WEBVTT - Ep. 179: THIS COUNTRY LIFE - Dogs, Hogs, and Submarines 0:00:05.160 --> 0:00:09.160 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 --> 0:00:39.040 think I got a thing or two to teach you. Dogs, hogs, 0:00:39.040 --> 0:00:43.920 and submarines. Those of us who value the companionship and 0:00:44.040 --> 0:00:47.120 love of a good dog are many now. You spend 0:00:47.200 --> 0:00:49.440 enough time with them and they'll fill your head and 0:00:49.479 --> 0:00:52.720 your heart with some great memories. I talk to folks 0:00:52.800 --> 0:00:55.280 all the time about my dogs, and I listen to 0:00:55.320 --> 0:00:58.840 stories about theirs, and you can tell which ones that 0:00:58.920 --> 0:01:01.520 have really made it impact on them by the way 0:01:01.560 --> 0:01:04.280 they look when they talk about it. We're gonna talk 0:01:04.319 --> 0:01:07.320 about a couple today that will forever be at the 0:01:07.360 --> 0:01:10.840 top of my list as favorites. But first I'm gonna 0:01:10.880 --> 0:01:21.080 tell you a story. Zach was a giant black labrador. 0:01:21.760 --> 0:01:24.000 He belonged to my brother Tim and was about as 0:01:24.000 --> 0:01:27.320 big as a lab gets. He was a monster, and 0:01:27.360 --> 0:01:30.880 the good Lord chiseled him out of patience and brains. 0:01:31.080 --> 0:01:34.399 He was smart. Tim had trained him on the basics 0:01:34.440 --> 0:01:38.560 of obedience and retrieving, But that dude possessed an abundance 0:01:38.640 --> 0:01:43.920 of inherent natural ability of what made good labs great labs. 0:01:44.560 --> 0:01:47.720 You've heard me say before that just about any kind 0:01:47.760 --> 0:01:51.000 of utilitarian dog that there desire to go and do 0:01:51.120 --> 0:01:56.040 what theyre bread to do is an untrainable treat. Just 0:01:56.040 --> 0:01:58.760 because the dog is a Labrador doesn't make him a 0:01:58.760 --> 0:02:02.720 good retriever, just like having a coonhound doesn't make them 0:02:02.720 --> 0:02:07.080 a coon dog. There's a big difference. A coon hound 0:02:07.200 --> 0:02:10.280 is a breed category within a group of hunting dog breeds. 0:02:11.040 --> 0:02:14.480 A coon dog is a title given by hunters to 0:02:14.560 --> 0:02:19.040 a specimen from one of those breeds that consistently strikes 0:02:19.080 --> 0:02:22.360 a track, follows it to a tree, and barks so 0:02:22.480 --> 0:02:25.960 you can find him and the coon You can see 0:02:25.960 --> 0:02:29.720 beautiful specimens of each breed of sporting dog every Thanksgiving 0:02:29.760 --> 0:02:32.760 when they have that Westminster Dog Show on TV. We 0:02:32.880 --> 0:02:36.320 hardly ever miss it. They have some beautiful beagles and 0:02:36.360 --> 0:02:40.480 retrievers and coonhounds and bird dogs. They are the epitome 0:02:40.600 --> 0:02:47.359 of what all those breeds are supposed to look like. Height, weight, earlength, gate, stance, color, 0:02:47.800 --> 0:02:50.480 and build are all judged according to a set of 0:02:50.560 --> 0:02:54.240 list of requirements. Some of them may even be good 0:02:54.320 --> 0:02:59.240 hunting dogs. They obviously possess the outward traits of the breed. Unfortunately, 0:02:59.280 --> 0:03:02.160 that's not how it works in the real world. They 0:03:02.280 --> 0:03:04.800 not only have to look the part, they have to 0:03:04.840 --> 0:03:08.040 be able to perform it. The show dogs are what 0:03:08.080 --> 0:03:12.320 one of my old football coaches would say when describing 0:03:12.360 --> 0:03:17.280 an athletically built player with zero ability as looking like 0:03:17.400 --> 0:03:22.240 Tarzan but playing like Jane. Well, Zach not only looked 0:03:22.280 --> 0:03:25.400 like Tarzan, but he played like Tarzan. And King Buck 0:03:25.480 --> 0:03:28.400 had a baby. If you don't know who King Buck was, 0:03:29.000 --> 0:03:33.560 look that dog up. Anyway, Zach not only looked the part, 0:03:33.639 --> 0:03:36.080 but he played the part as well. Add in the 0:03:36.160 --> 0:03:39.360 mixture that he was a perfect family dog, and you 0:03:39.440 --> 0:03:43.400 get Zach. Zach was in his prime in the mid eighties, 0:03:43.440 --> 0:03:46.360 and he was a constant companion of any of the 0:03:46.440 --> 0:03:49.120 Reeves Boys' activities as long as Tim was there, whether 0:03:49.120 --> 0:03:51.600 it was Me and Tim or Tim and his two boys, 0:03:51.640 --> 0:03:55.600 Matthew and Will. Zach was a fixture on every outing 0:03:55.640 --> 0:03:59.320 and adventure. I recall a time in the summer that 0:03:59.400 --> 0:04:04.000 truly dim illustrated Zach's patience with children. This is what 0:04:04.200 --> 0:04:07.280 made him such a great family dog. We were shooting 0:04:07.320 --> 0:04:10.440 clay targets in front of Tim's house. It was in 0:04:10.440 --> 0:04:12.480 the middle of the summer and duck season was still 0:04:12.480 --> 0:04:15.440 a couple of months away. Matthew and Will were watching 0:04:15.480 --> 0:04:18.080 and helping load the skip thrower, playing in the dirt, 0:04:18.120 --> 0:04:22.120 and just doing what boys do. Will, the younger of 0:04:22.200 --> 0:04:25.080 Tim's sons, was around I guess around five years old, 0:04:25.120 --> 0:04:30.160 and was standing safely behind everyone as we took turn shooting. Now, 0:04:30.200 --> 0:04:33.680 Will didn't miss a lot. He paid attention to everything, 0:04:34.120 --> 0:04:36.640 but he didn't make a lot of racket and could 0:04:36.640 --> 0:04:40.440 easily entertain himself. But I remember him catching my eyes 0:04:40.480 --> 0:04:42.640 I waited for my turn to shooting. He was staring 0:04:42.680 --> 0:04:46.040 at Zach, who was standing in front of him at 0:04:46.080 --> 0:04:49.839 Tim's side on the firing line. Zach, as I failed 0:04:49.880 --> 0:04:52.400 to mention, was a male dog. His name was a 0:04:52.440 --> 0:04:55.279 context clue, but for the sake of the side story 0:04:55.320 --> 0:04:58.120 that I'm on right now, that fact needs to be 0:04:58.360 --> 0:05:04.520 understood completely. Also, it was extremely warm and inn keeping 0:05:04.600 --> 0:05:09.360 with how nature has provided that dogs of Zach's persuasion 0:05:09.520 --> 0:05:12.440 keep some of their parts cool by allowing them to 0:05:12.480 --> 0:05:18.800 distance themselves somewhat from their normal anatomical position. Zach was 0:05:18.839 --> 0:05:23.160 a big dog, you remember, Zach had a noticeable amount 0:05:23.240 --> 0:05:26.520 of his anatomy that needed cooling, and that was what 0:05:26.680 --> 0:05:32.360 caught Will's attention. I watched Will as he watched the 0:05:32.400 --> 0:05:38.359 south end of Zach. He was seemingly hypnotized, like he 0:05:38.520 --> 0:05:42.160 was watching the pendulum of a grandfather clock, swinging back 0:05:42.200 --> 0:05:46.000 and forth, back and forth. I could see the wheels 0:05:46.040 --> 0:05:48.640 turning in his head and the confused look on his 0:05:48.720 --> 0:05:52.800 face as he wondered what he was looking at. He 0:05:52.880 --> 0:05:55.760 slowly walked forward, and before I could stop him, he 0:05:55.839 --> 0:05:59.000 reached out with his right hand and he took hold 0:05:59.080 --> 0:06:06.240 of Zack's swinging and he squeezed. Zack never made a sound. 0:06:06.480 --> 0:06:09.760 His hind end lowered a couple of inches, and he froze. 0:06:09.920 --> 0:06:14.920 A normally expressionless dog. Zack slowly turned his head back 0:06:14.960 --> 0:06:17.480 to see what had captured him, and I could see 0:06:17.520 --> 0:06:22.880 the horror of the situation encapsulated on Zack's face. His 0:06:23.000 --> 0:06:26.080 eyes bugged nearly out of his head, yet showing no 0:06:26.200 --> 0:06:29.599 signs of aggression or panic. Now I was scared to 0:06:29.640 --> 0:06:31.960 move for fear of startling with Zack and the bite 0:06:31.960 --> 0:06:35.240 and Will, and as quickly as if it started, Will 0:06:35.400 --> 0:06:41.200 slowly released his grip on Zach's person. Will walked away, 0:06:41.600 --> 0:06:45.240 curiosity satisfied, and resumed playing in the dirt and never 0:06:45.320 --> 0:06:50.080 set a word. Zach turns. Zach turned back around and 0:06:50.279 --> 0:06:53.599 slowly sat down at the hill on Tim's left side. 0:06:53.720 --> 0:06:57.240 Zach was a chump at family life, and he loves 0:06:57.320 --> 0:06:58.440 those boys. 0:06:58.160 --> 0:07:01.599 As just as much as we all love. That's why 0:07:01.640 --> 0:07:04.080 he got to go everywhere that we went, and it 0:07:04.240 --> 0:07:06.760 was usually only an arm's length away when we were 0:07:06.800 --> 0:07:09.600 doing something, which leads me back to the story I 0:07:09.640 --> 0:07:11.120 started telling way back at the. 0:07:11.080 --> 0:07:15.440 Beginning of this. Sometime around that time frame, after dark 0:07:15.480 --> 0:07:18.200 and maybe even the following winter, Tim and I were 0:07:18.280 --> 0:07:20.880 skinning a wild hog we'd killed down in the bottoms. 0:07:21.440 --> 0:07:23.600 It's a pretty good bar hog that we'd caught and 0:07:23.680 --> 0:07:27.080 cut sometime earlier. I'm going to talk in depth about 0:07:27.080 --> 0:07:29.880 wild hogs in the future, but for right now, all 0:07:29.920 --> 0:07:31.920 you need to know is that a bar hog is 0:07:32.320 --> 0:07:35.240 a boy hog minus a couple items that make him 0:07:35.280 --> 0:07:38.520 a boy hog that had been removed by us the 0:07:38.600 --> 0:07:41.960 previous winter after our squirrel dogs had bade him up 0:07:41.960 --> 0:07:46.000 down in the bottoms. So we had this hog hanging 0:07:46.000 --> 0:07:49.000 in a pecan tree in Tim's backyard, and we were 0:07:49.040 --> 0:07:52.280 removing his hide in strips. It's an easy way to 0:07:52.280 --> 0:07:55.280 skim the hog if you're not intending on cooking him hole, 0:07:55.320 --> 0:07:58.840 which we weren't. I remember he was a fat rascal, 0:07:58.880 --> 0:08:00.960 and some of that fat was nearly as thick as 0:08:01.000 --> 0:08:04.600 your fist. Between the meat and the inside of his hide. 0:08:04.760 --> 0:08:07.680 The hair on that hog was coarse, thick and jet black, 0:08:08.360 --> 0:08:11.360 the same color as Zach, who sat beside us watching 0:08:11.400 --> 0:08:15.360 the whole operation. He was licking his chops, and Tim 0:08:15.400 --> 0:08:17.320 cut off a piece of fat and chunked it towards 0:08:17.360 --> 0:08:20.520 Zack and he caught it in midair. And every time 0:08:20.560 --> 0:08:22.720 we'd cut off a little chunk, we'd lob it over 0:08:22.720 --> 0:08:25.040 to him and he caught it. Every one of them. 0:08:26.360 --> 0:08:29.400 The bigger, longer, thicker strips of hide and fat we 0:08:29.440 --> 0:08:31.760 piled up on the other side of the tree, away 0:08:31.800 --> 0:08:35.360 from where Zach was sitting. They never whimpered, wined, or 0:08:35.400 --> 0:08:38.079 made a sound. The only thing you heard was the 0:08:38.120 --> 0:08:41.720 occasional chump when we blindly tossed the chunk hog fat 0:08:41.720 --> 0:08:44.800 in his direction. We were skinning that hog in the 0:08:44.920 --> 0:08:47.240 dark except for the truck lights, and Zack was as 0:08:47.280 --> 0:08:51.040 black as a shadow. Anyway, Now we got that hog 0:08:51.120 --> 0:08:54.160 skin quartered on ice, and we loaded all the guts 0:08:54.160 --> 0:08:56.160 and the skin in the back of the truck and 0:08:56.200 --> 0:08:58.400 we haulted off for the couch and the buzzards to 0:08:58.440 --> 0:09:01.520 take care of the next day. I just lived down 0:09:01.600 --> 0:09:04.520 the road from Tim then, and we were meeting early 0:09:04.600 --> 0:09:07.080 the next morning to go duck hunting on the Sleek River. 0:09:08.240 --> 0:09:10.600 Tim picked me up and was Zach sitting in the 0:09:10.600 --> 0:09:13.040 middle between us and his old truck. We headed out. 0:09:14.240 --> 0:09:15.960 We didn't have a far drive, and we were just 0:09:16.000 --> 0:09:19.240 tooling along when the most mild odorous stitch I've ever 0:09:19.320 --> 0:09:22.320 had the displeasure of smelling punched me in the nose. 0:09:23.240 --> 0:09:26.760 Sweet Jesus, Tim, what did you do? He said, I 0:09:26.760 --> 0:09:30.160 didn't do that. What is wrong with you? It was horrible. 0:09:30.960 --> 0:09:33.679 It was worse than anything I'd ever experienced. I'd been 0:09:33.720 --> 0:09:36.439 in the Army basic training in the gas chamber, when 0:09:36.480 --> 0:09:38.760 they make you take off your mask to fill the 0:09:38.760 --> 0:09:41.600 effects of the gas, and so you'll trust that your 0:09:41.640 --> 0:09:46.800 mask works. That was nothing, absolutely nothing compared to this. 0:09:47.920 --> 0:09:50.280 We rolled the windows down, let that cold, frigid air 0:09:50.360 --> 0:09:53.040 rush in and allow both of us to see through 0:09:53.080 --> 0:09:56.280 the tears of agony. I still thought it was him, 0:09:56.280 --> 0:09:59.760 and he still thought it was me. With ten minutes 0:09:59.840 --> 0:10:03.880 left after our ride, Whamo, there it was again, Oh 0:10:03.960 --> 0:10:06.240 the silent killer, and this time it was even worse. 0:10:07.040 --> 0:10:08.720 I thought I was gonna die Before I could get 0:10:08.720 --> 0:10:11.680 the window rolled down. Tim was driving all over the road, 0:10:11.760 --> 0:10:14.360 trying to roll his window down, cover his nose and 0:10:14.440 --> 0:10:17.679 mouth and cuss at me while trying not to breathe. Now, 0:10:17.720 --> 0:10:20.120 this hunt had started off terribly. We weren't even out 0:10:20.160 --> 0:10:22.680 of the truck yet. I felt like if I hadn't 0:10:22.720 --> 0:10:25.240 been so weak from the fumes, that I had just 0:10:25.320 --> 0:10:27.560 bailed out going down the highway and just took my 0:10:27.720 --> 0:10:30.160 chances with the laws of physics instead of counting on 0:10:30.240 --> 0:10:34.600 hold of my breath to save my life. Both windows 0:10:34.600 --> 0:10:37.520 were down and there was no relief. Whatever it was 0:10:37.600 --> 0:10:40.120 it was being manufactured in the cap of that truck, 0:10:40.160 --> 0:10:41.960 and it was gonna kill us all if we didn't 0:10:41.960 --> 0:10:46.040 get it stopped by Now, I thought, if it is Tim, 0:10:46.280 --> 0:10:49.679 he was a lost cause and there's no saving him. 0:10:50.240 --> 0:10:52.280 I'd yet to have children, I still had something to 0:10:52.320 --> 0:10:55.920 live for. Oh the humanity. My eyes were burning. I 0:10:55.920 --> 0:11:00.440 can't breathe mercifully. I felt the truck slow down and 0:11:00.559 --> 0:11:04.200 make the sharp turn into the parking spot. We both 0:11:04.240 --> 0:11:06.120 had the doors open on his old truck before the 0:11:06.120 --> 0:11:09.440 wheel stopped rolling that gum. It was cold outside, but man, 0:11:10.200 --> 0:11:14.679 that air was fresh and clean. I looked through the cabin, 0:11:14.760 --> 0:11:17.200 saw Tim standing in the door, just as I was 0:11:17.280 --> 0:11:19.120 on the other side of the truck in the dim 0:11:19.280 --> 0:11:22.960 glow of the interior light. And then I saw Zack. 0:11:24.200 --> 0:11:28.040 I'd forgotten about Zach. He'd been like the invisible man 0:11:29.000 --> 0:11:32.040 during the turmoil of the darkness. I had totally forgot 0:11:32.040 --> 0:11:35.120 he was with us. But there he sat, motionless in 0:11:35.160 --> 0:11:37.960 the middle of the bench seat, looking through the windshield 0:11:38.000 --> 0:11:41.040 like he was the only one there, before burping loudly 0:11:41.520 --> 0:11:44.960 and throwing up a congealed glob of hog fat and 0:11:45.080 --> 0:11:50.440 hair that nearly made me faint. It was Zack pulling 0:11:50.440 --> 0:11:54.840 the old sneaky pizza on us. Apparently he used his 0:11:54.960 --> 0:11:58.319 black coat as a cloaking device and was slipping to 0:11:58.400 --> 0:12:01.040 the other side of the tree in the hog skinning 0:12:01.160 --> 0:12:04.640 last night and filling his belly up with a pork 0:12:04.720 --> 0:12:08.760 fat weapon of mass destruction. Poor fella had to have 0:12:08.800 --> 0:12:11.000 been suffering with all that on his stomach, I know. 0:12:11.080 --> 0:12:15.239 We were. Tim cleaned the floorboard up as best he could, 0:12:15.360 --> 0:12:19.120 and we went hunting. The buddy of ours came out 0:12:19.120 --> 0:12:22.040 a little later and hunted with us in her little 0:12:22.080 --> 0:12:25.320 makeshift blind and I told him when he got there, 0:12:25.760 --> 0:12:29.760 you better watch that dog. And he said, why will 0:12:29.760 --> 0:12:31.880 he bite or is he gonna try to get my 0:12:32.000 --> 0:12:34.280 cheese and crackers to him? And said, oh, he won't 0:12:34.320 --> 0:12:37.880 bite you, and he probably he probably ain't real interested 0:12:37.880 --> 0:12:42.640 in eating nothing right now. We put him down wind 0:12:42.679 --> 0:12:46.680 to the dog, and it didn't take long before Zach 0:12:46.760 --> 0:12:49.880 started passing gas again, but this time with Tim and 0:12:49.880 --> 0:12:55.360 I both upwind. It was funny, Oh man, the look 0:12:55.440 --> 0:13:01.559 on his face. I'm sorry, Gerald, but that's just how 0:13:01.600 --> 0:13:11.760 that happened. Billy Coleman starts out in the story where 0:13:11.760 --> 0:13:15.280 the Red Fern grows as an adult that rescues a hound, 0:13:15.559 --> 0:13:18.480 and while nursing it back to health, he remembers and 0:13:18.520 --> 0:13:21.360 tells the story of his journey with a pair of 0:13:21.400 --> 0:13:25.080 hounds when he was ten. The format in which it's 0:13:25.120 --> 0:13:28.720 told is somewhat reminiscent of this podcast. I pick a 0:13:28.760 --> 0:13:31.360 subject and talk about it and tell stories relating to 0:13:31.400 --> 0:13:35.280 it that I remember from my own experiences. It was 0:13:35.320 --> 0:13:39.120 also quite possibly the best introduction to hunting and hounds 0:13:39.160 --> 0:13:41.880 for folks who knew nothing about it. And as I've 0:13:41.920 --> 0:13:45.360 said before, it also let the fuse of desire for 0:13:45.480 --> 0:13:47.640 kids at that time to long for a puppy of 0:13:47.640 --> 0:13:50.559 their own and to chase and tree coons with them. 0:13:50.559 --> 0:13:54.320 And I was one of them two generations later, and 0:13:54.360 --> 0:13:58.080 that story in book is still inspiring people now. I 0:13:58.120 --> 0:14:00.320 talk to folks all the time that reference it to me. 0:14:00.400 --> 0:14:03.200 Someone will ask a question about the book or a 0:14:03.240 --> 0:14:05.280 dog that they've heard me mention on here, and it 0:14:05.320 --> 0:14:09.280 will get the storytelling and memory machine going. I was 0:14:09.280 --> 0:14:12.440 thinking the other day about a recent trip with a 0:14:12.440 --> 0:14:15.720 group of friends and old whaling. Whaling is my Tree 0:14:15.720 --> 0:14:18.400 and Walker coon dog, and you've probably seen pictures of 0:14:18.480 --> 0:14:21.560 him on my Instagram, heard me talk about him on here. 0:14:21.600 --> 0:14:24.440 But we were coon hunting last year and had three 0:14:24.520 --> 0:14:27.479 or four hounds out running in the White River bottoms. 0:14:28.200 --> 0:14:31.560 It was coonhound pandemonium with dogs, Tree in here, and 0:14:31.600 --> 0:14:34.960 they're at a pretty fast pace. Had we been walking, 0:14:34.960 --> 0:14:37.000 and we'd have been in for quite a trick. The 0:14:37.040 --> 0:14:39.280 coons had the running shoes on that night and were 0:14:39.280 --> 0:14:42.600 making the dogs earn their keep. Seemed like we had 0:14:42.600 --> 0:14:46.040 a dog running a good track in every direction, which 0:14:46.320 --> 0:14:48.880 isn't a bad thing at all since we were all, 0:14:49.000 --> 0:14:51.800 you know, riding four wheelers and cyber sides. But these 0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:56.240 dogs were leaving the country these coons. Summer treeing a 0:14:56.280 --> 0:14:59.880 mile apart and picking our way to the trees through 0:15:00.080 --> 0:15:03.160 the river bottoms can take time when you're avoiding slews 0:15:03.160 --> 0:15:06.160 that are too deep to cross and a flat full 0:15:06.200 --> 0:15:09.000 of cypress needs that will get you hung up. We've 0:15:09.040 --> 0:15:11.760 been to several trees, and my garment trackers showed whaling 0:15:12.240 --> 0:15:14.640 headed back into an area that we treated lots of 0:15:14.680 --> 0:15:18.600 coons in. The display map on the garment shows you 0:15:18.680 --> 0:15:21.080 the track the dog is making from the signal it 0:15:21.120 --> 0:15:24.360 receives from his tracking collar. You can tell by looking 0:15:24.440 --> 0:15:27.080 at the picture. It's literally painting pretty well. If a 0:15:27.120 --> 0:15:30.160 dog is running a coon, or chasing something off game 0:15:30.280 --> 0:15:32.880 like a deer or a coyo deer, or just about 0:15:32.920 --> 0:15:37.600 anything else. The dog is following the coon's feeding patterns, 0:15:37.880 --> 0:15:40.720 and having been a student of coons and my own 0:15:40.800 --> 0:15:43.560 eating patterns for the last fifty seven years, I can 0:15:43.560 --> 0:15:47.160 tell at a glance what's going on. Couple that with 0:15:47.240 --> 0:15:49.800 knowing how my dog runs a coon, and the sounds 0:15:49.800 --> 0:15:54.080 he makes when he makes them tells the whole story. 0:15:54.680 --> 0:15:56.840 The story Whaling was telling right then was that he 0:15:56.920 --> 0:15:58.880 was chasing a coon and was getting close to the 0:15:58.920 --> 0:16:02.440 bandido that was made in the tracks. With no other 0:16:02.520 --> 0:16:05.280 dogs closed that were running a track that hot, we 0:16:05.400 --> 0:16:08.960 headed toward the area where Whaling was making such a fuss. 0:16:10.440 --> 0:16:12.680 The group of us stopped our four wheelers and side 0:16:12.760 --> 0:16:15.360 besides when my trackers said we were about two hundred 0:16:15.360 --> 0:16:20.160 and fifty yards away from Whaling. According to it, Whaling 0:16:20.240 --> 0:16:23.160 was moving in our direction, and according to his barks 0:16:23.200 --> 0:16:25.360 that I could hear, he was getting close to the coon. 0:16:26.320 --> 0:16:29.800 He was barking more and more excitedly. The tempo was 0:16:29.840 --> 0:16:32.359 picking up, and you could hear the drive and determination 0:16:32.520 --> 0:16:36.080 in his voice. Two hundred yards away now and he 0:16:36.200 --> 0:16:40.720 has loud. He locates with a big long ball, and 0:16:40.760 --> 0:16:43.640 I say, tree Whaling, he's got him. Boys, let's go. 0:16:44.880 --> 0:16:48.080 We started all the ATVs and drove the short distance 0:16:48.120 --> 0:16:50.120 down a wood road that led to within a few 0:16:50.240 --> 0:16:54.760 yards of where my trackers showed his location. Now, normally 0:16:55.160 --> 0:16:57.320 you can hear him barking over the engine noise when 0:16:57.360 --> 0:16:59.760 you get that close, but when we pulled up, it 0:16:59.800 --> 0:17:03.320 said like he was a quarter of a mile away. Well, 0:17:03.320 --> 0:17:06.639 that's weird. My tracker says, he's fifty yards off the road. 0:17:07.560 --> 0:17:09.679 We all pile out of our machines and walk to 0:17:09.680 --> 0:17:13.479 where my tracker says he's supposed to be. Now whaling 0:17:13.640 --> 0:17:16.520 is barking is even more intense now, but he sounds 0:17:16.560 --> 0:17:20.119 like he's getting further and further away. It took us 0:17:20.200 --> 0:17:22.920 less than thirty seconds to travel the two hundred yards 0:17:22.920 --> 0:17:26.560 from where he was so loud, and now he sounds 0:17:26.600 --> 0:17:30.520 like he's traveled nearly half a mile away. Well, my 0:17:30.600 --> 0:17:33.479 tracker has an option for a compass display that shows 0:17:33.520 --> 0:17:37.119 the face of a compass and an arrow that shows 0:17:37.160 --> 0:17:41.040 the direction and the distance from the handheld device to 0:17:41.160 --> 0:17:45.399 the collar that's being tracked. I followed it from the 0:17:45.400 --> 0:17:47.359 wood road we were parked on to where I was 0:17:47.400 --> 0:17:51.359 now standing, and the compass was spinning around on the 0:17:51.440 --> 0:17:54.560 display indicated that I was standing on top of whaling, 0:17:55.000 --> 0:17:58.840 but there was no whaling to be seen. People were talking, 0:17:59.240 --> 0:18:01.320 looking around for him, trying to figure out why he 0:18:01.400 --> 0:18:04.800 sounded so far away. Now whaling had trailed this coon 0:18:04.920 --> 0:18:09.080 through the bottoms along a big water filled slow and 0:18:09.160 --> 0:18:11.439 I was standing thirty five yards from the edge of 0:18:11.440 --> 0:18:14.800 the slough. I asked everyone to be quiet and listen. 0:18:16.040 --> 0:18:18.920 According to my device, I should have been standing right 0:18:18.960 --> 0:18:23.399 on top of him. They got quiet, Whaling kept barking, 0:18:23.840 --> 0:18:27.520 and I realized my tracker was right. I was standing 0:18:27.560 --> 0:18:31.560 on top of him. He was under the ground. I 0:18:31.640 --> 0:18:33.720 told everyone to start looking for a hole, but there 0:18:33.760 --> 0:18:36.119 was none to be seen. I was in a panic, 0:18:36.200 --> 0:18:37.879 trying to figure out how I was going to get 0:18:37.960 --> 0:18:41.040 him out of there. Now, if you follow this podcast 0:18:41.080 --> 0:18:43.800 on my Instagram, you know that that dog is a 0:18:43.880 --> 0:18:47.639 valued member of this family to my wife Alexis and 0:18:47.720 --> 0:18:50.520 my daughter Bailey. He may be more valued than the 0:18:50.560 --> 0:18:54.159 coon hunter. I've never taken that survey for fear of 0:18:54.160 --> 0:18:57.760 getting my feelings hurt, So going home without him was 0:18:57.800 --> 0:19:01.720 a no go. It just wasn't going to happen. Now, 0:19:01.760 --> 0:19:04.399 he obviously chased that coon in there and had him bathe, 0:19:04.440 --> 0:19:06.560 But how in the world did he get in there, 0:19:07.000 --> 0:19:08.920 and how the world was I going to get him out? 0:19:10.160 --> 0:19:12.760 I seen him baycons in beaver lodges and then holes 0:19:12.800 --> 0:19:15.280 dug in the side of a creek and slow banks, 0:19:15.280 --> 0:19:17.439 but to have him thirty five yards away from the 0:19:17.480 --> 0:19:20.440 water's edge on a flat, barren ground was a new 0:19:20.480 --> 0:19:24.239 one on everyone there. I'm thinking, how long is it 0:19:24.280 --> 0:19:26.480 going to take me to dig that dog out with 0:19:26.520 --> 0:19:29.359 his pocket knife? While someone goes up to the farm 0:19:29.400 --> 0:19:32.960 shop several miles away and gets a shovel. I shine 0:19:32.960 --> 0:19:34.639 my light back toward the edge of the slough and 0:19:34.680 --> 0:19:38.280 I saw a ripple in the water. Now, unless there's 0:19:38.280 --> 0:19:41.240 an overflow with the river pushing out into the woods 0:19:41.240 --> 0:19:45.520 over its banks, slows don't have current, so the water 0:19:45.720 --> 0:19:49.600 should be still. With us being there, with no other 0:19:49.680 --> 0:19:51.800 dogs and all the commotion going on, there shouldn't be 0:19:51.880 --> 0:19:55.800 any animal activity in making the waves. I ran over 0:19:55.840 --> 0:19:57.399 to the spot on the edge of the slough and 0:19:57.440 --> 0:20:00.720 I laid down looking over the bank. The water was 0:20:00.800 --> 0:20:03.160 less than a foot below the edge of the bank, 0:20:03.200 --> 0:20:05.399 and with my head light I could see a six 0:20:05.520 --> 0:20:08.639 inch gap between the top of the water and the 0:20:08.720 --> 0:20:11.600 top of a big hole that ran straight back up 0:20:11.640 --> 0:20:16.639 in there. About six feet. My heart sank. I couldn't 0:20:16.680 --> 0:20:19.320 hear Whaling any better here than I could when I 0:20:19.400 --> 0:20:21.439 was standing right on top of him, way back up 0:20:21.480 --> 0:20:24.119 in the woods. It looked like it was just to 0:20:24.320 --> 0:20:28.360 wash out, But hoping against all hope, I started calling him. 0:20:28.680 --> 0:20:31.399 The barking stopped after a few minutes, and it was 0:20:31.520 --> 0:20:37.680 stone cold silence. Here, Whaling, here, come on son here. 0:20:41.000 --> 0:20:44.240 There wasn't a sound, There wasn't a ripple in the water. 0:20:45.720 --> 0:20:48.080 There was nothing but gloom hanging in the air, and 0:20:48.080 --> 0:20:50.760 I whispered the prayer, Lord, please let this dog come 0:20:50.800 --> 0:20:53.800 out of there. I looked around for the men of 0:20:53.800 --> 0:20:55.760 the time while I laid there on the bank, for 0:20:55.840 --> 0:20:58.639 another entrance into what I thought was going to be 0:20:58.680 --> 0:21:01.840 Whaling's grave. As I looked across the slough on the 0:21:01.840 --> 0:21:04.480 other side, I saw another ripple push out across the 0:21:04.480 --> 0:21:07.520 top of the water, and I followed it back across 0:21:07.560 --> 0:21:10.520 several others and looked back into that hole up in 0:21:10.560 --> 0:21:13.720 that bank, just in time to see a set of 0:21:13.760 --> 0:21:17.760 coon dog eyes pop up from under the water. He 0:21:17.920 --> 0:21:20.919 was swimming to me with nothing but his eyes above 0:21:20.920 --> 0:21:24.399 the water, and a small gap between the water and 0:21:24.480 --> 0:21:27.600 the top of that tunnel, and when he poked his 0:21:27.680 --> 0:21:29.639 head out from underneath the edge of that bank, I 0:21:29.680 --> 0:21:31.840 grabbed his collar and pulled him up on the bank 0:21:31.880 --> 0:21:36.000 beside me. My friend David McDaniel's got a picture of it, 0:21:36.520 --> 0:21:38.639 and I'll share it so you can see it on 0:21:38.680 --> 0:21:42.480 my Instagram. Good night, nurse. I was glad to see 0:21:42.520 --> 0:21:47.200 that dog. I will never forget that feeling of see 0:21:47.240 --> 0:21:49.800 in that set of green glowing eyes sticking up above 0:21:49.840 --> 0:21:53.040 the water like a periscope on a submarine now wailing. 0:21:53.400 --> 0:21:55.320 He was just as happy and proud to be there 0:21:55.320 --> 0:21:58.080 and treated it like it was just another tree coon, 0:21:58.560 --> 0:22:01.959 and to him, I suppose it was. I turned him 0:22:02.000 --> 0:22:05.119 loose from that spot after I bout petted all the 0:22:05.119 --> 0:22:08.399 hair off of him, and we hunted on through the 0:22:08.520 --> 0:22:11.359 night with my friends and all the other dogs. But 0:22:11.440 --> 0:22:14.600 my mind kept going back to that moment that I 0:22:14.640 --> 0:22:18.119 thought all hope was lost and that he was lost. 0:22:20.240 --> 0:22:22.840 I still think about it, and it's a good lesson 0:22:22.880 --> 0:22:26.000 for me. I'm telling you this story now, and that 0:22:26.080 --> 0:22:29.320 old coon dog I thought I'd lost forever is laying 0:22:29.359 --> 0:22:34.320 at my feet, sound asleep. He's a living, breathing and 0:22:34.520 --> 0:22:37.960 loving example that all is never lost. And with the 0:22:38.000 --> 0:22:41.800 little faith you can see the light in the darkest 0:22:41.800 --> 0:22:49.840 of tones. I thank you so much for listening, and 0:22:49.960 --> 0:22:52.400 I really appreciate the time you give me each week 0:22:52.400 --> 0:22:55.800 to talk about this country life of mine. It's a 0:22:55.840 --> 0:22:58.159