We went "Hunting" and Wilson is a "Hunting Dog"

We were “hunting” this morning and Wilson was a “hunting dog.” Sure!

Wilson the Huntn' Dog

My two sons and I spent our morning tromping through a beautiful ice covered conservation area that is near our home in Warren County.  That ought to narrow it down quite a bit as to where we were if you were so inclined to care.  

Wilson is one of the most loving dogs I have ever come across.  He was rescued in southwest Missouri - apparently starved and uncared for.  But, if he was ever overtly abused he is THE most forgiving creature God ever created because the sum total of his perceived purpose for existence is to be around people.  

He has one really annoying habit, and that is being impossible to train to come when called.  I can train dogs.  I am good at it if I do say so myself.  Parenthetically, I am expressly not asking for suggestions on how to accomplish this.  

As a consequence, Wilson rarely is turned loose.  As one of the most suspect wedding presents ever, when my oldest son got married in June, we gave them Wilson.  Miraculously, our son is a long distance runner, and at the end of eleven mile runs Wilson sort of stops pulling on his leash.  That is how much energy he has.

In the woods, if you turn him loose he will return when he is ready - anywhere from five minutes to a half an hour later.  So when we headed out this morning, the question was, do we keep him leashed or let him run.  The decision was - run.

By law, hunting dogs are okay where we were.  Therefore Wilson was a hunting dog today.  One minute we’d hear him a half mile away apparently having treed a squirrel and carrying on like he was going to explode.  Thirty seconds later he’d be back to check on us.  He was the happiest looking dog you’ve ever seen.

His cavorting had the effect of making it most unlikely we would actually encounter a squirrel or rabbit.  We in fact did not.

It was mighty chilly, the truck thermometer read 8 degrees when we started.  My two sons and I had an outstanding experience together, visiting and enjoying the outdoors.  We came home to a warm house and a great Christmas Eve Day, and are now a few minutes from heading off to church.

We wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

Hunter shoots unusually large coyote in Northwest Missouri

Image via Wikipedia

Carroll County deer hunter shot a coyote weighing more than 100 pounds.

JEFFERSON CITY Mo – DNA tests show that a 104-pound canine shot by a hunter in Carroll County Nov. 13 was an unusually large coyote.

The hunter shot the big canine on opening day of Missouri’s November firearms deer season, thinking it was a coyote. Coyotes are legal game during deer season. However, when the hunter saw the animal’s size, he wondered if he had mistakenly shot a wolf. He reported the kill to Conservation Agent Marc Bagley. Bagley took possession of the animal and turned it over to the Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) Resource Science Division for identification.

Resource Scientist Jeff Beringer said the MDC staff took measurements and collected tissue and hair samples for DNA analysis. The test showed the animal was a coyote.

According to Beringer, the coyote was a male approximately 3 years old. It had no tattoos, microchip or evidence of ear tags that would indicate it might have escaped or been released from captivity.

The coyote’s size and the size and shape of its feet were similar to those of a wolf, leading to speculation it could be a coyote-wolf hybrid. Gray wolves, also known as timber wolves, once inhabited northern Missouri but were gone from the state by the late 1800s, due to hunting and habitat loss. Wolves persisted in Minnesota. From there, they dispersed into Wisconsin and Michigan, which now have wolf populations of their own.

The last record of a gray wolf in Missouri was of a young male mistaken for a coyote and killed by a bowhunter in Grundy County in October 2001. A radio collar and ear tag linked that 80-pound wolf to Michigan.

The Wild Mammals of Missouri, the definitive text on Show-Me State mammals, indicates a normal weight range of 18 to 30 pounds for coyotes. However, much larger specimens have been documented in other states.

Wolves are a protected species in Missouri. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the grey wolf is listed as a federally endangered species in the lower 48 states, except in Minnesota and where there are non-essential experimental populations.

Beringer said the MDC has never stocked wolves and has no plans to restore them to Missouri.