Fox Collectors

yes Tom,you are up early. hope you got some sleep.i think a walk in the woods with sophie is good choice. thanks for posting Gracies pics.hang in there friend.

Nice picture of Gracie with a Ruffed Grouse, Tom. They are called Golden Retrievers because that's what they do. How is Sophie at retrieving?
Jim

Jim Cloninger wrote:Nice picture of Gracie with a Ruffed Grouse, Tom. They are called Golden Retrievers because that's what they do. How is Sophie at retrieving?
Jim

Took a while, but has gotten much better as she has gotten older. The good news is she is a good dead or wounded bird finder. Anything except Woodcock she will retrieve to hand. Wood cock she will bring halfway back and drop. Gracie would retrieve anything to hand. Goldens are great retrievers.

44whiskey wrote:yes Tom,you are up early. hope you got some sleep.i think a walk in the woods with sophie is good choice. thanks for posting Gracies pics.hang in there friend.

5 miles in the National Forest for me. 15 miles for Sophie. No birds found, but it was a super nice walk. I took Gracie to this spot several years ago and she put up a Grouse that rocketed down the hill. Shot over it twice with my Merkel 16 gauge. Probably would have gotten it if I had my current Fox meat gun. Was a truly nice walk. Temps in the 40's and a light wind. Good day to clear one's head.

The inevitable loss of our hunting companions hurts the most. Sorry to hear it Tom but you have great memories of her to help you deal with the pain. I'm going to wake mine up and give them a hug right now.

Sorry to hear about your dog. When we lost our last dog a friend emailed me that we miss the dogs more than some of our relatives.
John

loggy wrote:Sorry to hear about your dog. When we lost our last dog a friend emailed me that we miss the dogs more than some of our relatives.


John

I agree with the relative part for sure. Gracie always greeted everyone with a tail wag and a face lick. Some of the relatives have never wagged a tail in their lives and some of them have tails and witches hats as well.

Tom, in 73 years of bird dogs, I have been in your place many times. It never gets easier. Bill Murphy

how is Sophie doing.i know you said Gracie seemed to miss her when she was away at training.again sorry for your loss and hang in there.44whiskey P S how do you feel the next day after a 5 mile walk.that is a pretty good hike for an old fella my age.

44whiskey wrote:how is Sophie doing.i know you said Gracie seemed to miss her when she was away at training.again sorry for your loss and hang in there.44whiskey P S how do you feel the next day after a 5 mile walk.that is a pretty good hike for an old fella my age.

Both of us were fine after the stroll. These mountains down here are tough for these 65 year old legs, but I am quite careful and take my time. Sophie needs a day off after a hard mountain hunt. I can hunt her day after day in Michigan type covers.

PS. Had my gallbladder taken out yesterday, so I am on the shelf for about 10 days.

wishing you speedy recovery on your surgery,

Gallbladder?? What does it do and what are the symptoms of a bad one? Where did the doctor cut you open? Jim

Jim Cloninger wrote:Gallbladder?? What does it do and what are the symptoms of a bad one? Where did the doctor cut you open? Jim

Jim Laproscopic surgery. 3 large holes with the largest being right where the belly button is. Symptoms very with some folks, but for me it was a diseased gallbladder (no gallstones). Started out with any fried or fatty type foods that caused stomach pain right below the breastbone to the belly button and back pain. Over time it progressed to rather violent vomiting (twice) and finally my regular doc sent me to a surgeon who said it was time to get it taken care of. When they pulled it out yesterday it sort looked like it had taken a load of bird shot at close range. Already feel much better when I eat and the pain will be gone soon enough. Right now its rather interesting to say the least. Hopefully the bad pain will be gone in another 48 hours and I'll be on the mend. My hope it to bird hunt next Tuesday, but I'll listen to mother nature for sure.

PS. As my mom once told me, getting old isn't for sissies.

how is recovery progressing.is pain manageable.

Glad the surgery was successful and went without incident, Tom. Get well soon. Stan