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Monday, November 10, 2008

A four-mile-long blood trail


We got this message and pictures yesterday.

We want to start off by personally thanking Deer Search, Bob Yax and Gusto!

My brother, Brian, hit a nice buck on Nov. 7th around 7am. We left the deer and started tracking it at 10am. After seeing the blood, we didn't think the deer would be far. After 700 yards of steady blood without the deer laying down, we had second thoughts. We called Deer Search and Bob Yax responded to our voicemail. On a Friday morning, Bob and Gusto arrived within an hour, and we were hot on the blood trail. Gusto took the lead and we were just trying to keep up. Gusto tracked this deer through open fields, hills and wet swamps over 2 miles that day and we had to quit at dark. We told Bob we would let him know the conclusion.

Later that night my brother and I blood trailed this deer another 500 yards until 4am. We left him again. We returned on the blood trail 6 hours later at 11am. At 4pm on Nov. 8th we found this deer at the end of the blood trail! The shot never caught a vital, but was high in the back, behind the shoulder to pierce a main artery, causing him to bleed out. All-in-all this deer left a blood trail of over 4 miles and was recovered 33 hours after the shot!

We wish Bob and Gusto could have been there to see the deer at the end of trail, but we couldn't have done it without them and without Deer Search.

Thank you Bob, for all of your effort and determination!!!

Brian & Larry Brown

John and I are Gusto's breeders - he is a son of Asko and Sabina, and a litter mate to our Gilda, and he is 6.5 years old. We sold Gusto to a very nice couple near Boston. His owner planned to work towards the legalization of tracking dogs in Massachusetts, but life took him in a different direction. Gusto did not get to track and he has grown frustrated. It seems that so many people do not understand that dogs bred for work need to work. Finally last year when the family had to move and Gusto became a major inconvenience, we were contacted as the couple was looking for a new home for him. With help from Deer Search, Gusto found a new, this time, working home quickly. Now Gusto can fulfill his potential and do what he was bred for - blood tracking. A happy ending indeed.

1 comment:

Bob's daughter said...

It is so interesting to read this about my dog and dad. Dad has been a member of Deer Search, a tracking group, for as long as I can remember, and is now the lifelong treasurer. As I write this, Gusto is giving me the puppy dog look, hoping for some of my food. this was gusto's first traking mission, and as another hunting season approches, my dad is more excited than ever, hoping Gusto can do it again. We have another dog, a brainless lab mix by the name of sammy. we've had her since she was a puppy. She found a deer on her first try, but hasn't found one since. Gusto is realy cute and he's been lots of fun! Lately we have been talking about what kind of dog we will get next. I'm all for a short hair but my dad wants a long hair, don't ask me why, gusto has enough problems with burs in his fur, mom wants another wired hair, and my brother, well, my brother wants a labradoodle. Whatever. Anyway, thanks for posting this letter and the ancestry, it was very interesting. Check back soon!