Kipling too was right when he wrote , “ I bid you beware of giving your heart to a dog to tear .”
And on a lighter note , to quote an e-mail I received not so long ago , entitled “ Who Is Your best Friend ?”
It went : - “ This really works ! If you don ’ t believe it , just try this experiment . Put your dog and your partner in the boot of the car for an hour . When you open the trunk , which one is really happy to see you ?!”
A dog is invaluable for tracking a wounded animal or even one hardhit with a lung or heart shot that might run 50 metres or more before collapsing dead . In winter 2016 , my friend Ray and I , along with Jive and Ray ’ s young dog , went for a hunt up a favoured gully . The stream forked and just before the junction , a hind and youngster appeared above us , standing and staring down at us . I contemplated a photo but the uneasy deer didn ’ t hang around for that .
We moved on and climbed the centre spur above the forks , at first through bush for a hundred metres
or so and then out into open grass . After just a couple of hundred metres Jive scented the breeze with sustained eagerness .
Jive loved fishing too
“… beware of giving your heart to a dog to tear .” – Kipling
“ There could be something just ahead ,” I whispered to Ray . “ You go first , and be ready just in case it ’ s a good stag .”
Ray and the stag Jive tracked ( but that ’ s his dog behind , muscling in on the action !)
NZ Hunting & Wildlife 196 - Autumn 2017 35