We started out for our walk around 10:40 this morning.
Just as we entered the field I heard my walking buddy, up in the woods, “Wooo, Wooo.”
This is the sound she makes when she calls Brady. So we turned around and headed up the hill.
“Go Sampson, go find Sheila.” I said, and Sampson took off into the woods.
Delilah and I met up with Sampson and Sheila a few minutes later, she was on the hunt for Brady, “He doesn’t have his collar on” she stated flatly.
Sheila has an e-collar for Brady and she had the remote in her hand.
“Does he have his regular collar?” I questioned.
“No.”
“Oh Sheila!” I was surprised.
“The hunters gutted a deer back in woods and he got into it, I took off his collar so I could wash the blood off it.”
By this time we were both calling for Brady and had reached the crest of the hill.
Sheila said she was going home to check and to see if Brady had gone home.
“Let me know if he’s there, in the meantime I’ll keep calling him,” were my parting words.
A few minutes later my cell phone rang with the news that Brady was indeed waiting for Sheila at home. What a great relief! Sampson, Delilah and I continued our walk which was fairly uneventful until the end.
As we approached the field I checked to make sure no-one was there before dropping Delilah’s leash. She took off running.
Once I arrived at the field I called the dogs to me, Sampson came right away, but Delilah had found something she thought was edible.
“DUH-LIE-LAH, DROP IT!” I shouted as I raced towards her.
She knew she was had, and started walking towards me, but she was still chewing.
What is it when our dogs are eating something they aren’t supposed to, that makes all our dog managing skills go out the window? As I approached her I made a grab for her head, and with my hand on the back of her neck I am giving her little shakes, the whole time screaming “Drop it.” “Leave it.” “Drop it.” “Leave it!”
Then I heard the crunch and what little bit of my mind remained, left me completely.
I shoved my hand in her mouth.
What is it about our dogs eating something they shouldn’t that makes us lose all fear of what we might actually pull out of their mouth?
Yeah I got it, about 4 inches of bone, meat and blood.
I took once glance and flung it away from me, wiping my hand on my pants.
Oh God I thought, I just pulled a freakin dead mouse out of her mouth.
I took about five steps forward and then I saw it.
It looks like ribs to me. Size wise, it is about 10 inches, sitting out there in the middle of the field. If I’d had a plastic shopping bag with me I would have picked it up, but I didn’t.
Don’t you think someone who is hunting near a public area has some type of responsibility regarding their kill?
Oh my word! I really do not know what to say. I am speechless! I understand that notion of a moment when all sense runs from us as we reach into our pups’ mouths knowing they are consuming something horrible, yet unable to stop just because we know it is gross. We have to get it out of their mouths. Right then! I can not imagine what you felt or thought when you saw this. This truly shocks me. (And apparently I am not speechless. )
LOL at you not being speechless. What I can’t believe is this guy lives right next to the woods, he knows there are coyotes in there, 1) why is he gutting the deer right in the woods 2) why would he leave remains that would attract coyotes? Not to mention people walk their dogs and children up there!
I’m going to call the state dept that governs hunting and ask them what the protocol is.
Delilah is an awfully good girl. Not every dog would tolerate having such a great trophy taken out of her mouth.
Hope you don’t find any more surprises during hunting season.
LOL Pamela, had I known that is what it was I might have let her keep it. The unknown is what had me worried. 🙂
No matter how civilized our dogs are to please us, they are still barbaric little animals. My dogs discovered a rotting walrus once. Two hours in the car with the smell of rotting walrus…
Ewwww, that’s gross!! I don’t think I could have stood it!
It was a real test of my love for them. And the worst part is that they were so proud of themselves, finally smelling like REAL dogs instead of sissy house dogs. They wouldn’t even pretend to do the guilt thing.
I am happy to hear that Delilah is okay and you managed to get that thing out of her mouth. She could have choked. Unfortunately, some people are irresponsible and unfortunately they never seem to be the ones that suffer from their behaviour. Tall person has pulled several things out of my mouth that I’ve picked up on our walks.
At first I didn’t know what it was, but then I was upset that people would leave something like that in an area so easily accessible to wildlife in the area!
I wish we could explain to you why you shouldn’t be picking these things up in your mouth. 🙂
Reblogged this on inspiredweightloss.
Thank you.
Thank you!
We pull stuff out of our dogs’ mouths all of the time. Have since they were small. Mostly sticks and mulch though. 🙂
I don’t think a hunter would leave ribs out in the woods. That would be part they would take for butchering.
I would think so too, but I can think of no other explanation. 🙁
So the 2 Brown Dawgs like sticks and mulch? Is that because they are hunters? I don’t know how I would get a duck out of Delilah’s mouth…..so I’m thinking because they are trained to drop game they wouldn’t try to eat it?
They eat junk because they are retrievers….lol.
About the bones, it could be that the deer died from other causes, old age, disease, coyotes, hit by a car and the scavengers got to it. The dogs found what was left. Our dogs are always finding bones and other stuff in the woods.
Ugh – how gross. Sorry. And yup, I would’ve done the same thing.
Thanks Donna, I can’t stand when I make mistakes with her, but sometimes in the heat of the moment, I lose my head….:-)
BLUGH. I don’t know what it is, but it’s gross. And yup, I’ve experienced that “Shove hand all the way into the jaws that can crack and devour a thick bone to retrieve yucky thing” moment. Luckily, as long as it’s your own dog, it’s unlikely they’ll use their bone-crunching tactics on your hand 🙂
It’s still gross Lexy! LOL
LOL been there and yup icky but it must be done 🙂
🙂