1 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:08,640 Speaker 1: Welcome to this country Life. I'm your host, Brent Reeves. 2 00:00:09,119 --> 00:00:12,680 Speaker 1: From coon hunting to trot lining and just general country living. 3 00:00:12,920 --> 00:00:14,680 Speaker 1: I want you to stay a while as I share 4 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:19,200 Speaker 1: my experiences and life lessons. This country life is presented 5 00:00:19,239 --> 00:00:23,240 Speaker 1: by Case Knives on Meat Eaters Podcast Network, bringing you 6 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:25,480 Speaker 1: the best outdoor podcast. 7 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:26,320 Speaker 2: The airwaves have to offer. 8 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:30,840 Speaker 1: All right, friends, grab a chair or drop that tailgate. 9 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:41,920 Speaker 1: I've got some stories to share. Ticks, ticks. I can't 10 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:44,599 Speaker 1: think of a creepier topic to talk about other than 11 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:48,320 Speaker 1: rats and dangs. You ain't talking about them, and I 12 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:50,559 Speaker 1: don't know which I hate worse, But this time of 13 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:53,800 Speaker 1: year where I live, they are an issue we deal 14 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:57,000 Speaker 1: with daily. I'm going to tell you about some stuff 15 00:00:57,000 --> 00:00:59,560 Speaker 1: I learned while prepping for this podcast. But first I'm 16 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:02,520 Speaker 1: gonna tell you something I learned the hard way with 17 00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:13,240 Speaker 1: this story. That Turkey season wasn't especially warm, cool, or 18 00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:17,680 Speaker 1: anything really that stood out one way or the other weatherwise. 19 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:20,840 Speaker 1: It was just another spring turkey season, and I was 20 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:23,600 Speaker 1: doing my dead level best to keep the wild turkey 21 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:28,600 Speaker 1: population of Missouri in Arkansas in check. I was doing 22 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:30,560 Speaker 1: some filming with a friend of mine, the friend I 23 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:33,800 Speaker 1: talked about in episode three twenty one entitled West One 24 00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:37,600 Speaker 1: Bob Zero. Bob was the guy who I was filming 25 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:41,399 Speaker 1: with and who was my initial mentor old filming hunts. 26 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:44,440 Speaker 1: Now he shuns the spotlight now And as I explained 27 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:47,680 Speaker 1: in that episode, I referred to him as Bob, which 28 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:51,800 Speaker 1: isn't his name, and I offer that info only because 29 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:54,400 Speaker 1: I don't want you wondering why I didn't include his 30 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:57,760 Speaker 1: last name. Bob doesn't have a last name. He's a 31 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:02,080 Speaker 1: man of intrigue and mystery, much like the sudden onset 32 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:05,840 Speaker 1: of terribleness I felt after returning to Arkansas from a 33 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:10,519 Speaker 1: trip with him in Missouri. That trip was etched in 34 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:13,320 Speaker 1: my mind not because we'd had bad luck. We'd killed 35 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:15,840 Speaker 1: the turkey and gotten some decent footage. It was an 36 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:18,480 Speaker 1: absolute great hunt that has never seen the light of day. 37 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:21,840 Speaker 1: We could never broker a deal with anyone to sponsor 38 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:26,160 Speaker 1: the airtime during the pioneer days of outdoor television, A 39 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:29,040 Speaker 1: bunch of that video just sitting in the cans. And 40 00:02:29,080 --> 00:02:32,320 Speaker 1: that's not the reason that trip was so memorable. It 41 00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:36,280 Speaker 1: was more haunting than anything else, and it was because 42 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:41,960 Speaker 1: of the ticks say what you want and chunk rocks 43 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:43,680 Speaker 1: at me when you see me coming, if you feel 44 00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:48,200 Speaker 1: the need. But you have never never seen ticks any 45 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:52,720 Speaker 1: worse than we did that spring a decade or so ago. 46 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:55,240 Speaker 1: Now I'm not saying you haven't seen them bad in 47 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:58,280 Speaker 1: your corner of the world. I said, you ain't never 48 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:01,560 Speaker 1: seen them worse. And I'll go to my grave saying 49 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:06,959 Speaker 1: the same thing. Fortunately, you could only hunt half a 50 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:11,280 Speaker 1: day in Missouri back then. Now I say fortunately because 51 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:14,280 Speaker 1: it took the last half of the day to get 52 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:16,680 Speaker 1: all the ticks rounded up and all my person that 53 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:19,800 Speaker 1: had laid the claim to their own little piece of 54 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:23,640 Speaker 1: reeves land, a neighborhood of which they were not welcomed. 55 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:28,080 Speaker 1: It was every day, all day up and until the 56 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:30,000 Speaker 1: point of my tenure in this realm. 57 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:34,600 Speaker 2: I had never seen them that bad. I've only seen 58 00:03:34,639 --> 00:03:36,120 Speaker 2: them as bad as that once. 59 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 1: That would be a few years later in the Ozarks, 60 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:41,320 Speaker 1: were my friend Michael Meeks and I used to camp 61 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:44,480 Speaker 1: and chase turkeys annually during the open week. But that 62 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:47,800 Speaker 1: would be a few years later. But back in Missouri, 63 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:53,200 Speaker 1: the turkeys were gobbling and the ticks were crawled and biting. 64 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:58,040 Speaker 1: No idea how many I pulled off me during that trip, 65 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:00,680 Speaker 1: But I bet the farm during those three days it 66 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:01,800 Speaker 1: was well over one hundred. 67 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:04,280 Speaker 2: I actually counted the first day. 68 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:06,440 Speaker 1: Then I lost track during the next morning when I 69 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:09,160 Speaker 1: heard one tick say to a host of others, y'all 70 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:11,400 Speaker 1: want to eat him here, I'm just taking him back 71 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:12,960 Speaker 1: to our place and finish him there. 72 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:16,960 Speaker 2: The ticks were bad, real bad. 73 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:24,080 Speaker 1: Now. The last statement was confirmed when we sat on 74 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:26,560 Speaker 1: the back patio after a day of chasing turkeys and 75 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:30,239 Speaker 1: killing ticks. We were frying fish, playing music, and visiting 76 00:04:30,279 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 1: with neighbors and relatives. We'd invite it over for supper. 77 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:36,280 Speaker 1: It had become an annual event of sorts, with the 78 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:41,159 Speaker 1: crowd growing bigger each year. I was paying particular attention 79 00:04:41,240 --> 00:04:43,320 Speaker 1: to the brim I had swimming in that hot peanut 80 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:45,520 Speaker 1: oil when something just happened to catch my eye, and 81 00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:48,719 Speaker 1: I looked at the back wall of my friend's white house. 82 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:53,719 Speaker 1: What are all those dots? Why are all those dots moving? 83 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:55,400 Speaker 2: Oh? 84 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:58,080 Speaker 1: Lord, say it ain't so, Joe, say it ain't so. 85 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:02,599 Speaker 1: Upon closer inspectually, my fear was confirmed. There were ticks 86 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:05,680 Speaker 1: crawling on the outside of the house. Sweet Jesus, that 87 00:05:05,839 --> 00:05:09,920 Speaker 1: was creepy. I just got a chill, thinking about it. 88 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:15,000 Speaker 1: Apossum ran over my grave. They were everywhere. Every itch, 89 00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:19,120 Speaker 1: every tickle of a breeze, every sensation felt like a 90 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:22,520 Speaker 1: tick crawling on me. If you only listen to a 91 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:24,920 Speaker 1: few of these episodes, you have no doubt figured out 92 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:26,839 Speaker 1: that I grew up in the country. The name of 93 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:30,360 Speaker 1: this show is a perfect descriptor of my literal being 94 00:05:30,720 --> 00:05:33,960 Speaker 1: and my place in humanity. I am a country boy. 95 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:37,200 Speaker 1: I've been dealing with ticks. My whole life is just 96 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:41,359 Speaker 1: another part of nature. However, that spring in Missouri still 97 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:46,240 Speaker 1: gives me the hebe jebbies. There won another possum over 98 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:50,280 Speaker 1: my grave. A few days after I got home from 99 00:05:50,279 --> 00:05:54,280 Speaker 1: that trip, I started feeling bad, like really bad, like 100 00:05:54,880 --> 00:05:58,200 Speaker 1: I had the flu bad, or what I would assume 101 00:05:58,240 --> 00:05:59,240 Speaker 1: the flu would feel like. 102 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:02,520 Speaker 2: I ain't ever had the flu. I've seen other folks. 103 00:06:02,360 --> 00:06:05,159 Speaker 1: Waller around in the throes of despair having had it, 104 00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:09,400 Speaker 1: but me, I'm seldom, if ever sick. To this day, 105 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:12,960 Speaker 1: being sick wouldn't even make a blip on my earthly 106 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:17,000 Speaker 1: timeline at that time, outside of having a hernia when 107 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:21,360 Speaker 1: I was three, an appendicitis when I was sixteen, jobbing 108 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:24,120 Speaker 1: my thumb in a copperheads Mouth when I was nineteen. 109 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:25,880 Speaker 2: My visits to. 110 00:06:25,839 --> 00:06:28,560 Speaker 1: The hospital had been for reasons other than my lack 111 00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:32,240 Speaker 1: of health. I hadn't been burdened by or susceptible to 112 00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:34,960 Speaker 1: the maladies that plague are planted as the rest of 113 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:36,440 Speaker 1: you mere mortals have been. 114 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:39,239 Speaker 2: At least that's what I thought. 115 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:42,359 Speaker 1: I was about to find out that the rumors of 116 00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:46,680 Speaker 1: my immortality were based on lies, a literal pyramid of 117 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:49,920 Speaker 1: inaccurate assumptions about my tear one abilities to fight off 118 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:54,960 Speaker 1: infection and dodge the bullets of sickness. I went to 119 00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:57,680 Speaker 1: the doctor and he said, looks like you got the flu. 120 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:00,320 Speaker 1: I told him I never had the flu of my life, 121 00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:03,080 Speaker 1: but my symptoms were just like my brother Tims, who'd 122 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:07,760 Speaker 1: gotten Rocky Mountain spotted fever the year before. My doctor 123 00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:10,320 Speaker 1: looked at me with the here we go again look off. 124 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:12,800 Speaker 1: Thank goodness you called your brother and let him diagnose 125 00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:15,360 Speaker 1: you over the phone. I forgot that the state police 126 00:07:15,400 --> 00:07:17,200 Speaker 1: sent all their folks to the medical school. 127 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:18,280 Speaker 2: Well. 128 00:07:18,280 --> 00:07:20,320 Speaker 1: That doctor was a good friend of mine, a former 129 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:23,880 Speaker 1: combat pilot in Vietnam. He was rough as a cob 130 00:07:23,960 --> 00:07:27,040 Speaker 1: and didn't mince words when he spoke. The one thing 131 00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:29,920 Speaker 1: he did, though, was listening to his patience, and I 132 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:33,080 Speaker 1: reminded him that he was working for me and I 133 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:36,960 Speaker 1: wanted to be tested for tick fever. He humored me, 134 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:40,000 Speaker 1: had the nurse draw blood, and ran me out of 135 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:42,120 Speaker 1: his office, saying that he'd called me when he got 136 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:46,200 Speaker 1: the results. A week later, he called and he said 137 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:48,720 Speaker 1: he was sending all my charts to my brother. I 138 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:55,000 Speaker 1: had Rocky Mountain spotted fever. He nailed my diagnosis. After 139 00:07:55,040 --> 00:07:57,440 Speaker 1: a steady diet of doxy cycline. I was good as 140 00:07:57,480 --> 00:08:02,240 Speaker 1: new almost. Doctor told me that I could possibly always 141 00:08:02,360 --> 00:08:04,960 Speaker 1: test positive for it, and then there may be flare 142 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:07,640 Speaker 1: ups of muscle and joint aches for the rest of 143 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:11,040 Speaker 1: my life because of it. He also said I should 144 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:16,440 Speaker 1: always inform anyone when and if I ever donated blood. Well, 145 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:19,640 Speaker 1: I haven't noticed enough flare ups over the last twenty 146 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:22,480 Speaker 1: years to even remember a specific time, and I've donated 147 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:25,840 Speaker 1: enough blood during that time to float that sea arc 148 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:29,520 Speaker 1: boat out there in my yard. But I'm ever vigilant 149 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:31,560 Speaker 1: these days, and I have been since, and I've had 150 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:33,840 Speaker 1: dreams over the last twenty years of sea and those 151 00:08:33,920 --> 00:08:35,840 Speaker 1: ticks crawling on the side of the house. 152 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:37,760 Speaker 2: It's funny. 153 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:41,520 Speaker 1: I have been within arm's reach of enough bears to 154 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:44,840 Speaker 1: fill up a Greyhound bus and never gotten so much 155 00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:48,880 Speaker 1: as a scratch and a tick. A lowly tick tried 156 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:59,800 Speaker 1: to kill me. That's just how that happened. The CDC 157 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:04,240 Speaker 1: reports around six thousand cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever 158 00:09:04,640 --> 00:09:09,320 Speaker 1: each year, But despite its name, you're more likely to 159 00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:13,440 Speaker 1: get it in North Carolina, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and wait 160 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:18,000 Speaker 1: for it, wait for it, Missouri. The chances of you 161 00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:21,240 Speaker 1: getting sick remain small percentage wise. If you get bit 162 00:09:21,320 --> 00:09:24,600 Speaker 1: by a tick, only certain varieties carried disease and you 163 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:28,840 Speaker 1: have to be susceptible to catching it. Normally, the infected 164 00:09:28,880 --> 00:09:31,560 Speaker 1: tick has to be attached for a prolonged period of 165 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:35,120 Speaker 1: time before the transference occurs. If you figure out all 166 00:09:35,200 --> 00:09:37,560 Speaker 1: the folks that are outside where takes can be found 167 00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:40,360 Speaker 1: in those states alone, your chances of getting sick from 168 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:47,000 Speaker 1: a tick bite are extremely remote. Fortunately, Rocky Mountain spotted 169 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:53,080 Speaker 1: fever is highly treatable with antibiotics. Unfortunately, Rocky Mountain spotted 170 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:56,240 Speaker 1: fever is the least of the issues when it comes 171 00:09:56,520 --> 00:10:00,959 Speaker 1: to tick born diseases. There are twenty t different pathogens 172 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:05,840 Speaker 1: that can make humans sick, including erlichiosis, lyme disease, to laarhemia, 173 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:09,319 Speaker 1: and tick paralysis. In two thousand and nine, if of 174 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:12,800 Speaker 1: gall syndrome joined the chat and if all that other 175 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:16,720 Speaker 1: wasn't enough, that condition is that forced to be reckoned 176 00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:21,040 Speaker 1: with And doing just a modicum bit of researcher for 177 00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:24,640 Speaker 1: this podcast, I discovered illnesses I'd never heard of. But 178 00:10:24,679 --> 00:10:27,959 Speaker 1: I'm amazed I never contracted, just by the sheer number 179 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:32,000 Speaker 1: of ticks that I've hosted over my lifetime. In the 180 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:35,440 Speaker 1: opening story, I told you about getting Rocky Mountain spotted feverbody. 181 00:10:35,440 --> 00:10:38,400 Speaker 1: I didn't tell you the circumstances. It was a tick 182 00:10:38,440 --> 00:10:41,360 Speaker 1: on the backside of my ribcage that I found by 183 00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:44,720 Speaker 1: accident a day after I got home from that trip. 184 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:48,000 Speaker 1: Had I noticed it when it bit me, I doubt 185 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:51,599 Speaker 1: I'd ever had gotten it. That's why checking yourself and 186 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:54,400 Speaker 1: especially the little folks that hang around with you, is 187 00:10:54,440 --> 00:10:59,920 Speaker 1: so important in prevention. Back during the conflagration known as COVID, 188 00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:03,480 Speaker 1: my daughter Bailey and I did a project of making 189 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:06,440 Speaker 1: a coon feeder to concentrate the bandid. It was to 190 00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:09,320 Speaker 1: a certain area to help train our coon down Whalen 191 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:11,440 Speaker 1: we failed it, and I shared that video from five 192 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:15,280 Speaker 1: years ago, not long ago, on my social media. Now, 193 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:18,200 Speaker 1: what I didn't show on that video is when Bailey 194 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:20,040 Speaker 1: and I were walking back to the truck because she 195 00:11:20,160 --> 00:11:22,959 Speaker 1: was telling me about all the little spiders that she'd seen, 196 00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:25,319 Speaker 1: and she told me that she'd wiped a. 197 00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:28,680 Speaker 2: Bunch of them off her breeches. They caught my attention. 198 00:11:28,760 --> 00:11:30,199 Speaker 2: I stood her up on the tailgate. 199 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:33,480 Speaker 1: It was then I saw she'd gotten into a miss 200 00:11:33,559 --> 00:11:37,480 Speaker 1: of seed ticks and big ticks. Luckily she'd noticed them 201 00:11:37,520 --> 00:11:39,560 Speaker 1: and said something. I was able to get her squared 202 00:11:39,559 --> 00:11:43,720 Speaker 1: away before we ever left. On that same trip, I 203 00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:47,600 Speaker 1: didn't get one, not one, and she'd been covered up 204 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:51,000 Speaker 1: with them. I'm friends with a few folks that have 205 00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:53,480 Speaker 1: been sucker punched by tick diseases. And when I think 206 00:11:53,520 --> 00:11:56,120 Speaker 1: about the multitude of people I know that do the 207 00:11:56,160 --> 00:11:59,199 Speaker 1: same kind of things that I do, you'd think there'd 208 00:11:59,200 --> 00:12:03,560 Speaker 1: be more. One such person is my friend Ronney Cowan. 209 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:08,080 Speaker 1: Ronnie's a wildlife biologist and the state Outdoor Recreation Specialist 210 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:12,280 Speaker 1: for the University of Tennessee. Ronnie's a lifelong hunter, and 211 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:14,679 Speaker 1: he and I met on a coon hunt last winter 212 00:12:15,040 --> 00:12:18,360 Speaker 1: on the White River with my regular coon hunting palas 213 00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:21,960 Speaker 1: at the Cash River Coon Club. Ronnie's a strong advocate 214 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:25,880 Speaker 1: for outdoor recreation, and a tick bite forced him to 215 00:12:26,040 --> 00:12:31,640 Speaker 1: completely rethink how he hunts, trains dogs, and connect others 216 00:12:31,679 --> 00:12:35,320 Speaker 1: to conservation now. He shared the following during a recent 217 00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:39,560 Speaker 1: conversation he and I had. Here's what Ronnie said. A 218 00:12:39,600 --> 00:12:43,000 Speaker 1: few years ago, I was diagnosed with alpha gal syndrome 219 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:47,880 Speaker 1: and it flipped my outdoor world upside down. Red meat 220 00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:51,920 Speaker 1: was off the table literally, But instead of walking away 221 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:54,760 Speaker 1: from hunting, I leaned deeper into it and became a 222 00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:58,920 Speaker 1: bird hunter. Now, thanks to some advice from Tony Peterson, 223 00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:02,280 Speaker 1: who was incredibly helpful and getting me started in dog work, 224 00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:05,880 Speaker 1: I retooled my life, got a bird dog, and found 225 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:09,760 Speaker 1: a new path into ethical hunting and mendorship. Now that 226 00:13:09,880 --> 00:13:13,720 Speaker 1: change not only saved my outdoor identity, gave me a 227 00:13:13,800 --> 00:13:18,640 Speaker 1: new purpose. Nice job, Ronnie, and quite a shout out 228 00:13:18,679 --> 00:13:22,160 Speaker 1: to our own Tony Peterson for his help. That is 229 00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:26,640 Speaker 1: the absolute textbook definition of taking a negative and turned 230 00:13:26,679 --> 00:13:31,000 Speaker 1: it into a positive. If you haven't heard of alpha 231 00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:34,640 Speaker 1: gal syndrome, here's a simple descriptor. Alpha gal is a 232 00:13:34,679 --> 00:13:39,120 Speaker 1: carbohydrate molecule contained within red meat. The pathogen that you 233 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:43,280 Speaker 1: get from the tick reacts adversely with that molecule in 234 00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:44,680 Speaker 1: red meat, and it makes you sick. 235 00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:46,319 Speaker 2: There is no cure. 236 00:13:47,320 --> 00:13:49,720 Speaker 1: Adding insult to injury is the fact that you ain't 237 00:13:49,760 --> 00:13:52,319 Speaker 1: even got to eat red meat to get sick. If 238 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:55,280 Speaker 1: you have alpha gal, all you gotta do is touch 239 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:59,040 Speaker 1: some and it can trigger the illness if you get it. 240 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:01,080 Speaker 1: I hope you like chicken and fish, because that's the 241 00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:04,840 Speaker 1: menu you're going to be ordering from. Feathers and scales, period. 242 00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:09,199 Speaker 1: I couldn't fathom not being able to eat red meat again. 243 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:11,880 Speaker 1: I feel for those folks, but I also ain't gonna 244 00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:14,800 Speaker 1: stay inside to ensure I never get it. If the 245 00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:17,040 Speaker 1: ticks keep us from doing what we want, they win. 246 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:21,440 Speaker 1: We can't let the ticks win. We can't now if 247 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:24,720 Speaker 1: ticks are making us sick wasn't bad enough, they'll also 248 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:28,400 Speaker 1: do a number on our dogs. Just about everything that 249 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:31,120 Speaker 1: we can get from a tick, our dogs can get too. 250 00:14:31,400 --> 00:14:34,920 Speaker 1: Depending on where you live, you're looking at a specific 251 00:14:35,120 --> 00:14:38,520 Speaker 1: type of threats. I was today years old when I 252 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:41,760 Speaker 1: learned dogs can get lyme disease. I was chatting at 253 00:14:41,760 --> 00:14:46,400 Speaker 1: that with my friend in Whalen's personal physician, doctor Jonathan Bradshaw, 254 00:14:46,920 --> 00:14:49,560 Speaker 1: DVM to the Stars, and I was talking to him 255 00:14:49,600 --> 00:14:52,640 Speaker 1: about tick stuff, and he told me that certain areas 256 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:55,880 Speaker 1: of the country where more prone to produce certain types 257 00:14:55,920 --> 00:14:58,520 Speaker 1: of tick diseases that can be a big problem to 258 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:02,359 Speaker 1: your four legged piles ain't properly protected from specific diseases 259 00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:06,360 Speaker 1: in specific areas, especially if you travel with you dogs 260 00:15:06,400 --> 00:15:09,360 Speaker 1: like he does in hunt tests and field trial competitions 261 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:13,200 Speaker 1: with his retrievers, or like I do with friends around 262 00:15:13,200 --> 00:15:17,800 Speaker 1: the country chasing coons. For example, down here in the South, 263 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:21,240 Speaker 1: er likia is the biggest threat to dogs, but there's 264 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:24,480 Speaker 1: a hot spot of lime disease around Dallas, just like 265 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:25,520 Speaker 1: up in New England. 266 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:26,560 Speaker 2: Who knew that? 267 00:15:27,160 --> 00:15:32,320 Speaker 1: And across the big muddy over in Mississippi, my buddy 268 00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:35,240 Speaker 1: Lake Pickle is dealing with keeping his yellow lab Knocks 269 00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:39,520 Speaker 1: from getting annaplasmosis, which seems to be a bigger issue 270 00:15:39,560 --> 00:15:44,640 Speaker 1: there than here. Traveling around puts you in new territory 271 00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:48,480 Speaker 1: and associates your dogs with other dogs from other places 272 00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:51,440 Speaker 1: who may have an altogether different set of tick threats 273 00:15:51,440 --> 00:15:55,040 Speaker 1: from where they're from. This is most certainly true in 274 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:58,440 Speaker 1: the competition world. Where dogs from all over congregate in 275 00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:02,080 Speaker 1: one setting, adding to the risk and raising the percentage 276 00:16:02,080 --> 00:16:05,440 Speaker 1: of potential tick pathog and infections even higher. Is the 277 00:16:05,520 --> 00:16:08,080 Speaker 1: fact that while we all like to think that everyone 278 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:10,240 Speaker 1: takes as good as care as we do of our 279 00:16:10,280 --> 00:16:14,040 Speaker 1: pets and their general health, it's just not always the case. 280 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:17,080 Speaker 1: It's easy for a tick to hit your ride in 281 00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:20,680 Speaker 1: the dog box and wind up someplace they never dreamed 282 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:23,960 Speaker 1: of the next morning, just full full of dogs everywhere. 283 00:16:24,680 --> 00:16:25,400 Speaker 2: It'd be like me. 284 00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:27,200 Speaker 1: Going to sleep one night and waking up the next 285 00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:31,040 Speaker 1: morning in a watermelon patch. So to take care of 286 00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:33,680 Speaker 1: your hunting buddies, it's just like driving a car down 287 00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:37,000 Speaker 1: the highway. You have to drive and pay attention to 288 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:40,040 Speaker 1: the cars around you as if they don't know anything 289 00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:45,160 Speaker 1: about driving. Same thing applies to your dog. Think defensively. 290 00:16:46,640 --> 00:16:48,760 Speaker 1: I was fortunate enough to be invited to the Flint 291 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:51,800 Speaker 1: Oak Branch in Fall River Canvas back in January of 292 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:54,360 Speaker 1: twenty twenty four. I was speaking out of hunters with 293 00:16:54,400 --> 00:16:57,000 Speaker 1: Mission Bank, which just down the road and Independence. The 294 00:16:57,040 --> 00:17:00,440 Speaker 1: next night, I went a day early to with my 295 00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:03,320 Speaker 1: friends tough In to coat a gram at Flannel Branch. 296 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:06,199 Speaker 1: Toughy told me when I got there that they wouldn't 297 00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:08,480 Speaker 1: allow Whaling to stay in the kennels with their bird 298 00:17:08,480 --> 00:17:09,640 Speaker 1: dogs for their protection. 299 00:17:10,320 --> 00:17:12,600 Speaker 2: Now I wasn't offended in the least. I got it. 300 00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:15,240 Speaker 2: I understood why those folks don't know me. 301 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:17,960 Speaker 1: They were looking out for the best interest of their 302 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:21,760 Speaker 1: five star shooting facility. Tuffy said, you can keep Whaling 303 00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:24,320 Speaker 1: in your room if you want. Now, that's suited me 304 00:17:24,520 --> 00:17:27,840 Speaker 1: just fine Whaling too. Truth being on, I was planning 305 00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:30,280 Speaker 1: on slipping him in there anyway, because I didn't know 306 00:17:30,280 --> 00:17:33,360 Speaker 1: how their kettles were kept. It turns out the kennels 307 00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:37,240 Speaker 1: were just as meticulously cared for and clean as the 308 00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:40,640 Speaker 1: sweet we stayed in, except Whaling drank his water out 309 00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:43,920 Speaker 1: of a fancy leather bound ice bucket in our room 310 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:46,920 Speaker 1: while the dogs out and the kennels only had polished 311 00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:50,680 Speaker 1: stainless steep. Now Whaling would have been just fine out there. 312 00:17:50,760 --> 00:17:53,119 Speaker 1: Heck I'd have been fine out there. But you just 313 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:58,399 Speaker 1: never know, and you can't take a chance. It's also 314 00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:02,679 Speaker 1: the possibility of skullduggery. Now, for all of you that 315 00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:04,720 Speaker 1: have hung on this long and are now trying to 316 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:08,720 Speaker 1: figure out what in the world is Brent talking about? Skullduggery. 317 00:18:09,480 --> 00:18:15,240 Speaker 1: Skullduggery means underhanded and unscrupulous behavior. So what's that got 318 00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:20,000 Speaker 1: to do with ticks? I'm so glad you asked, y'all. 319 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:21,440 Speaker 2: Remember mister Leon. 320 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:23,760 Speaker 1: He was the old World War two bet that I 321 00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:27,640 Speaker 1: worked with in the woods back in the nineteen eighties. Well, 322 00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:29,240 Speaker 1: he told me about a guy on his crew that 323 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:31,560 Speaker 1: he worked with before I came there. That told it 324 00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:34,880 Speaker 1: an empty pill bottle in his shirt pocket, and every day, 325 00:18:35,320 --> 00:18:38,320 Speaker 1: when the ticks were out, he'd catch them crawling and 326 00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:42,320 Speaker 1: drop them in that pill bottle. Now that ain't weird enough. 327 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:45,399 Speaker 1: He then took them to a local country store he 328 00:18:45,520 --> 00:18:49,600 Speaker 1: traded with and stopped at every afternoon after work, and 329 00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:53,040 Speaker 1: would dump them out in that store when the propriety. 330 00:18:52,560 --> 00:18:54,320 Speaker 2: Wasn't looking because he hated him. 331 00:18:55,480 --> 00:18:58,720 Speaker 1: Now, apparently they'd had some kind of business deal many 332 00:18:58,840 --> 00:19:02,160 Speaker 1: years before, and the store owner took advantage of him 333 00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:06,000 Speaker 1: and beat him out of some money. So even the score, 334 00:19:06,560 --> 00:19:09,720 Speaker 1: this dude was unleashing a daily carpet bombing of ticks 335 00:19:09,760 --> 00:19:17,720 Speaker 1: in his store to prey upon the masses. Now, mister 336 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:20,320 Speaker 1: Leon said, I don't know how long he'd been doing 337 00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:22,800 Speaker 1: that when I caught him, but when I did, I 338 00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:27,520 Speaker 1: made him stop. However, it was a multi year campaign. 339 00:19:27,880 --> 00:19:32,720 Speaker 1: According to him, TICS, I hate him and the only 340 00:19:32,760 --> 00:19:35,360 Speaker 1: thing that disappoints me when I catch one and smash 341 00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:37,760 Speaker 1: the life out of him is I can't hear him 342 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:41,360 Speaker 1: screaming when I do it. Talk to your vet where 343 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:44,520 Speaker 1: you live and get the protection for your dogs specific 344 00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:47,040 Speaker 1: to the places you're going to have them operating in, 345 00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:50,720 Speaker 1: and most importantly, check them for texts when the hunt's over. 346 00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:55,119 Speaker 1: The same goes for you and your youngins. Lots of 347 00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:57,399 Speaker 1: options out there, but there's nothing better than a self 348 00:19:57,440 --> 00:20:01,399 Speaker 1: inspection once you get back to the CASA. Now be 349 00:20:01,640 --> 00:20:04,240 Speaker 1: symptom of weare of clues that may on set, especially 350 00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:08,200 Speaker 1: after thirty six hours of getting bitter exposed. It's always 351 00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:12,440 Speaker 1: better to air on the side of caution. Formetha and 352 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:15,520 Speaker 1: spray will have the moon walking on your breeches until 353 00:20:15,560 --> 00:20:18,160 Speaker 1: they fall off dead as disco, but with any chemical 354 00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:23,840 Speaker 1: applications there's always safety protocols to follow. That's gonna about 355 00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:26,760 Speaker 1: do it for this satellite view on TICS. I'm thinking 356 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:29,800 Speaker 1: about doing a deeper dive later on if y'all are interested, 357 00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:32,800 Speaker 1: and maybe having some folks on to tell how they've 358 00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:35,720 Speaker 1: dealt with issues as a result of tick boxes. Y'all 359 00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:38,960 Speaker 1: let us know if you're interested. Thank y'all so much 360 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:41,119 Speaker 1: for listening to us here on the bear Grease channel. 361 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:44,840 Speaker 1: If we've got the bear Grease, the render this country 362 00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:48,359 Speaker 1: life and now Backwoods University right here, my old buddy 363 00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:49,920 Speaker 1: Lake pickle until next week. 364 00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:53,160 Speaker 2: This is Brent Reeves signing off. Y'all be careful 365 00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:02,720 Speaker 1: Entering