An old dog's last hunt

[netcoyote]

Finally got my old English Setter out for his last hunt a few weeks ago. I thought his hunting days were over a few years ago when he blew out a tendon in his rear leg. He missed two seasons because of that and I was tentative about fielding him again but he was appearing to be back in excellent condition, other than getting slightly shorter on breath.

Before his injury we hunted every year extensively since 2004 down around Mt. Adams and several places in the Okanogan, our favorite was around Loup Loup. With all the fires around the Loup, and limited access to Mt. Adams, I decided to at least check out the Loup one more time and visit our old haunts and then head over to Eightmile.

It was sad to see so many of the areas we used to hunt now just blackened sticks. We found one area down the 41 road and managed to kick up a few birds but it was very few.

We then headed over to Eightmile and I got him up to the Lamb Butte ridge for his last hunt. I didn't want to field him for more than a half to one hour because he would get so winded. He wanted to hunt like when he was a pup but his lungs just couldn't keep up. He is also hard of hearing and his sight is fading. He would follow had commands if I could get his attention, so I had to work to keep him in sight range.

At one point when we were almost back to the truck, I kicked up a few birds and realized he was off somewhere else. I whistled and beeped his collar but couldn't hear the beeper. After a few minutes I was starting to get concerned and started to question my judgement for fielding him. After a few minutes that seemed like way too much time, I could hear him heading my way bashing through the brush. He was panting so hard when he got to me that I knew I just couldn't let him on his own again. He seemed happy and excited but very tired. Our day was done and so was his hunting career.

Thought I'd add a few pics from the day:

[Birdguy]

Tough times but great memories! Good for you and him getting out one more time and real nice work keeping the focus on him and his limitations. Thanks for sharing it with us.

[tlbradford]

Those last hunts are the toughest.  I remember the look of sadness in my pups eyes when he looked up at me and couldn't go any further.  Being a loyal dog it seemed like he almost was apologizing for not being able to hunt.  I am glad you got out to enjoy the country.

[Curly]

Thanks for sharing, Net.  Great story and pics! 

Love the pic with him on his pad.

[Goex2Fwithroundball]

Thank you for sharing!

I hope he gets to enjoy his remaining years on a soft pad near a warm fireplace.

[87Ford]

Nice post and pictures.  Thanks for sharing his last hunt with us..

[Don Fischer]

Good for him. I retired my old shorthair, Hannah, when she was 13yrs old. Had one last hunt with her then and she became a house pet. She lived three more years. But that last hunt was special. We had a bunch of dog's with us and the only one to get birds was hannah, got a limit of pheasant and limit of huns. There will never be another like her!

[pianoman9701]

Thanks for sharing such a personal part of your and his life with us. 

[10Key]

Great story and even a better looking dog

[Dead-Eye]

You've got a beautiful dog there, and a good old friend.  Looks like he's had a wonderful life. You have to have a dog his whole life to really know how important that last outing is. It's like getting his soul ready for the next thing. Our old lab passed away probably three or four years ago, but we still talk about that last long walk we took him on. I had to pick him up and carry him the last few hundred yards, but he gave it everything he had and made it that far. We did the rest together.

I wouldn't trade that memory for anything. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

[netcoyote]

He's retired now but probably dreaming of those great days in the field.

[h20hunter]

You gave him a respectable last hunt. We all should be so lucky.

[Skyvalhunter]

A good master you are to your partner. Were you able to do anything for his rear tendon blow out while he was out of commission?

[netcoyote]

A good master you are to your partner. Were you able to do anything for his rear tendon blow out while he was out of commission?

Absolutely. This is not an injury a dog can recover from without surgery. There are several surgical procedures, some have been used for many years and some newer (more expensive). I chose the older technique which basically replaces the tendons with monofiliment line. We had another dog that blew out both rear legs and had that procedure done and he recovered well.
This dog got injured several years ago in the spring while we were training. We missed that year of hunting and I was concerned about fielding him the following year but he seemed to be fully recovered so I waited another season and  took him out on the next year, we basically missed two hunting seasons. That's a lot for a dog.

[Mark251]

Great story...so tough to see our dogs age.  Thanks for sharing it with us.