It has been a couple of years since my dog went out hunting with me. He was eleven when I took the picture below and in a couple of months he will be fourteen. He is the only bird dog I have ever owned. I got him before I had the internet so using two books, Gun Dog by Wolters and Pointing Dogs by Roebuck, I did my best.
He knows he can't go anymore and he doesn't even complain. It is when I get home that he gets to hunt. I take the birds from my game bag and plant them out in the yard for him to find. Then I send him out and he will find and retrieve them until they have all been brought to me. When I come back from hunting he sniffs all around the truck to see what I have brought. While doing my preseason scouting for snipe I usually bring home a couple of soras. This year the water levels have been too high and the first two or three trips I didn't bring anything home. He looked so sad when he realized I didn't bring him anything home to hunt it nearly broke my heart.
I don't know if this will be my last bird dog but my wife and I have talked about the inevitable. I know many of you have been there numerous times. Just thinking about it makes me need to go and give him a hug.
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