Date: Tue, 13 Sep 2011 19:22:07 +0000
From: Virginia Mary Jacks
Subject: Hunting with dogs
Folks,
If you are sitting on the fence as to whether dogs should be used in hunting or not, or don’t have an opinion, maybe you should have been with me one cool clear morning in Chatham County. When I discovered what I thought to be branches piled at my fence line, my cat starring mysteriously in the direction, all of the sudden the huge rack of antlers rose up out of a bed of dried leaves and the Buck struggled to stand. Had the hunter been a better shot, maybe even had a trained tracking dog with him, I would not have stood in my backyard that morning with my heart in my hands.
NEVER in all my years of rescuing and helping animals did I ever wish I had a gun to put one out of its misery. As I watched this noble creature struggle wounded to find another hiding place to die, all I could do was moan, “OH GOD!!”
In some countries it is illegal to hunt without tracking dogs. We need to wake up to the fact there is more to it than big trucks, big guns, big egos and cute camouflage. This was one buck you would not have wanted to meet head-on at night on the road. Experienced hunters are due our gratitude for thinning the herds as well as training inexperienced hunters to do the right thing and do it well.
As for dogs at Lowe’s. I used to work there. I enjoyed them coming in to say “hello” with their owners. It was neat to have a good reality moment amidst all that noise and busy building stuff. I too have taken my beagle in the carts with me to shop there, ears flapping as we cruised the aisles.. It is because Lowe’s is a family place and some of us think of our dogs as family; I guess and sitting out in a hot car waiting is not an answer. But for the poor soul who has allergies to dogs, you should not even walk through the doors of a Lowe’s store. They would croak at what is in the air there at times in the way of chemical cocktails; if only they knew. Ever seen their air filters or swept their floors. I have.
Maybe we should all find better, more sustainable ways to hunt for food and building materials as well where our dogs can go with us. Perhaps my Native American ancestors had the answers all along.
Virginia JacKs
No Farms=No Food!!