A Hunter Fighting for his Life

I closed the door and removed the leashes from the dogs. Soon the trailer was full of the smell of bacon and coffee. I turned the eggs as the toast popped up, and in strolled my hunting partner ready for breakfast. I am the early riser of the hunting party. I always have been. He and I ate quickly as our dogs devoured their breakfast.  

As we loaded up to head out to the marsh on day 3 of our November Kansas duck hunt. We knew we were forced out of our “honey hole” by the new wind direction. The south wind also can affect both the numbers and species of birds you see that day. One of the things that I love about hunting Kansas is that you can encounter altogether different species from one day to the next. The anticipation of what the day will bring adds excitement to the morning. As the fairly stiff breeze rolled down the drive, I noticed the familiar dusty air that I associate with the dry Jayhawk state. The night air is clear and the stars are visible due to the absence of ambient light from the ground. Only the “Super Moon” interferes with their brilliance. The light from the close full moon almost negated the need for flashlights.

The last items to load were our furry companions. My yellow Lab, Gunner, enjoys the company of other dogs. His father, Hunter accompanied us that day. The two of them shared the back seat of my Expedition laying on the wool doggy blanket.

They travel well, and hate to be left behind! Gunner absolutely loves to retrieve, even though he is starting to become arthritic. He has been getting shots by the vet, and we switched to glucosamine supplement dog food. I have anti-inflammatory medicine for him as well.  Hunter is closing in on twelve years, but will occasionally use that keen nose of his to find a downed bird.

We launched our crew on schedule and set up with the wind at our back. We were in a new area where the marsh grass was both thick and tall. It seemed like a perfect place to hide. The problem came with the fifth bird of the morning. I shot a gadwall that drifted right and crashed into the marsh grass instead of the open water where the blocks were set. The first birds splashed in the decoys which made for an easy retrieve for Gunner. To retrieve this gadwall we had to move the boat, so I fired up the four stroke Mercury and away we went. Upon arriving in line with where the bird fell, I got out of the boat and called Gunner to join me. He promptly joined me with a “belly smacker” and the hunt was on. Meanwhile Randy was encouraging Hunter to join the quest. The stench of the swamp was no surprise, but the water depth was. I am six foot five, and the water was up to my navel. It did not challenge the top of my 5 mm chest waders, but it did slow me down a bit. Needless to say, the two dogs were unable to touch bottom. I searched for the bird with my eyes, but was more hopeful that the Labradors’ nose would win the day. There was an open water pocket, but beyond that the grass got thicker and thicker. I noticed the dogs were tiring from swimming and fighting the grass. I called to them and blew my whistle. Gunner came but the older dog was making a bee line into the grass. I hollered, called and whistled, but he would not change course. “Perhaps he has the scent of that duck!” I thought. So I followed him, but he disappeared. I whistled and called, but nothing. I decided to get Gunner back to the boat. “Call your dog”, I said to Randy. “He won’t come!” Randy pleaded, “His hearing is about gone! Blow your whistle!” I helped Gunner in the boat and headed where I had last seen the dog. Randy drove the boat through open water around to the back side. The grass got so thick I had difficulty forcing my way through. Hollering and whistling all the way, I finally punched through to open water. I walked 150 yards trying to get the attention of the elderly retriever!  I heard Randy making noise as he rounded the corner in the boat. “I can’t find him! What are we going to do?” I pleaded with Randy. It had been nearly 30 minutes since I had last seen him. “He’s probably dead! There’s no telling where is in here!” The thought of that sickened me. I told Randy that I was going back in the way I came out, and he should go around the other way.

I found the path that I made through the grass. It was easy to spot as the grass was so dense there. I decided that I was going to have to use my ears more this time, since I could not see very far through the grass. I walked about twenty feet and called out. I heard a loud splash. I walked out to open water and here came Gunner. He was swimming and whining. He had a worried look on his face. I didn’t know if he was upset about the missing chocolate lab or if he thought I was in distress. I put him back in the boat, and started out again. I walked thirty feet in this time, called out, whistled and listened. Now I prayed, “Lord please help us find this dog!” I walked twenty feet, called out, whistled and listened. I walked about 30 feet, realizing that I had a lot of swamp to cover. “How far could he have gone?” I said to myself. I moved again, stopped and called out. My heart nearly jumped into my throat when I heard two splashes that sounded just like a dog’s front paws on the water. I immediately plowed through the grass like a charging rhino! I headed toward the sound, but I couldn’t see very far so I stopped when I guessed I was close. I heard a whimper and I moved to the sound and there he was! The poor guy was exhausted! He was standing using the thick grass to hold his head and shoulders out of the water. Hunter was as glad to see me as I was to see him. I put my arm around him to hold him up, and I called Randy on my cell. Randy didn’t answer, but he must have guessed why I called. He came motoring along yelling, “Did you find him?” “I had tears in my eyes when I said, “Yes!” I was so full of emotion, excitement and relief it’s hard to describe. When I got him to the boat I was so pumped with adrenaline that I picked up the 100 pound Lab and put him in the boat like a sack of flour. Randy thanked me for finding his dog. I told him that I was not leaving that swamp without him! I knew he was a fighter!