Originally Posted by AZMike
Too much money and emotion are tied up in pets, bird dogs.
My oldest had a fine German Wirehair, about 5 years old--he took him to the vet with a mobility problem and didn't bring him home.
Another son had a fine Pointer pup around 9 months old, a grass awn entered her nose and ended up in her lungs--you guessed it dead with an infection. A buddy had a fine Setter pup running in the woods until a branch speared her in the chest! These accidents are tragic but the financial loss and emotional trauma adds up to be a big deal. Working dogs have always been tools for sport, their useful lives are finite and fairly fragile. Invest emotion in your family not your animals, this isn't a Disney movie!

One of the lessons life teaches you is that change is constant and loss never really ends. I hate losing my bird dogs, I am extremely attached to them but also understand the cycle of life just as any hunter does. I am not willing to forego that bond and connection to my dogs in order to avoid the pain of loss. The financial part? As the old saying goes, I spent all my money on fine guns, bird dogs and hunting trips, the rest I just wasted.

Firearms imports, consignments


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