00:54.160 first wolf slipped up to the fire and didn't try 0:00:54.200 --> 0:00:56.480 to eat the folks that was camped there eons ago 0:00:57.120 --> 0:00:59.960 to this morning when I walked outside the feet old way, 0:01:00.880 --> 0:01:05.160 dogs have been our faithful companions that love us unconditionally, 0:01:05.880 --> 0:01:09.080 even when we don't deserve it. It's all about our 0:01:09.160 --> 0:01:12.280 hunting buddies. This week the four legged ones on Meat 0:01:12.319 --> 0:01:15.840 Eaters This Country Life Podcast. But first, I'm going to 0:01:15.920 --> 0:01:26.759 tell you a story. My dad was a very well 0:01:26.800 --> 0:01:30.360 known wolf hunter, and yet he had never actually seen 0:01:30.400 --> 0:01:33.800 a wolf in his life. It's just what folks in 0:01:33.840 --> 0:01:37.800 South Arkansas called kyoud hunting, and the hunting part was 0:01:37.880 --> 0:01:41.920 all about whose dog was leading the pack. The object 0:01:41.959 --> 0:01:44.360 was not to kill the kyoty, but to run him. 0:01:44.680 --> 0:01:46.760 And I guess I need to put this in context 0:01:46.800 --> 0:01:49.760 for all the cayote lovers out there, if there are any, 0:01:49.840 --> 0:01:52.720 which I doubt there are, and if you're listening to 0:01:52.760 --> 0:01:55.520 this of your own free will and not being forced 0:01:55.560 --> 0:02:00.440 under some kind of government sponsored enhanced terrogation technique. If 0:02:00.440 --> 0:02:02.560 that's the case, you might as well go ahead and 0:02:02.600 --> 0:02:05.240 fess up, because this ain't gonna get no better. But 0:02:06.040 --> 0:02:09.240 running a colt just means your hounds are trailing the 0:02:09.280 --> 0:02:12.560 scent of where the coyote has been, just like a 0:02:12.639 --> 0:02:15.399 coon hound trailing and barking after a coon that's been 0:02:15.440 --> 0:02:18.040 walking down the edge of a creek and follows his 0:02:18.160 --> 0:02:21.840 scent trail to whatever tree he eventually climbs. My dad's 0:02:21.919 --> 0:02:25.840 running dogs were just smelling and barking on the trail 0:02:25.880 --> 0:02:28.960 of the cold They main't never get close enough to 0:02:29.000 --> 0:02:32.320 even hear him trotting through the woods, and the coyote 0:02:32.440 --> 0:02:35.080 may slap get away from them by zigging when the 0:02:35.120 --> 0:02:39.440 dogs are zagging. I don't need any hate mail from 0:02:39.440 --> 0:02:42.960 the folks picturing wily coyote running through the desert with 0:02:43.040 --> 0:02:45.680 his ribs showing and his tongue hanging out. That ain't 0:02:45.720 --> 0:02:50.600 how it works as evidence. I all for exhibit A 0:02:50.680 --> 0:02:57.800 the red Man Coot story. I was just youngin and 0:02:57.880 --> 0:02:59.960 my dad and I were standing on a timber coming 0:03:00.240 --> 0:03:02.920 road that ran north and south one evening in the 0:03:03.000 --> 0:03:06.959 fall of the year. It was about fifteen minutes before dark, 0:03:07.000 --> 0:03:09.959 and we'd just cut the dog's loose, about six of them, 0:03:10.240 --> 0:03:13.160 out to the west of the road. One of his 0:03:13.240 --> 0:03:15.200 dogs had struck the scent of a cod from the 0:03:15.240 --> 0:03:18.040 back of the truck while we were driving. That's not 0:03:18.200 --> 0:03:20.320 unusual for a good dog to do that, but this 0:03:20.480 --> 0:03:24.160 dog was exceptional at it. He was a bone of fire, 0:03:24.480 --> 0:03:28.520 straight up running walker. Foxhound. Now y'all gonna think I'm 0:03:28.560 --> 0:03:31.400 messing with you, bringing the word fox into a story 0:03:31.880 --> 0:03:35.360 about code hunting that we call wolf hunting that ain't 0:03:35.400 --> 0:03:38.440 actually hunting. But this is where I'm from, and we're 0:03:38.480 --> 0:03:42.800 pretty much making up the rules as we go along. Anyway, 0:03:43.480 --> 0:03:46.280 it was the time of day when headlights were no good, 0:03:46.640 --> 0:03:49.560 but the light from the sun wasn't much better, but 0:03:49.640 --> 0:03:51.800 you could still see in the open, but out in 0:03:51.840 --> 0:03:54.360 the woods it was dark, and like I said, the 0:03:54.400 --> 0:03:57.680 dog Old Red Man started barking in the back of 0:03:57.720 --> 0:04:00.280 the truck, and we were going down the roads. When 0:04:00.280 --> 0:04:03.160 we stopped, Dad said, dump them all. So I let 0:04:03.160 --> 0:04:05.560 the tailgate drop, and those hounds poured out of there 0:04:05.640 --> 0:04:08.600 like tea out of a picture. Red Man was leading 0:04:08.640 --> 0:04:11.840 the pack, and they had a due west straight away 0:04:11.880 --> 0:04:16.000 from us, with all of them barking every breath. Dad said, 0:04:16.040 --> 0:04:18.400 Old Red Man's got him, and the rest of them 0:04:18.400 --> 0:04:21.520 are going to put it on him. The dogs were 0:04:21.560 --> 0:04:25.440 sure enough, sanding the rails and moving directly away from 0:04:25.560 --> 0:04:28.720 us just as fast as they could go, everyone of 0:04:28.760 --> 0:04:31.960 them bawling and barking as loud and fast as they could. 0:04:33.120 --> 0:04:35.360 Now less than two or three minutes, and they were 0:04:35.360 --> 0:04:37.880 getting the pretty good ways out there, But boy, it 0:04:38.000 --> 0:04:41.800 sounded good. We were smiling at each other, listening to 0:04:41.839 --> 0:04:44.880 the race, and me trying to guess which dog was Witch, 0:04:44.920 --> 0:04:47.880 and Dad telling me if I was guessing right. They'd 0:04:47.920 --> 0:04:49.839 gone about as far as we could hear them when 0:04:49.880 --> 0:04:52.400 something caught my eye about two hundred yards away, and 0:04:52.440 --> 0:04:55.640 I looked down the road. It was a straight section 0:04:55.720 --> 0:04:58.120 of road that you couldn't see either end of from 0:04:58.160 --> 0:05:01.760 where we were standing. I said, Dad, look yonder. The 0:05:01.839 --> 0:05:05.120 cow just walked out in the road. I was standing 0:05:05.160 --> 0:05:07.320 at the right front fender of the truck and Dad 0:05:07.400 --> 0:05:11.080 was standing right beside me. He said where. I told him, 0:05:11.120 --> 0:05:13.839 right there in the road. He's coming this away. He 0:05:13.880 --> 0:05:18.520 still didn't sing, Dad, right there, he's coming straight to us, Son, 0:05:18.600 --> 0:05:21.839 I don't see him. I thought maybe he'd gone blind, 0:05:21.880 --> 0:05:24.080 because he was standing so close to me that I 0:05:24.080 --> 0:05:28.279 could feel him behind me. Dad, he's right there. I 0:05:28.279 --> 0:05:31.039 could hear his feet clicking on the gravel and pointed 0:05:31.080 --> 0:05:33.920 at the coyote that was now less than fifty yards 0:05:33.960 --> 0:05:36.599 from us. He was just trotting toward us in the 0:05:36.680 --> 0:05:39.240 right hand rud of that road like he's riding the bicycle. 0:05:40.200 --> 0:05:42.719 Dad said, that's that young dog that we turned loose. 0:05:42.839 --> 0:05:45.200 I didn't say a word. That was a cold, and 0:05:45.320 --> 0:05:48.760 I know I didn't turn one of those loose. Well. 0:05:48.760 --> 0:05:51.680 As he got closer, the cold was passing by us, 0:05:51.920 --> 0:05:55.000 literally within the arms reach. Dad reached out and put 0:05:55.040 --> 0:05:57.679 his hand on my chest and mashed me up against 0:05:57.680 --> 0:06:00.440 the truck and kicked it tack coyote to move him 0:06:00.440 --> 0:06:05.000 on down the road. He never changed gears. We were laughing, 0:06:05.520 --> 0:06:09.240 high fiving and retelling each other that story that we 0:06:09.480 --> 0:06:13.679 both just witnessed. It was incredible. While all that was happening, 0:06:14.040 --> 0:06:16.839 that pack of wolfhounds that we thought were burning the 0:06:16.880 --> 0:06:20.000 hair off of coyote started getting a little louder and 0:06:20.080 --> 0:06:24.279 looping around to the south. It took him about twenty minutes, 0:06:24.320 --> 0:06:26.880 but they came out on the road right where I 0:06:26.920 --> 0:06:29.840 saw the kyote come out, and we're kicking rocks as 0:06:29.880 --> 0:06:32.240 high as a six rail fence when they passed us, 0:06:32.360 --> 0:06:35.640 hot on his trail, hot on his trail, Yeah right. 0:06:36.560 --> 0:06:40.120 That race lasted about three hours before he finally gave 0:06:40.160 --> 0:06:43.080 the dogs a slip and we caught them all not 0:06:43.279 --> 0:06:46.320 far from where we turned them loose. Man, that was 0:06:46.360 --> 0:06:49.520 a fun night and we got to see something and 0:06:49.640 --> 0:06:53.080 share something pretty cool that we both talked about for 0:06:53.120 --> 0:06:56.839 the rest of his days. And that's just how that happened. 0:07:05.400 --> 0:07:08.240 I never get tired of hearing dog stories, and I 0:07:08.360 --> 0:07:11.480 never get tired of telling them. I come from a 0:07:11.600 --> 0:07:14.160 long line of folks that use dogs to put food 0:07:14.200 --> 0:07:17.560 on the table. We're dog people, and there has never 0:07:17.600 --> 0:07:19.600 been a time in my life that I didn't have 0:07:19.640 --> 0:07:22.600 a quality hunting dog of some flavor, whether it was 0:07:22.960 --> 0:07:25.480 a duck dog, a squirrel dog, or a coon dog. 0:07:26.280 --> 0:07:29.440 Obviously my dad, my uncle, Jimmy Ray, and my brother Tim. 0:07:29.480 --> 0:07:33.760 It was just something that we did. Any of us 0:07:33.760 --> 0:07:36.240 could have opted out at any point, but why in 0:07:36.280 --> 0:07:40.120 the world would we have wanted to. There's nothing outside 0:07:40.120 --> 0:07:43.240 of my family that equals the joy and satisfaction I 0:07:43.280 --> 0:07:47.240 get from hunting a well trained dog, especially one that 0:07:47.320 --> 0:07:51.280 I trained or had a hand in training. I know 0:07:51.360 --> 0:07:54.520 there's folks that don't have the time or the ability 0:07:55.040 --> 0:07:58.520 to do the training themselves and love the companionship and 0:07:58.560 --> 0:08:00.440 the thrill of the hunt, just like the folks that 0:08:00.520 --> 0:08:03.600 train their dog. There's just a little extra bump on 0:08:03.640 --> 0:08:05.960 the proud meter when you're the one helping your dog 0:08:06.040 --> 0:08:10.600 see the light and the purpose for his being. It 0:08:10.640 --> 0:08:13.960 strengthens the bond between you even more because you have 0:08:14.120 --> 0:08:17.600 both figured out that you can trust each other. You 0:08:17.680 --> 0:08:20.160 show him what you want done and how you want 0:08:20.200 --> 0:08:23.040 it done, and the dog trusts you to praise him 0:08:23.040 --> 0:08:27.080 when he does it the way you've taught him. Tim 0:08:27.120 --> 0:08:29.520 and I were duck hunting buy Meeta with some clients 0:08:29.600 --> 0:08:32.240 many years ago back when you could commercially hunt there, 0:08:32.880 --> 0:08:37.440 and my black lab Anna was our retriever. Anyone that 0:08:37.520 --> 0:08:39.520 had the good fortune to hunt with this dog would 0:08:39.559 --> 0:08:43.079 tell you that she was something special. I was reminded 0:08:43.080 --> 0:08:45.959 of the story by hearing my friend in Arkansas Sports 0:08:46.000 --> 0:08:48.680 Hall of Fame member Jim ron Quest, talking about a 0:08:48.720 --> 0:08:51.479 similar thing that happened to him with one of his labs. 0:08:52.600 --> 0:08:55.720 Jim is a world champion competition duck caller, but better 0:08:55.760 --> 0:08:58.840 than that, he's a heck of an outdoorsman, and beyond 0:08:58.880 --> 0:09:02.079 all that, just a dang good fella. And when he 0:09:02.160 --> 0:09:06.360 told this story, it reminded me of this one. We 0:09:06.360 --> 0:09:08.839 were having a good hunt with good groups of ducks 0:09:08.880 --> 0:09:11.240 working into the hole we were hunting. We boted in 0:09:11.440 --> 0:09:14.880 before daylight, we found a likely spot that we'd hunted 0:09:14.920 --> 0:09:18.760 before and with a forecasted wind, and when shooting time came, 0:09:19.280 --> 0:09:22.920 so did the ducks. We were smashing them pretty good, 0:09:23.120 --> 0:09:25.280 which is my favorite way to do it. Get the 0:09:25.360 --> 0:09:28.320 hunters in some ducks, let them shoot their limits fast, 0:09:28.600 --> 0:09:31.160 and get back to the camp to fix dinner, watch 0:09:31.160 --> 0:09:35.240 a little football, take a nap. Whatever. It was setting 0:09:35.320 --> 0:09:38.559 up to be an easy day. We were just four 0:09:38.760 --> 0:09:41.720 ducks short of six man limit, and Tim and I 0:09:41.760 --> 0:09:44.920 had our limits, and the four clients they lacked one 0:09:45.000 --> 0:09:48.640 duck each. So Tim and I were done shooting. We 0:09:48.640 --> 0:09:51.880 were just calling working the ducks, and I was handling Anna. 0:09:53.520 --> 0:09:56.400 Now these boys were not the best shots, but the 0:09:56.520 --> 0:09:59.040 ducks were working in the decoy so good that they 0:09:59.640 --> 0:10:02.079 were real having to work hard not to hit them 0:10:02.080 --> 0:10:05.440 when they came in the hole. Those last few ducks 0:10:05.559 --> 0:10:10.200 always seemed to be the biggest struggle. I added the 0:10:10.240 --> 0:10:13.120 pressure of strongly encourage them to shoot only green heads, 0:10:13.120 --> 0:10:15.520 which was supposed to make them take their time and 0:10:15.600 --> 0:10:19.480 shoot what they recognized as being a drake mallard. There 0:10:19.559 --> 0:10:23.840 was two reasons for this. The most important was conservation. 0:10:24.240 --> 0:10:27.280 By not shooting hens, we were returning mama ducks to 0:10:27.320 --> 0:10:30.960 the nesting grounds to raise more babies next year. The 0:10:31.040 --> 0:10:34.040 second reason was to make our clients pay attention and 0:10:34.120 --> 0:10:38.160 focus on one particular duck to shoot instead of getting 0:10:38.200 --> 0:10:41.079 all amped up. When fifty more ducks dropped in through 0:10:41.120 --> 0:10:43.959 the timber and were hovering over the decoys, landing literally 0:10:44.040 --> 0:10:46.640 all around them, I seen them run the shotguns to 0:10:46.679 --> 0:10:50.480 the plug, aiming at nothing in particular and hitting the same. 0:10:52.200 --> 0:10:54.480 But the quicker they got their limit, the quicker we 0:10:54.559 --> 0:10:56.880 got out of there, letting the ducks rest, and men 0:10:57.040 --> 0:11:01.200 Tim rest too. We counted and recant ducks. Yep, four 0:11:01.280 --> 0:11:04.079 ducks short of a six man limit, and the midmorning 0:11:04.160 --> 0:11:07.880 little of no ducks flying had just begun. Now we wait. 0:11:08.880 --> 0:11:11.240 It's getting close to ten o'clock and I'm hungry, and 0:11:11.840 --> 0:11:13.840 we could have been done two hours ago if these 0:11:13.840 --> 0:11:18.200 clowns could shoot. Anna sat beside me on her dog stand, 0:11:18.360 --> 0:11:21.720 her eyes ever more on the watch for ducks. She'd 0:11:21.760 --> 0:11:24.280 retrieved every duck that morning that we killed, except for 0:11:24.360 --> 0:11:26.640 two of three that fell so closer to where we 0:11:26.640 --> 0:11:28.360 were standing that we just picked him up and hung 0:11:28.400 --> 0:11:31.480 them on the stringer. None of them fell further than 0:11:31.520 --> 0:11:34.160 forty yards, and she made quick work of them in 0:11:34.200 --> 0:11:37.400 that knee deep water. I saw Anna jerk her head 0:11:37.400 --> 0:11:40.120 and start tracking toward the sky, and a moment later 0:11:40.160 --> 0:11:43.120 Tim started calling. I looked over at him, and I 0:11:43.160 --> 0:11:45.800 saw where he was looking, and they were both laser 0:11:45.880 --> 0:11:49.640 focused on six ducks. As they passed overhead. I could 0:11:49.640 --> 0:11:52.920 easily see that group had four drakes and two hens. 0:11:53.520 --> 0:11:57.160 All right, boys, shoot the drakes, I told them me 0:11:57.200 --> 0:11:59.240 and Tien went to work on the calling those ducks 0:11:59.240 --> 0:12:02.079 in kicking water to put some moving in the decoys. 0:12:02.080 --> 0:12:04.640 And when the ducks were facing away from us and 0:12:04.720 --> 0:12:07.880 standing dead still, when they passed over the hole, checking 0:12:07.880 --> 0:12:11.160 out whether or not it was safe to come in. Now, 0:12:11.160 --> 0:12:13.560 I'm telling the clients where they are the whole time. 0:12:13.920 --> 0:12:17.640 They're behind us. At six o'clock, they're getting lower. Y'all 0:12:17.640 --> 0:12:23.840 be still circling around to the west. Three o'clock, y'all 0:12:23.880 --> 0:12:29.679 get ready. Twelve o'clock, het it come go to work? Boys? Well, 0:12:29.679 --> 0:12:32.600 they commenced to shooting, and three drakes fell as dead 0:12:32.600 --> 0:12:35.360 as the duck could die, barey up in the decoys, 0:12:35.360 --> 0:12:37.680 and a couple of them paddling at the air with 0:12:37.760 --> 0:12:41.000 the little orange feet. The two hens climbed out of 0:12:41.000 --> 0:12:43.679 there like they were headed to the moon. I recounted 0:12:43.679 --> 0:12:47.280 the ducks floating in the water. I mean we get him, said, 0:12:47.360 --> 0:12:51.000 all the drakes fell, but I only saw three. The 0:12:51.080 --> 0:12:54.000 hunters were hooping and hollering for getting their limit, but 0:12:54.440 --> 0:12:57.839 I couldn't find the last duck. I looked at Anna 0:12:57.880 --> 0:13:00.959 and she was stone cold. Fro was on her seat, 0:13:01.120 --> 0:13:03.640 stared out to the right of the hole, and That's 0:13:03.679 --> 0:13:07.320 when Tim said, yondergoes a cripple. He pointed in the 0:13:07.320 --> 0:13:10.640 direction Anna was looking. I knew then she'd seen it, 0:13:10.760 --> 0:13:12.679 and I sent her off on a straight line in 0:13:12.720 --> 0:13:15.920 the direction she was looking. She left that stand like 0:13:15.960 --> 0:13:18.480 it was on fire and was bounding through the water 0:13:18.600 --> 0:13:20.960 like she was on a rail, in a perfect line 0:13:21.080 --> 0:13:24.040 cast in the direction I sent it. A couple of 0:13:24.080 --> 0:13:26.000 the hunters that were standing close to me got my 0:13:26.080 --> 0:13:28.880 attention away from her by slapping me on the back 0:13:28.920 --> 0:13:31.640 and shouting how cool that was and how much fun 0:13:31.679 --> 0:13:35.280 they'd had. They were already getting the cameras out. Now 0:13:35.360 --> 0:13:38.160 that'll give you a clue, is how long ago it happened. 0:13:38.360 --> 0:13:43.480 They brought cameras, not phones. I turned back toward Anna, 0:13:43.559 --> 0:13:45.480 and the ripples that she'd made in the water were 0:13:45.920 --> 0:13:49.440 all about gone. I told them to be quiet and listen, 0:13:49.480 --> 0:13:53.600 and they didn't. They were still all excited, and understandably 0:13:53.679 --> 0:13:56.319 so after the second time I told them to be quiet, 0:13:56.400 --> 0:13:58.920 I got rude and I said, hey, y'all, shut up, 0:13:58.960 --> 0:14:02.320 I don't know where my dog is. Well, I couldn't 0:14:02.360 --> 0:14:05.520 hear a thing, no crashing through the water like i'd 0:14:05.559 --> 0:14:08.920 heard when she left. I walked out towards the direction 0:14:09.040 --> 0:14:11.160 that she went, but the film that covered the surface 0:14:11.200 --> 0:14:14.200 of the water had closed back together and the sunken 0:14:14.280 --> 0:14:18.360 leaves had kept her from leaving a mud trap. I 0:14:18.480 --> 0:14:23.760 called her and nothing. I whistled and nothing. She was 0:14:23.800 --> 0:14:27.400 a well trained professional duck dog. It wasn't like she 0:14:27.480 --> 0:14:30.280 was just a labrador and looked apart. No, sir, she 0:14:30.520 --> 0:14:34.400 was the real deal. I whistled again, trying to blow 0:14:34.480 --> 0:14:36.680 the pea out of that roar, going your dog whistle 0:14:37.440 --> 0:14:41.760 and nothing. Boats were starting to come down to Baiou 0:14:41.840 --> 0:14:44.080 and out of the woods, so the noise they made 0:14:44.240 --> 0:14:46.760 was drowning out any hopes of hearing her in the water. 0:14:48.040 --> 0:14:51.520 Twenty minutes went by, Tim and the other hunters had 0:14:51.560 --> 0:14:54.640 everything loaded in the boats. I'd made a big loop 0:14:54.680 --> 0:14:57.040 out in the flooded timber, looking and calling for Anna 0:14:57.320 --> 0:15:01.000 and nothing. I walked back to where they were and 0:15:01.040 --> 0:15:03.040 we started making plans of how we were going to 0:15:03.120 --> 0:15:06.200 all split up and start looking for I had no 0:15:06.360 --> 0:15:09.040 idea how I was going to explain this to my kids. 0:15:09.640 --> 0:15:12.800 They loved her more than they loved me. I was 0:15:12.840 --> 0:15:14.920 sick to my stomach, and I hated the fact that 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:23.360 I'd even brought her. I heard a racket in the 0:15:23.480 --> 0:15:26.880 absolute opposite direction from which she left on that retrieve, 0:15:27.400 --> 0:15:29.760 and I saw a flash of gray about as far 0:15:29.840 --> 0:15:33.200 as you could see down through the woods. We all froze. 0:15:34.680 --> 0:15:36.760 As it got closer. I could see that it was 0:15:36.800 --> 0:15:39.440 the top side of a mallard drake's wing, and it 0:15:39.520 --> 0:15:42.120 was sticking straight up in the air, moving through the 0:15:42.120 --> 0:15:45.240 flooded timber like a shark's fin on top of a pinball, 0:15:45.680 --> 0:15:50.560 bumping into bushes and ricocheting off trees. And I had 0:15:50.600 --> 0:15:53.640 a locked down grip on that crippled duck, and when 0:15:53.640 --> 0:15:58.080 she caught him, his wings folded over her eyes. She 0:15:58.240 --> 0:16:00.760 was slowly but surely making her her way back to 0:16:00.800 --> 0:16:03.360 me with that duck in her mouth, unable to see 0:16:03.360 --> 0:16:07.640 a frazzling thing. I met her halfway and took that 0:16:07.720 --> 0:16:12.360 duck from her. Man. I was glad to see that dog. 0:16:12.480 --> 0:16:15.920 I was worried to death, but she wasn't. She was 0:16:16.000 --> 0:16:19.720 doing her job and loving every minute of it. We 0:16:19.760 --> 0:16:21.560 walked back to the hole of the When we got there, 0:16:21.640 --> 0:16:23.760 she hopped up on her stand, ready to go again. 0:16:24.400 --> 0:16:26.720 I was needing a cigarette and I didn't even smoke. 0:16:28.320 --> 0:16:30.960 It's times like these that stick in your head forever. 0:16:31.920 --> 0:16:34.680 I can show you right where we were hunting the tree. 0:16:34.720 --> 0:16:37.880 I was standing beside the tree, Tim was standing beside 0:16:38.440 --> 0:16:41.720 or at least where the stumps are now, And I 0:16:41.800 --> 0:16:44.560 remember the great sense of relief I felt when I 0:16:44.560 --> 0:16:47.080 saw her coming back with that duck in her mouth. Man, 0:16:47.120 --> 0:16:50.640 it's a bond you build through living life together, not 0:16:50.800 --> 0:16:54.120 just hunting, the ups and the downs, the successes and 0:16:54.160 --> 0:16:57.200 the near failures. Watching your kids play with a dog 0:16:57.240 --> 0:16:59.960 in the yard. Y'all have heard me talk about Peanuts, 0:17:00.080 --> 0:17:02.760 the world's greatest squirrel dog. That was my hairy little 0:17:02.760 --> 0:17:07.159 brother and my father's favorite son. He would play chase 0:17:07.440 --> 0:17:10.720 with us and hide and seek. I remember one time 0:17:11.160 --> 0:17:14.560 we were all chasing him and he took off behind 0:17:14.560 --> 0:17:18.119 the house with us in tow. He circled around and 0:17:18.280 --> 0:17:20.399 was heading back toward the front yard, so some of 0:17:20.480 --> 0:17:22.680 us doubled back to catch him and cut him off. 0:17:22.720 --> 0:17:24.480 When he round to the other end of the house, 0:17:25.040 --> 0:17:28.840 some of us continued to follow him. We met each 0:17:28.840 --> 0:17:30.920 other in the front yard, but there was no Peanut. 0:17:31.880 --> 0:17:34.840 Where'd he go? We only lost sight of him for 0:17:34.840 --> 0:17:37.600 a second or two, But apparently that's all he needed 0:17:37.640 --> 0:17:42.200 to disappear. We called him and looked all around the house, 0:17:42.240 --> 0:17:45.880 going back and forth, but we couldn't find him. Then 0:17:45.920 --> 0:17:48.359 someone looked up and he was sitting on the roof 0:17:48.400 --> 0:17:51.000 of the house just looking at us. And if a 0:17:51.160 --> 0:17:56.440 dog could smile, that Rascal was smiling big. My dad's 0:17:56.480 --> 0:17:59.600 truck was parked at the edge of the carport and 0:17:59.640 --> 0:18:03.200 the tail was now. Peanut jumped up on the tailgate, 0:18:03.720 --> 0:18:06.720 onto the toolbox behind the cab, that on top of 0:18:06.760 --> 0:18:10.000 the cab, that onto the roof, and I suppose was 0:18:10.080 --> 0:18:12.639 just sitting there watching us running around the yard looking 0:18:12.640 --> 0:18:20.439 for it. A dog's life mirrors my own in some degree. 0:18:20.520 --> 0:18:23.719 I have to say. I like to have fun. I 0:18:23.800 --> 0:18:25.919 like to be around the folks that I love. I 0:18:26.000 --> 0:18:29.360 get excited at meal times. I like to take naps. 0:18:29.840 --> 0:18:32.400 I like to hunt every chance I get, and go 0:18:32.440 --> 0:18:34.439 with someone that I care about and share it with 0:18:34.520 --> 0:18:39.679 them that I mentioned naps. Kids and dogs go together 0:18:39.760 --> 0:18:42.840 like biscuits and gravy. Kids and grown folks too, can 0:18:42.960 --> 0:18:47.639 learn a lot about loyalty, friendship, and unconditioned love just 0:18:47.680 --> 0:18:51.600 by having a good dog. I read a quote that 0:18:51.680 --> 0:18:54.480 said having a dog will bless you with many of 0:18:54.560 --> 0:18:59.560 the happiest days of your life and one of the worst. Well, 0:18:59.560 --> 0:19:02.600 that's true. And when they leave us, man, it's hard 0:19:02.640 --> 0:19:05.879 and it's sad. But I look back at the membies 0:19:05.920 --> 0:19:08.520 and the stories I have about Anna and Peanut and 0:19:08.560 --> 0:19:11.920 a whole host of others, and it doesn't make me sad. 0:19:12.560 --> 0:19:15.320 When someone asked about a dog and I don't tell 0:19:15.359 --> 0:19:18.080 them how they died, I talk about how they lived, 0:19:18.320 --> 0:19:21.199 and all the adventures are the funny things that was shared. 0:19:23.040 --> 0:19:25.320 Just last Saturday, I was sitting in my truck waiting 0:19:25.320 --> 0:19:27.199 on daylight so I could hit the woods and go 0:19:27.240 --> 0:19:30.520 squirrel hunting. I was catching up on my messages and 0:19:30.880 --> 0:19:33.159 I read one from my guy up in the Appalachian 0:19:33.200 --> 0:19:37.040 Mountains who had recently lost one of his turkey dogs. 0:19:37.520 --> 0:19:41.320 That's right, I said, turkey dogs. I remember reading an 0:19:41.440 --> 0:19:43.560 article about turkey dogs when I was a kid in 0:19:43.600 --> 0:19:47.520 some hunting magazine, and more recently, doctor Seth Bynam wrote 0:19:47.520 --> 0:19:49.480 a good one that you can read at the Meat 0:19:49.520 --> 0:19:52.760 Eater dot com entitled how to hunt Turkeys with a Dog. 0:19:54.080 --> 0:19:56.080 The point of me bringing either one of those subjects 0:19:56.119 --> 0:19:58.400 up is you can train a dog to hunt anything, 0:19:58.920 --> 0:20:01.080 and if you put in a little effort. You can 0:20:01.119 --> 0:20:03.840 find folks that'll help you get it done, or if 0:20:03.880 --> 0:20:07.280 you can't, they'll do it for you. But back to 0:20:07.320 --> 0:20:10.919 the fellow that lost his dog. While I was reading 0:20:10.960 --> 0:20:15.000 his message, I was immediately back hunting with Peanut and Anna, 0:20:15.440 --> 0:20:19.280 both of which have been gone now for years. Peanut 0:20:19.280 --> 0:20:23.280 when I was just a kid, and Anna ten years ago. 0:20:23.400 --> 0:20:26.800 But I wasn't sad. It made me happy thinking about them. 0:20:27.200 --> 0:20:29.000 I'd be lying if I said I didn't get a 0:20:29.000 --> 0:20:32.040 little wistful thinking about both of them. But how much 0:20:32.080 --> 0:20:34.800 would I be missing today if they hadn't been in 0:20:34.840 --> 0:20:38.760 my life. Some would say nothing, because you can't miss 0:20:38.800 --> 0:20:41.120 what you never had. But I look at the pictures 0:20:41.119 --> 0:20:44.240 that that man sent me, and I can see myself 0:20:44.240 --> 0:20:47.000 and him sitting in a cameo with his dog in 0:20:47.040 --> 0:20:50.520 their turkey, both of them looking proud to be in 0:20:50.600 --> 0:20:54.159 each other's company, the hunter looking at the camera and 0:20:54.240 --> 0:20:59.280 the dog looking at him. That paints a bigger picture, 0:20:59.720 --> 0:21:03.400 and that pretty well describes the true relationship between hunters 0:21:03.840 --> 0:21:18.439 and hunting dogs. Now, thank you so much for listening, 0:21:18.480 --> 0:21:22.159 and I appreciate y'all sharing this podcast. I'd like to 0:21:22.200 --> 0:21:26.159 say a special hello to Miss Michelle Baldwin's English class 0:21:26.400 --> 0:21:30.679 at Cherokee High School in Cherokee, Oklahoma. Man, that's almost 0:21:30.720 --> 0:21:32.760 smack dab in the middle of the US of A. 0:21:33.200 --> 0:21:35.800 And if anyone knows the country life and how good 0:21:35.840 --> 0:21:40.439 it is, it's the great folks in Cherokee. This is 0:21:40.440 --> 0:22:01.240 Brent Reeves signing off. Y'all be careful. Fire movies.