{"id":946,"date":"2018-12-31T15:54:54","date_gmt":"2018-12-31T22:54:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.saquailforever.com\/?p=946"},"modified":"2024-01-09T10:49:17","modified_gmt":"2024-01-09T17:49:17","slug":"hunting-among-hazards-by-greg-munther","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saquailforever.com\/dev\/hunting-among-hazards-by-greg-munther\/","title":{"rendered":"Hunting Among Hazards -by Greg Munther"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Hunting among Hazards<\/span><\/p>\n

I knew that the continuous piercing high screams from my nearby German shorthair Oakley meant something serious.\u00a0 Just out of sight over a small rise I closed the distance and saw her chest wide open, with a tear 4 inches by 2 inches.\u00a0 It was soon apparent she had impaled herself on a limb from a broken tree hidden in the tall grass.\u00a0 The hole in her chest revealed her shoulder muscle exposed and I could see the pulsing of her carotid artery.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Nasty Gash on Greg’s Shorthair<\/p><\/div>\n

Just a year and a half old I had been anxious to get her on first Mearns quail.\u00a0 She had successfully pointed one covey that Sunday morning, and she was solid on her second quail point of her short hunting life.\u00a0 I approached her solid point and a hen Mearns exploded to my left which I dropped.\u00a0 She went to the first bird and as she got to that down bird, a cock Mearns exploded to my right.\u00a0 I pivoted to drop that bird.\u00a0 Oakley left the first bird to pursue the second and then she flushed a third bird, which she enthusiastically pursued over the hill.\u00a0 That is when I heard her scream.<\/span><\/p>\n

My options were limited.\u00a0 Hunting solo, I decided to walk her out once it was apparent she was not bleeding extensively.\u00a0 I had forceps and carry a dog carrying pack in my game vest.\u00a0 It was a mile and a half walk to the truck and even at heel she stopped to point twice along the way.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Another pic of Oakley’s wound<\/p><\/div>\n

Sunday is not a good day to find a vet.\u00a0 One vet recommended either the Tucson Emergency Vet Clinic or\u00a0 the Coronado Vet Hospital in Sierra Vista, which stays open until 3 pm on Sundays.\u00a0 It behooves all bird hunters to have phone numbers of nearby vets readily available.\u00a0 The attending vet spent 4.5 hours cleaning debris from the wound and skin trimming and extensive stitches.\u00a0 I am happy to say she is back hunting after only 2.5 weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n

In my 20 winters in southern AZ my dogs have experienced slashes from javalina and pursued quail over a cliff, falling over 20 feet.\u00a0 Our hunting friends have snakebites, bad barbwire cuts and other traumatic injuries.\u00a0 The hazards are always out there.\u00a0 Hindsight is 20-20 and some, but not all, mishaps could have been avoided. \u00a0 Being prepared for the worst is best, and knowing close available vets before something happens may make the difference whether your dog survives or not.<\/span><\/p>\n

Greg Munther is a 20 year snowbird from Montana who pursues Mearns quail and hunts coues deer with his longbow each winter<\/i>.”<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
Lessons\/things to consider:<\/div>\n
Vet phone numbers to carry or put in your phone:<\/div>\n
-Coronado Vet Hospital in Sierra Vista, open 7 days but not 24 hour 520.378.0911<\/div>\n
-Southern AZ Vet Specialty and Emergency Center their Broadway facility in Tucson is 24\/7 520.888.3177<\/div>\n
-Vet Speciality Center of Tucson west Tucson 24\/7 520.795.9955.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Greg used the Coronado facility and was happy with care. \u00a0I have used Vet Spec Center of Tucson and they are very good.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Pet Insurance. \u00a0I have carried pet insurance on my dogs for the last 12 years or so. \u00a0Hunting dogs are at higher risk of injury than your typical pet but the companies do not charge higher premiums for hunting dogs. \u00a0Over the years I have gotten more back from the insurance company than I have paid in premiums. \u00a0There are several companies offering coverage with a lot of options to consider. \u00a0I use Nationwide, my premium is $54 a month which covers wellness care plus injury\/sickness after a $100 annual deductible. \u00a0Do not know if they are the best. \u00a0It is best to insure as young pups so they can’t put a pre existing condition rider on them.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Dog Vests. \u00a0There are several vests on the market that would provide some protection against the injury Greg\u2019s dog sustained. \u00a0Shop and compare – one that is highly recommend by one of our outfitters Mark Nissen is\u00a0https:\/\/www.orvis.com\/p\/cuga-vest\/2r24<\/a>. \u00a0Pick a vest that works for our climate.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Dog carry pack. \u00a0The dog pack that Greg carries is pack-a-paw. \u00a0They are options here also.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
First aid kits. \u00a0One of our guides Matt Russell sells kits at\u00a0https:\/\/doubleaeroguides.com\/1st-aid-k9-kit<\/a>. \u00a0He has previously donated a couple to the chapter for our banquet and I believe we will have one again this year.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Hunting among Hazards I knew that the continuous piercing high screams from my nearby German shorthair Oakley meant something serious.\u00a0 Just out of sight over a small rise I closed the distance and saw her chest wide open, with a tear 4 inches by 2 inches.\u00a0 It was soon apparent she had impaled herself on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2589,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2],"tags":[17,26,33,39],"class_list":["post-946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-updates","tag-dog-first-aid","tag-german-shorthair-pointer","tag-mearns-quail","tag-quail-forever"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saquailforever.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saquailforever.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saquailforever.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saquailforever.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saquailforever.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=946"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/saquailforever.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/946\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2590,"href":"https:\/\/saquailforever.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/946\/revisions\/2590"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saquailforever.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saquailforever.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saquailforever.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saquailforever.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}