Remy finds his first elk

Justin Richins, an outfitter operating in Utah, Wyoming and Montana, bought Remy, one of our 2010 puppies (Joeri x Gilda). Remy got plenty of conditioning for blood tracking from the time he ventured out of the whelping box, but we are still surprised (“shaken” is a better word) to learn what he has been doing at the ripe old age of 15 weeks.

One of Justin’s hunters shot an elk, but there was little blood beyond the hit site; the hunter could not find the animal. Justin figured that he might as well let little Remy have a try at tracking it. To everyone’s amazement Remy followed the fairly fresh scent line for a quarter of a mile and found his first elk.

Even more impressive tracking work was to come. A hunter had taken an unadvisable head-on shot with a crossbow on another elk. Remy tracked that one ¾ of a mile with very occasional drops of blood to verify his good work. Remy continued on even farther, but there was no more blood at all to verify the line. All this occurred at night and Remy was tracking through areas filled with the hot lines of feeding elk.

Justin said that there were two government trappers who went along on the second call. They found it hard to believe what they saw. Finally Justin concluded that the elk was not mortally wounded, and that the crossbow bolt had glanced along the outside of the elk’s heavy rib cage with no penetration to the heart and lungs.

We hope that Remy is getting plenty of sleep and playtime.