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Webb'sNorthCarolina comrnercial huntingfarm,my rvifespotteda -gor-geous tricolor male setternalnedAlbert. He rvas about 55 pounds rvith a golgeous Lervellin head and a black and brorvn patch over one eye. He had long legs.a big chest.small hips and perf'ectf'eathers. The only issuervith hirn rvasthe cast on his left le-9. On a normal day, Bill's dogs lr.rnabouta dozenor so miles. Dnling one hunt.AIbert completelytorc a ligamentin his front leg. In a predicamentthis serious.one that rvouldrequireextensive and expensivesur-qery,a dog might be put dorvn. Fortunately fbr Albert, he r.vasorvned by an extraordinarydog man. and surgerywas An extensiverecovery follorved an exhaustive scheduledimn.rediately. rehabilitation. The entireprocesscost a lot of time. it cost a lot of money,and it took a lot of patience. Albert rvasonly 5. and he still had a lot of life in him. He rvas capableof rvorking terrain and birds. and he had thousandsof bird contacts.rvhichtranslatedinto his being an experienced-cundog. His only limitation rvas that he couldn't run hard for half a day or longer. Six months later rve brought Alber-thorne.He left behind the bicolor lesponttlelt, 'uviregrass and Johnsongrass.and rve exposedhirn to alders.har'vthornsand mountain ash.Albert rvould experiencehis first contactsr.vithruffed grouse and woodcock. It lvould take time fbr him to acclimate to his nerv family and lif'e above the Mason-Dixon line, but he'd fit in fine.And althoughAlbert doesn'tfit the traditional description,he is. in a sense,a rescueddog.
llo0s Rescue Nothing bad r'vouldhave happenedif lve hadn't picked up Albert. He had a good pedigreeand rvould probably have been used as a stud dog. He might have beenhuntedlightly,or he might have beenplaced in anotherbird hunter'shome. Commercialhuntingoperationsmust maintainthe quality of theil kennels.but Bill Webb's integrityand high standardsare admirable.While thereare many sirnilarlyminded trainersand handlersacrossthe nation rvho responsiblyplace aging or injured bird dogs. others are less sensitive. Dogs that aren't lucky enou-ehto be in that kind of good company oftentimes find thernselveskicked to the curb. Some came from outstandingpedigrees.and their ownershad hi-ehhopesfor them as pups. When they don't mature according to plan and the dogs are moved off the varsity team. they tend to be fbrgotten. Physical ailments l.
The Upland Almanac I Summer 2015
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canbe problematicfor otherdogs. Injurieslike Albert's ligamenttear, brokenbonesandotherissues suchaship dysplasia,heartwormandLyme diseasecan put the dog in theunemploymentline. Still otherswho aren't whelpingenoughor of a high-enoughquality to extendthe lineageareviewedasuseless.And therearesocialandenvironmentalissuesto contendwith, too. Hunting lodgesthat go out of businesscanbe a big reasonfor a numberof dogs thatneednew homes.So can the lossof a job, relocation,retirement anddivorce.Therearea lot of reasonsthat ownerscan't afford to keep dogs,andthe list seemsto grow everyday. With the numberof availablehuntingdogson the rise,there thankfullyhasbeenan increasein the numberof groupsdevotedto placingthesedogsin new homes.
Rescue llo00r0anizations Many of the dog rescueorganizationsbeganon eithera local took shape,they or a statelevel.As their proceduresandprocesses expandedinto regionalprograms.The Ohio EnglishSetterRescue (OESR)recentlyunderwentan incredibleexpansionprogftrm.Founded by SusanEnglandin Columbus,Ohio,in 2007,thegroupinitially responded to acquiringandplacingsetterswithin the state. Accordingto currentpresidentShannonBerry,"One of the main reasonsI retumedto humanework a few yearsbackwas becauseof theincrediblegroupof volunteersthat makeup this organizationand theunwaveringdedicationofOESR founderSusanEngland.Susan createda communityof setterloversthat maintaina healthybalanceof savingsettersin needwith a gooddoseof joy andhumorthat works for all involved.When Susanannouncedher retirementlast winter andthe possibilityof this rescuesplittingup into differentdivisions,it became clearto manythat therewastoo much goodhereto let go andthat we neededto keepthis groupgoing." Thanksto increasedsupportersand generousvolunteers,the OESRhasexpandedits reachto includethe GreatLakesregionandbeyond. Of the manybird dog rescueleagues,someof them focuson specificbreeds.GermanShorthairedPointerRescue(GSPRescue) of North Texas,Inc., doing businessasTexasGSPRescue,places abandoned GSPsin safe,lovinghomes.Accordingto its website,"We arenot a shelterandhaveno kennelfacility. Any dog takenin by our programmusthavea fosterhomefor the durationof the dog's stay with us beforeplacementin a permanentadoptivehome.We are 100 percentreliantuponvolunteers,fostersand donors.tosavedogs.As
spaceperrnits,we coverthe entirestateof Texasandare the only GSPRescueworking in Texas.We alsodo our best to coverintakein Oklahoma andLouisianaas thereis no GSPRescuein eitherstate." TexasGSPRescuebeganin Novemberof 2000with the work of DianeHaglerout of Denton,Texas.As Haglerbeganbuilding resources,the GermanShorthairedPointerRescueof North Texas incorporatedand wasrecognizedas a 50I (c)(3) in April of 2003.Since that time the rescuehascontinuedto grow with adopters,volunteers and supporters. "We considerourselvesfortunateto havefound as manyGSP loversin Texasas we have!We currentlyhaveapproximately30 active fosterhomesand20 activeadministrativevolunteers.In 2010,we placed183GSPsin lovinghomes,"Haglersaid. If you're looking to adopta pet from a bird dog rescueleague,it's importantto be surethat you considerwhat you're looking for. The GermanShorthairedPointerRescueNew Englandgroupfocuseson shorthairswithin the six New Englandstatesas well as in easternNew but York. Its coverageis extensive,andits effortsarecommendable, the groupclearlystatesthat the huntingabilitiesof their dogsavailable Bird hunterslooking for bird dogs for placementarenot guaranteed. needto exercisecautionwhen working with rescuedogs,andproper due diligenceis critical to ensurethe right dog is adopted.When speakingwith any agency,be sureto inquire abouttraining,anduse historiesso that your adopteddog is a suitablematch. Thereis a lot morethanjust acquiringandplacingbird dogs.Lisa
BirdDogslo lheRescue Continued onpage 64
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BirdDogslo lheRescue Continued fromoaoe 59
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MyBlys...TheBestof HankandDash This is a one disc compilationof Dez Young's favoritescenesfrom the TV shows"Hunting With Hank", "UplandDays with Dash and Dez", and "Dashin the Uplands"(sameshow, shortertitle). He also includedhisfavorite ,""n", from "Never.ever spoil your birddos!" at the end of the DVD.
SaysDez, "If you enjoyed watching my boys hunting birds acrossthis great country (and beyond),I'm sureyou'll enjoy seeingthem again as they perform theirjob with such great enthusiasmand style." Spakowski'sIllinois Birddog Rescuefocusesa tremendousamountof resources on improvinghealthconditionsprior to placingthedogsin newhomes. "Dogs that havebeenneglectedsufferfrom a varietyof health issues. The mostcommonailmentsaremalnutrition,dehydration, TheArt ot ShootingFlying heartwormandLyme disease,all of which canbe treated.Someof withBryanBilinskiandTomHuggler the dogshavebeenshotwhile othershavetorn ligamentsand broken bones.Theseinjuriesrequireadditionalattentionand morehealing A lessonin the key pointsof "Instinctive time.Oneof our mosthelpfulstudiesinvolvestick-bornedisease Wingshooting",featuringBryan Bilinski, testingandtreatment. By studyingthe ailmentsthatcomefrom ticks, renownedshooting instructor,and Tom we havebeenableto help dogsregaintheir naturalhuntinginstincts. Huggler, well known wingshooting author. Somerehabilitateddogsresumetheir huntingcareerswhile others Dramatic hunting and shootingfootage, moveon to becomefield trialers." state-of-the-artgraphicsand concise SusanRoss,theownerof Merry Oak Kennels,is a little bit instruction - this will make you a better different.The main focusof her kennellocatedin the foothills of the Blue RidgeMountainsis on breedingEnglishsettercoverdogs wingshooter!Leam how proper Stance, that arewell integratedwith family life. One of Ross'sgoalsis to ReadvPosition. Gun Mount and Tarset ensurepureLlewellin setterbloodlinesso that everydog shebreeds Concentrationmerge;how your Gun Fit plays a major role in is FSDB-registered and DNA testedso asto ensurethe continuation success,how to Impact Test your shotgun;how to identify Eye pure In recenttimes,Rosshasreceivednumerouscalls of bloodlines. Dominancy problemsand other shooting concems;why Leading from distressedpeoplewho own huntingdogs.It's sort of the caseof any targetis the natural result of timing and gun momentum; mistakenidentity in that an ownerwas not awareof the nuancesof bird measuringyour shotgunstock and more. dogs."When we get a call from someonewho is overwhelmedby their 2 hoursin length,$29.95 dog, we arerespectfulof their situation.But we neverlook at a dog as damagedgoods.Somemay be injured,othersmay be unwanted,but UplandBirdHuntingwathTomHuggler noneof themare second-class citizens.A numberof the dogsthat come to us arefrom peoplewho didn't think throughhuntingdog ownership. Join renowneduplandbird huntingauthorTom Othersareinjuredand unableto live up to the tasksrequiredof them. Hugglerin this trilogy that will makeyou a In eithercase,the owneris looking to transferout of ownership quailandgrouse! betterhunterof pheasants, responsibility, andthat'swherewe stepin. Threeuplandbird huntingprogramsnow "Our extensivecontactlist ineansthat we areableto matchdogs availableon oneDVD. Learnbird huntingtips, with the right owner.While Merry Oak Kennelsis committedto habitatassessment and huntingtactics.Tom pedigreesand breeds,we neverturn our attentionawayfrom a bird dog alsodiscusses shotgunchoices,loads,chokes, in need." huntingwith and without dogs.Uplandbird It goeswithout sayingthat geneticsandlineagearecritical in hunterseverywherewill benefitfrom viewing findinga bird dog appropriate to your huntingconditions. Finding, this entertainingandeducationalfilm. trainingandhuntinga bird dog coming from an impeccablelineage 153minutesin length.$14.99 areamongthe sweetestmomentsin the sport.WheneverAlbert points a grouseor a woodcock,we celebrate. I believehis pointsaresweeter Toplaceanorder:800-89S-7810 orshopwww.uplandalmanac.com becauseof his history.;d Each copy is autographedby Dez Young. 75 minutesin length. $21,95
The Upland Almanac I Summer 2015