By Glen Wunderlich

Charter Member Professional Outdoor Media Association

Joe has been my friend since the mid-‘80s and we’ve shared many outdoor adventures together.  After checking with him earlier this past week, I learned that he had been down with “the” flu all week but was already getting over the related ill effects.  Then, on Friday he called to say he felt 100 percent and was ready to get in on some whitetail rut activity.

Along with Joe came his new bride, Diane, and his yet-untested blue tick hound, Junior.  I’m always happy to play games with the dog in our garage in an attempt to take his mind off of his owner’s departure to parts unknown.  It’s a very important job, because I certainly don’t want Junior to perform his sniffing duties too early or he could spoil the whole hunting session.

Here’s a recent case in point.  Joe had brought Junior over last week for potential tracking duties.  Typically, when Joe leaves for the long walk, we close the doors and dog sit.  But, Junior has become quite attached to his owner and tends to sulk at the door – an insurmountable obstacle to finding his master.

Junior has learned to retrieve almost anything and I have a supply of Kong balls that I bat downrange for him.  To get him in the mood this afternoon, I took him to the stash of balls and pulled one off the storage rod.  However, before I could smack one into the outfield, Junior put his nose to the ground and followed it furiously out of sight; he refused to mind my commands to stop.  Sure enough, Junior was at the base of Joe’s tree before he could pull his bow up!  The happy hound knew how to follow his nose and was unceremoniously returned to my care.

On this eve of Halloween, I now kept a close eye on Junior and had him retrieving pieces of cheese I was hiding in the garage.  It was big fun for both of us.  And, then over the two-way radio came Joe’s shaky voice:  “I got one down.”

This was to be Junior’s first deer tracking adventure.  We planned to leash him for sniffing responsibilities, even if we knew where a fallen deer had succumbed and that’s what was about to happen under Joe’s control.  Loaded with our field-dressing kit and one unsuspecting hound, we drove to the hunt area where Junior would cut the blood trail.

I did my best to back pedal ahead of the frantic canine with my camera in movie mode and a flashlight in the other hand.  Junior was on a mission and the tug of war commenced at a fast, unyielding pace.  The blood drove him crazy, as he dragged Joe along for the ride and passed me in short order on a direct course to the prize.

The long-awaited challenge had been answered.  Heck, this seemed easier than finding morsels of hidden cheese.

Back at the garage, we hung the massive 7-point adult buck under the close supervision of our successful tracking dog.  There remains no question about Junior’s eagerness or ability and I’m looking forward to the next exciting adventure.