huntsman53
Gold Member
I thought that I would share this story and venture with everyone here on TNnet to put a spotlight on what happens to many dogs that are unwanted!
On March 30th of this year while Spring Gobbler hunting, I found a young female Plott Hound that was beaten, shot and abandoned on a TVA Public Access area on Cherokee Lake here in East Tennessee. She was starved nearly to the point of death, had very little in the way of claws due to digging for worms, bugs and probably moles and mice to eat. When I hunt, I always carry some Vienna Sausages, Beanie Weenies and candy bars with me, so I fed her some of each. I tried that day, to get her to come to me but due to being beaten, shot, abandoned on on her own for what appeared to be several months, it was clear that it would take some work to rescue her, bring her home and give her a loving home. This began me on a fairly long quest to gain her trust as well as feed her as often as I could, spend some time with her and eventually catch her. Well, after traveling 18 times the nearly 35 miles one way to the location from my' home over a period of 24 days, I finally was able to pet her, get ahold of the nape of her' neck, place a collar and leash on her and lead her out to my' truck in which she rode the nearly 35 miles to my' home with me and my' Jack Russell male pup. It was a long road and I must admit that due to the costs involved and becoming disheartened with each failure on attempts to catch her, I nearly gave up the quest several times. I burnt up nearly $200 in gas, drove well over 1,200 miles between my' two trucks, spent an unknown amount of money on really good canned and dry dog foods and treats to get her healthy and to lure her close and went through a lot of turmoil and soul searching in trying to figure out what to try next. I also spent $89.50 with a local Veterinarian for two different medications that would make her drowsy enough for me to catch her or put her to sleep to do the same. However, neither of the medications worked as they should and was money not well spent. After trying to lure her in with my' nearly 6 year old male Beagle and not having any luck probably because she is still a pup and he is an old fart like me, I took my' male Jack Russell pup in hopes of better results. Well it worked out as they interacted so well on Monday, April 21st, that I took him back with me on Wednesday, April 23rd. Since this poor Plott Hound craved for the attention and companionship she deserves, she would always follow me and/or me and one of my' dogs on treks into the woods. While on a trek on April 23rd, I stopped off to dig some Black Cohosh roots making sure to pull my' male Jack Russell pup close so that he would not be able to slip away but also to lure her in closer. Well, in what was only the second time in 18 trips, the sweet gal came close enough to me and my' Jack Russell pup and actually let me pet her after she smelled my' fingers and hand. While petting her gently which she sorely needed, I gently took ahold of the nape of her neck, placed a collar and leash on her, then led her and back to my' truck and brought her home. Well, it has been almost 5 days since I was finally able to bring her home and she is doing very well and through all of this, she has probably put on close to 10 pounds of weight. We are still trying to think of and give her a suitable name but with each passing day, she is becoming more and more trusting of each of us here at my' home. Also, while I suspected that she had been shot (due to the holes inthe flaps of her' ears), I wasn't totally sure of this until the night I brought her home. There are Coyotes residing in and roaming the fields next to my' property as well as across the road and that night they started howling and coming close. Due to the threat the Coyotes pose (we lost a lot of cats to them over the years), I use Bottle Rockets and Firecrackers to keep them away and fired some off that night but well away from the Plott Hound. Well, that was a mistake which put the poor gal in a terrified frenzy to get away and confirmed that my suspicions were correct, that she had been shot. Needless to say, I will never make the mistake of shooting off Bottle Rockets or Firecrackers ever again.
Below are pics of this sweet and very gentle female Plott Hound. The first pic was taken at the TVA Public Access area on April 11th, only 12 days after I first found her, then the last two were taken on April 25th, a little over two days after brining her home.
Frank
On March 30th of this year while Spring Gobbler hunting, I found a young female Plott Hound that was beaten, shot and abandoned on a TVA Public Access area on Cherokee Lake here in East Tennessee. She was starved nearly to the point of death, had very little in the way of claws due to digging for worms, bugs and probably moles and mice to eat. When I hunt, I always carry some Vienna Sausages, Beanie Weenies and candy bars with me, so I fed her some of each. I tried that day, to get her to come to me but due to being beaten, shot, abandoned on on her own for what appeared to be several months, it was clear that it would take some work to rescue her, bring her home and give her a loving home. This began me on a fairly long quest to gain her trust as well as feed her as often as I could, spend some time with her and eventually catch her. Well, after traveling 18 times the nearly 35 miles one way to the location from my' home over a period of 24 days, I finally was able to pet her, get ahold of the nape of her' neck, place a collar and leash on her and lead her out to my' truck in which she rode the nearly 35 miles to my' home with me and my' Jack Russell male pup. It was a long road and I must admit that due to the costs involved and becoming disheartened with each failure on attempts to catch her, I nearly gave up the quest several times. I burnt up nearly $200 in gas, drove well over 1,200 miles between my' two trucks, spent an unknown amount of money on really good canned and dry dog foods and treats to get her healthy and to lure her close and went through a lot of turmoil and soul searching in trying to figure out what to try next. I also spent $89.50 with a local Veterinarian for two different medications that would make her drowsy enough for me to catch her or put her to sleep to do the same. However, neither of the medications worked as they should and was money not well spent. After trying to lure her in with my' nearly 6 year old male Beagle and not having any luck probably because she is still a pup and he is an old fart like me, I took my' male Jack Russell pup in hopes of better results. Well it worked out as they interacted so well on Monday, April 21st, that I took him back with me on Wednesday, April 23rd. Since this poor Plott Hound craved for the attention and companionship she deserves, she would always follow me and/or me and one of my' dogs on treks into the woods. While on a trek on April 23rd, I stopped off to dig some Black Cohosh roots making sure to pull my' male Jack Russell pup close so that he would not be able to slip away but also to lure her in closer. Well, in what was only the second time in 18 trips, the sweet gal came close enough to me and my' Jack Russell pup and actually let me pet her after she smelled my' fingers and hand. While petting her gently which she sorely needed, I gently took ahold of the nape of her neck, placed a collar and leash on her, then led her and back to my' truck and brought her home. Well, it has been almost 5 days since I was finally able to bring her home and she is doing very well and through all of this, she has probably put on close to 10 pounds of weight. We are still trying to think of and give her a suitable name but with each passing day, she is becoming more and more trusting of each of us here at my' home. Also, while I suspected that she had been shot (due to the holes inthe flaps of her' ears), I wasn't totally sure of this until the night I brought her home. There are Coyotes residing in and roaming the fields next to my' property as well as across the road and that night they started howling and coming close. Due to the threat the Coyotes pose (we lost a lot of cats to them over the years), I use Bottle Rockets and Firecrackers to keep them away and fired some off that night but well away from the Plott Hound. Well, that was a mistake which put the poor gal in a terrified frenzy to get away and confirmed that my suspicions were correct, that she had been shot. Needless to say, I will never make the mistake of shooting off Bottle Rockets or Firecrackers ever again.
Below are pics of this sweet and very gentle female Plott Hound. The first pic was taken at the TVA Public Access area on April 11th, only 12 days after I first found her, then the last two were taken on April 25th, a little over two days after brining her home.
Frank
people Who abuse any animal should be shot them selves. well done, I'm sure she will pay you back with many a year of loyalty and love.
for those who treat animals like that.
? But, I'm so glad to hear what you did Frank and best wishes for you and your new friend... give me a call buddy... later, Brad
