Stella Is Not A Hunter

The bloodhound breed is used for different kinds of tracking. Some are trained to track missing people, criminals attempting to get away or finding deer that have been shot and need to be retrieved. In Stella's case she would never be able to walk with deer hunters and help them find their deer ... because she fears the sound of gunshots.



It was another morning with cool temps, no mosquitoes and  zero humidity. I was undecided how much freedom to give Stella. I didn't want to put her on a leash but I didn't want to leave her behind, giving her a chance to escape again.

Then for a short time I changed my mind and let her hang back. It was at this point that old  definition of insanity whispered in my ear ... "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results" ... I decided to walk back to Stella and 'herd' her in our direction.

As I called her name, walking toward her, she did not move nor did she acknowledge my calling. That was a sure sign she was feeling like her old self today.

With a gentle tug of her collar she broke into  trot leaving me behind and ran right past Sadie. I glanced to my left to see if Sadie was looking at the large yellow field cat but I saw nothing on the horizon. Then I remember it's the ears that makes her look at invisible things ... it's what she hears, not what she sees.

It sure did look like the field had been mashed down again my ATV traffic. This field may look green but I classify it as a fire hazard because the weeds and grass "crunch" under each step I take. Speaking of ATV's, I met one of the riders yesterday afternoon on our late walk. He was the responsible rider and not those I saw racing a few weeks ago. I'll talk more about him at the end of this post because he has some valuable information about the field area and deer.

In the past these two hounds would have been running toward the "far right corner", the entry way for deer to come out of the gully into the field. Recently they are not interested in the "far right corner" but a certain spot that has fresh deer scat. They know I am coming up behind them so they don't have a lot of time to get some of their favorite 'natural protein' before I move them along.

There is enough that both hounds are willing to share. There has never been a hound fight over scat, kibble, pizza, chips or bones.

With only a verbal command of "come on" both hounds moved along the path. I scanned the horizon as I walk but did not see any deer this morning.

Stella thought she might lag back and sniff the area ... that is until she heard a gun shot off in the distance. Based on my estimate the shooter was nowhere close to us and not even in the next field over. Yet, Stella didn't hesitate to run away from that sound and walk next to my left side.

Since she has reacted like this in the past whenever she hears a gun shot, I am pretty sure, as the blog post title states ... "Stella Is Not A Hunter".

As we continued walking, she thought it might be safe enough to wander a little bit.

That lasted only until the next sound of gun shots. This time she was running a little faster and zipped right by me and headed along the path home.

Of course there are more spots of scat to check out so they don't have a lot of time before I catch up to them and get them to stop.

Even mentioning "milk bone" barely made them move.

We are going to try to cut hound toenails again today. Saturday, Heidi and Stella were very cooperative and let me cut theirs. They each had a treat after I was finished. Sadie had other ideas and decided sprinting around the yard so I could not catch her was the best option. Consequently she was passed by for the milk bone I had in my pocket.

Based on the sounds I hear at night with my bedroom windows open and usually after 1am ... I'd love to have a field camera mounted somewhere. What I cannot see, the hounds can smell the next day.

Not much is planned today outside the normal Monday. We will get some walks in, lunch will be served and we will keep an eye out for that possible afternoon thunderstorm. It will not be anything like what has taken place in SE Texas. I cannot even imagine what those people are going through.

While writing this post, both bloodhounds lay by my desk chair in a deep sleep ... Sadie snoring. Heidi is out in the living room sleeping until lunch is served around noon. They can fall asleep so quick after they are fed or after they have had a walk.

Usually I am at the corner of the house looking back at them in the field calling them to come inside. Today was different, they were standing at the door while I walked into the carport. Different week ... different routine.

This top layer of my burn pile are the tree limbs the local utility company cut earlier in the month. Below those dead leaves and Sycamore limbs are the small saplings I but from the driveway bank last April. That ragweed will dry out by November and all of that should combine for a large bonfire. I'll be standing with a garden hose that is turned on to prevent any fire moving into the woods.

Yesterday afternoon as the hounds and I approached the first turn of the walk , the rider of an ATV waved from a distance. Heidi was way back in the field with no plans to catch up to us. Stella was on the 25' retractable leash ... and Sadie sprinted as fast as she could toward the ATV. The young rider had stopped and turned off the ATV before Sadie arrived.

He was NOT one of the past ATVer's from a few weeks ago that was tearing up the field and going too fast for being helmetless. He was an 8th grader and a neighbor, 7 or 8 houses down the highway from mine towards town. He was very knowledgeable not only about the field, but the local deer traffic, buzzards, the lack of rabbits and that large yellow field cat.

He has some field cameras mounted in hidden spots in the back corner of the field, the path behind the woods to the north. He said a few times those cameras have picked up Sadie and Stella running either after deer or toward those woods that I blog about. We compared noted on deer traffic and came up with the same answers.

The mysterious large yellow cat belongs to their family ... it ran off a few years ago once the Australian Shepard arrived at their house as a puppy. They have never been able to catch it since but leave food out for it. He confirmed that most of the time the large cat lives in the woods behind my next door neighbor's house.

What was very interesting was what he said about those 'strange' animal sounds I hear at night. His camera photo'd what he thought was a mountain lion or cougar. A farmer behind my house in a couple of fields over told him it was a mountain lion that not only he but the sheriffs are trying to catch. I guess I'll have to flash that flashlight a little sooner at night before Sadie takes her last trip of the night outside before going to bed.

He also said he knows there are at least 3 cats that 'control' this field and are the reason for the lack of rabbits in the field.

So a lot of good information during our long conversation. I didn't plan being away from Heidi that long but by the time I got back to the house, I saw she was sitting in the shaded part of the yard .... wagging her tail as I got closer to the house.

It's hard to believe that August is almost over here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.