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Member Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 57 Location: Newport.OR

I recently moved to Oregon from Michigan. I had to have shoulder surgery on Oct.2 and figured that hunting was out of the question for this season. Didn't know much about options for pheasants/ducks near the central coast of Oregon either. As it turned out the surgery was less severe than expected and there is a put/take type of pheasant hunting near Corvalis,OR, a bit more that an hour away. The shoulder felt well enough to try a trip afield and so I loaded my 9.5 year old lab and Citori into the truck and left. Willow was in good shape from chasing balls thrown into the surf and I have always kept his weight appropriate. October 20th is the traditional opener in Michigan so everything seems almost perfect. Willow was so excited for the first hunt of the season. He wondered why I was so slow getting the coat on and the gun out and loaded. We hunted for 3 hours that morning and never moved a bird. He worked flawlessly and we hardly shared a word beyond the frequent reminder of how much I was enjoying the day with my best partner and how special a day it was for him and I. We broke for an hour and a half to rest after water and a handful of dry food. We headed out for one more hour. About forty minutes later, Willow finally moved a bird out of those blessed blackberries morasses. The bird ran and Willow took chase.They disappeared into the tall grass and the rooster flew. It offered but a quick shot and I passed as I couldn't see the dog. I cut a diagonal track to meet up with Willow and couldn't see him. Calls on the whistle failed to bring him. Calling his name produced nothing. I returned to the last place I had seen him and an awful feeling came across me. I took two mores steps and there lay my Willow, crumpled and still. My attempts at CPR failed as did my hopes that I would be able to do anything to help my beloved partner. It is a feeling of helplessness that I had never felt. Sitting there cradling him I was never more alone. Even now I wipe away the tears. He had replaced my father, my hunting partner for 35 years, as Alzhiemers set in. Willow had melted everyone's heart and no one was ever able to avoid loving him. I've now lost another hunting partner and the grief is monumental. Hug your dogs and even those 2 legged partners. Finding those companions that fit just right is not easy. The times we share with them in the woods and fields and marshes are the real joys of hunting and all too soon they end. Goodbye my Willow, I will hail you every time I step into a field again. Crying or Very sad

My eyes teared up as I read your post. You have my most sincere sympathy. It is cruel that our dogs' lives are so much shorter than ours. If it is any solace, at least he died doing what he loved. May the memories of your times shared together keep your heart warm forever.

Member Joined: 20 Mar 2005 Posts: 1522 Location: NH

spunky16,

My condolences go out to you. I just spent a wonderful day in the field with my 2 Drahthaars chasing pheasants. I can't imagine the feelings you had on that tragic day.
At least he went doing what he loved, hunting and pleasing his partner. Crying or Very sad

Thanks for sharing. I'm sure he'll be missed for years to come. And I hope you father, if he's still alive, is doing as well as can be with that dreaded disease. Alzheimer's took my grandmother from us years before her body finally gave up.

Guest

Damn! What to say......I think if we could peek inside a dog's mind, we would see (as the previous posts have pointed out) that your friend left with the best final adventure he could have wished for, with you, tracking down that last elusive bird. Condolences to you and hopes that you will find a new partner sometime in the future, not as any kind of replacement, but to carry on with all that you and Willow learned along the way.

From a fellow former Michigander

Sorry to hear about a good dog passing. Sounds as though Willow enjoyed a good Dog's life. And, like you & others have said. He passed, doing what he loved. Never forget that! It's tough to loose a good dog, or family member. I don't think you can ever find a 'replacement', only add another member to the family. God bless.

A few years back, I lived in Gresham, OR. Lived there for 7 years. It is a beautifull state. Someday, when you hunt with another partner, you might think of visiting the wheat fields, East of the Gorge, near the Dalles.

*Last edited by brdhnt on Mon Feb 28, 2011 5:37 am; edited 1 time in total*

Spunky,

You have my sincere condolences. As others have said though, Willow went doing what he loved, chasing birds. That doesn't fill the empty spaces in our hearts though. I posted on this board when I had to put down a companion of 13 seasons on 31 December of last year. I have to keep wiping my eyes as I type this when I think of Willow, Dee Dee and all of the great four legged friends that honor us with their love during their too short lives. They are so special and have such a unique place in our lives and hearts.

You have my hearfelt sympathies but I know that another dog won't replace Willow in your heart, but will fill it with it's own unique love and fill those empty places.

Terry
________
Gm lt engine history

*Last edited by revdocdrew on Tue Oct 31, 2006 9:15 am; edited 1 time in total*

I'm so sorry. This thread might be of some comfort to you:
http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=76246&sid=62179dff9a82f14659dc3527663131a2

In a year (or two) you'll be able to look at pics of your pup and smile with the tears.

Joined: 31 Oct 2006 Posts: 10 Location: Isanti, MN.

Just became a member(in part so that I could send this post), and I am a computer neophyte and have never posted anything before. I felt an empathetic need to to tell you that I know the pain and loss you are feeling.

I had an almost exactly similar experience with my setter(I still grieve) two years ago. The only difference was he didn't die on the hunt , just went down with a stroke. I had to put him down the next day. I've been through two divorces and almost terminal throat cancer, but having to do that was the hardest day of my life.

He was the best hunting partner I ever had and I will miss him always. Thinking of him is always bitter sweet, but remembering him working and how much he loved it, never fails to bring a smile to my face and heart.

The old adage that time will dim the pain and enhance the joy is basically true, at least for me.

Thank you for sharing your story/pain and giving me a chance to share mine.

Member Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Posts: 398 Location: S Fl

Very sad.
Perhaps it's some small consolation that he went out doing what he loved most.

I know it seems bleak now, but things will improve with time.

Pete

It's good that you came here. You're among friends; we all grieve with you. We hope for brighter days ahead, when the memories of Willow bring fondness, and not so much pain. God bless..

Fin

Member Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 57 Location: Newport.OR

I'd like to thank each of you for your kind words for me and Willow. In visiting this site for a bit more than a year I have come to recognize many of your by-lines. I enjoyed the sharing and the banter that was typical of each thread.I thought that my writing to the forum would provide me a cathartic outlet. That it has certainly done. There is comfort when your audience has experiences in common with you. I have lost and buried my animals before and each loss hurt. Willow turned out to be a bit different, a bit more. Maybe because he left so quickly. But I suspect that it has to do with my increasing age and greater appreciation for the tentativeness of life. How such a vital energy can totally disappear in 5 seconds is difficult for me to comprehend.We all know grief by the time we reach any appreciable age and then we accumulate more and more. Thankfully, I know that Willow's love for me and my wife was not wasted. We knew what we had everyday. Thank you all for your help.

I am sorry for your loss. I feel your pain and sorrow I like dogs more than people. When the pain starts to ease try thinking about how great it was to have know him and how much it enriched your life. We need to relize the blessing we received from the time spent with our dogs. Its a time to smile and celebrate his life and the value he added to yours. Take your time adjusting to your loss then go out and enrich your life even more and give a new pup the life they all dream about. His goal in life was to hunt and make you happy. So crack a smile and laugh once in a while when your thoughts drift to fall days and loyal companions.

Some folks wonder how a human and a dog, two different species, can become so attached to each other. I think of all the dog lovers in the world, bird hunters and perhaps shepards understand this the most. We birders form a tight and interdependant bond with our dogs that defies explanation and, really needs none.

I know how you feel. I lost my Hiedi dog last spring to old age. I am like a ship without a rudder this year. I've been out a few times to hunt, but its not the same. I just don't really care much to go. I guess I'm still grieving.

I also know the best cure is to get another dog. However, I'm getting older too. The last thing I want is to leave an old bird dog without a partner. I doubt there is anything so alone in the world as an an old dog without his best friend to share those last years together after giving his best and earning his place by the fire and a full bowl for life.

I would like another German Short Hair like Hiedi. She was a superb bird dog. Every time I hunt over other folks' dogs, this fact becomes more and more clear. She was not flashy or stylish. She was just plain smart, and thorough. She missed nothing and had an inate sense about birds few dogs ever develop to the same degree. She left nothing to chance, and no bird unfound. She simply had no quit in her.

However I think keeping up with a young GSP might be beyond me now. They are very strong, very fast, and many are bred to hunt wide. Keeping up in broken cover can be a challange. I usta could. Doubt it now. And its not fair to the dog to break the spirit and the style thats bred into them. It can ruin a dog.

I'm thinking about a pair of small Brittanies. I've hunted over them too. they are happy, friendly little dogs that have a lot of heart, a desire to please, shorter legs, and the ones around here are bred to hunt close and thorough, like Hiedi as she matured.

However, there is not another dog alive who can replace Hiedi. She was a once in a lifetime dog. I'm just glad I was young enough to share every hunt we had to the fulllest, every minute, every mile. I know how you ache. I do too.

Spunky, I am so sorry for your loss. It sounds like Willow was a great dog and companion. I lost my favorite dog last year and it still tugs at my heart. Having to take him, as he was suffering so, to the vet to be put down really tore me up. If there is a bright side to your loss, it is that Willow died doing what he loved the most, and you didn't have to take that one long last ride with him.

Hc