Time for a little tender loving care

“Did either of you boys tick somebody’s husband off?” Rye said while watching the occupant of the large black truck unfold himself from the interior. Turns out it was the host of our hunt and he was a big man. Not fat, but tall and solid. Walking over to where I was sitting on the grounds lacing up my hunting boots, he extended a hand as he said “Chuck Myguts? I‘m djmed“. And thus began the “not ready for prime time rabbit hunters and their poor, poor puppies that only need tender loving care to see the error of their ways and quit chasing deer“ rabbit hunt on the edge of the Auburn city limits. We pulled up to the first green field surrounded by briar patches near a old abandoned house. Brag and I exchanged looks that read” we are going to get a bunch of rabbits today”. Brag jumpstarted a rabbit and Judy, Julie, Dixie and Maizey took up the chase only to lose it a few minutes later.

The dog’s struck shortly after and left Judy behind as they raced across the facing hillside. Brag raced to them and called them off. Odds are it was a deer, but as Brag said he didn’t see a deer but he didn’t see a rabbit either.

We beat briars after that. One rabbit that was jumped dashed into a half acre of some mean Lee County, Alabama briars and refused to come out and play. I think they feed those briars or something. They chew me and my clothes up every trip north of Phenix City. I heard Fred and Richard discussing that the next time they would remember their chaps….but in the meantime would join Rye in cutting off any escaping rabbit on the road, safely away from the briar patches. Djmed, on the other hand, plowed through the briars.

Right at lunch we jumped a small sager who ran near djmed. The loud Booom caused Rye to want to know who was shooting the 10 ga. That was a sentiment, Brag and I shared. It turned out to be djmed’s loads of 12ga 3 inch magnum steel shot. I think they were powerful enough to gut, skin and quarter up the rabbit in that single shot.

After lunch we moved across the paved road. Brag and I surveyed the thin strips of tangles and wondered. The first thing we jumped was a bobcat. So much for our bragging that Judy wouldn’t run nothing but a rabbit. She was lead dog till the cat shot into a hole where the dogs couldn’t get near it. Or maybe, the dogs decided that discretion was the better part of valor and didn’t try to hard to get to the sharp claws and fangs that awaited in the tight hole.

Then disaster.
Brag jumped a rabbit and sic’ed the nearby dogs on him. A deer popped up and ran for deer (dear?) life to get out of the oncoming traffic. The rabbit bolted right. Judy raced after the rabbits. Julie, Dixie and Maizey, mesmerized by the bounding white flag, raced into the distance. They came back one time before turning and going out of hearing. At dark, neighbors could still hear our pleading for the dogs to return. I couldn’t believe they embarrassed me and Brag like that.

The attention getter should be here late next week. Maybe it will be to late for this season, but as soon as turkey nesting season is over, these dogs are going to be introduced to a “voice of reason“. A five hundred yard extension to my pine limb without the softening effect of the pine needles.
Translation: If they were males, "I think "Knock their dick in the dirt" is the phrase that comes to mind