Saying good bye

[da55bums]

after 11 1/2 years of putting up with me but doing almost everything I ever wanted him to do, my dog Rusty has passed. He was still able to do some 150 yrd retrieves on snows and some Canadas in that very picture this last season. He was more alive hunting than any other time in his life.

Tried to get the video of him breakin ice on a retrieve a few years ago.

 

[KansasSooner]

Sorry for your loss. I still remember when my last hunting dog passed away...just haven't been able to get another for fear of it out living me, and I'm not able to hunt like I used to so it wouldn't be fair to the dog.

 

[Gooch1034]

Sorry to hear about Rusty. I am not a hunter but I have a black lab. Such good dogs.

Hang in there!

 

[tnerb57]

Sorry for your loss. The unconditional love of a good dog is like no other love on earth.

 

[beardown07]

Sorry to hear this. I will curl up in the fetal position and suck my thumb when my girl goes...hate to even think of it. My sincerest condolences.

Lovin on my dog as we speak.

 

[NEhomer]

It's just different when it's been your hunting partner. So sorry about Rusty...he was handsome.

My 13 year old Brittany, Lucy, needed a ramp 6 months ago. For the past week I've had to carry her up and down and now she can barely walk. Going to the Vet's with her today for possibly the last time.



....hang in there bums but hey, tell us a story about Rusty.

One time we did a double hunt. Since the geese don't fly till at least an hour after light, we took Lucy out for Pheasants at first light and bagged a brace of birds. Then we hit the goose fields and set up our spread. I drove the truck to the field edge and when I had to leave Lucy in the truck and walk away from it with a shotgun, she started screaming so wildly, you'd have thought her legs were being torn off! I could hear her carrying on yipping and shrieking almost all the way back to the blind. It still cracks me up and I'm sure she's never forgiven me.

 

[da55bums]

One time I actually watched him after a cripple teal, he didn't see the teal but watched how he scented him and follow his path on the water. Never knew a dog could do that on water like they can do it on land.

Saw him chase and more than once catch them as they started to fly off.

His second official retrieve he rolled a Canada Goose and brought it back alive, it was in his mouth like a decoy with the goose's head standing tall.

The retrieve I determined he was smarter than me, in Canada, we dropped a few Canadas. I watched as one sailed behind us in 10 inch grass between the two fields. I sent him to where I saw it go down. I got furious when he just took off to the left 100 yards from where the bird went down, even hit him twice on the collar. As I am looking around the spot where it went down, out of the trees he came prancing with a cripple canada goose. I looked at him then my buddies and said, I give, he knows what he is doing more than I can help him anymore. After then, I got rid of the collar and let him do his thing that he was trained to do. It was rare he didn't find a bird. Training a lab with some upland techniques really gets their nose sharp.

I have had 4 dogs in my life, and he was the most complete package I have ever had. I actually know, I will never be able to train one better than him. It was tough the 1st night not having him in my bed and not waking up to him.

 

[da55bums]

everyone is telling me about their favorite story so I will go with it. Last fall, I tried to leave him in the truck on a goose hunt. He had hunted 4 straight days with some long retrieves and a lot of birds, one of the days in the picture above. We got into them very quick all went up to shoot. As I was getting up to go get birds. Someone yells, "mike, your dog". I look back at the truck and he had sqirmed out the driver side window I left open but couldn't get his hips through it. He was hanging out the window, trying to run with his two front paws but was just hanging there like a deer in a tree. I ran up and got him out of the window. All he did was take off after the birds on the ice like nothing had happened.

 

[KansasSooner]

Good stories. I think all of us who have lost a good bird dog could tell stories all day about them. Bird dogs are a special kind of dog and anyone who has ever had one knows this. I sometimes feel sorry for people who have never had the enjoyment of hunting with such a dog.

 

[Edisto_Tiger]

Sorry, bro.

 

[HammerDown]

Real sorry, man.

For what it's worth, I grew up with an English Springer Spaniel and losing him when I was a teenager was like losing a brother. Will never forget him.

I feel your pain.

 

[R.J. MacReady]

He seemed like a true unconditional friend.

I hope some day you guys are reunited.

 

[SFNL]

Real sorry, man.

For what it's worth, I grew up with an English Springer Spaniel and losing him when I was a teenager was like losing a brother. Will never forget him.

I feel your pain.

Yep. Springer spaniel here, too. Won't ever get another dog out of respect for Sammy.

 

[NEhomer]

I had an English Springer as a teen too. She was my Christmas gift in 1975.

Great stories bums~

 

[HammerDown]

Damian was my Springer. I can tell stories that make Lassie look tame. And they're true.

 

[broncosmitty]

Sorry to hear about your buddy Bums. Never an easy thing.

 

[SFNL]

Any animal that came near the house was destroyed by him. That includes raccoons, groundhogs and skunks not to mention the small offerings that he would bring to the door (he would cradle baby animals in his mouth and bring them back). That fucker even chased deer.

 

[KansasSooner]

I always had Cocker spaniels myself. Did have one Britney though back in the 80s. Just haven't ever found another breed I liked better than Cocker spaniels though, loyal, fun, protective to a fault sometimes, and good quail dogs when trained right. Miss my last two more than anything except my dad.

 

[KansasSooner]

Brittany, stupid spell correct anyway. Leave one letter out and it puts in the wrong word. Jeesh.

 

[mcnabb7542]

Mine was a Chesapeake Bay retriever, 14 yrs together, when he was 11 I retired him, my oldest was just born and I knew my friend wasn't going to be around much longer, I asked him to hang around for a couple of years so the boy could get to know him, he lasted 3 more years, that was the hardest day of my life, just buried my old man, and my dog.


To this day, I haven't gotten another dog.....