Duck Season and losing my best fishing partner

[Cincinnati]

At Rush Run one time, two guys once said, "All we can see is her yellow tail
wagging over there on the bank, man you duck hunters hide good! I replied,
"Yep, she's wants to swim out to your boat so bad - it isn't funny."
The one guy then told the other that he kind'ah thought those duck decoys
looked mighty funny, they didn't swim off, or make noise!"

Tessies last hunt!
After duck hunting for three days in a row on the Ohio river, and then pheasant
hunting on the fourth day at Run Run. She had just flushed, and then retrieved
her fourth, or fifth pheasant, she found shade, yawned, and layed down. I stood
there talking with the other guys about how tired she was lately around the house,
and that she must be really worn out with the last few days of hunting fun.
I went to give her water, and she was limp... We took her to the vet, he said,
she had swollen lynph node glands - which showed cancer, and it had spread
threw her little body.
"She went out in style in front of a half dozen envious guys, proudly making her
happy growl, and wagging her tail back and forth.
I proudly took that last bird from her - not knowing how short our time together
would be.

I miss her when I go crappie fishing in my boat, and I haven't picked up my
shotgun since.

Rick.

[shawn-n-the-buckeye]

sorry to her that i would love to take my best friend out but she is scared of the guns. we stick to fishing

[crappiequeennc]

Sorry to hear about your friend. She sounds like she was very special to you..You were both very lucky to have found each other. God bless you and Tessie...

[Cincinnati]

Much appreciated guys!

[fishintiger]

Sorry to hear that Rick. Atleast she went out doing what she loved to do. Too bad we all can't go that way. She'll still be hunting with you just from above now. Hope everything gets better for you.

[shadow]

Queenie, the best dog I ever had, passed away several years back. She was a chocolate lab that loved to hunt and hunted up to 10 years old, after that I couldn't bear to make her go out in the marsh. She died at 11.
Her last hunt was one of the best hunts I have made.:D It was just me and her and we killed our limit of birds (6) with 3 of them being a pintail drake, a mallard drake, and a widegon drake. What a hunt!:D

I now own her great granddaughter "grace":D Let's hope she will live up to her great grandmother's tradition.
Dwyane

[Iamfishing]

My duck hunting buddy died August one year past. The story I like to tell about him is hunting in Nebraska, 20 degrees on the thermometer, wind at 15, gusts at 25, sleeting and snowing, water temp just above freezing. He retrieved 11 ducks, feet freezing to the duck blind deck where he sat between retrieves. Ice covering his coat, eyebrows full of snow, and he didn't refuse a single retrieve. Nothing special for the lab or chesapeake, but my buddy was a 50 lb springer spaniel. His heart weighed much more. What a dog. Still miss him a lot. Sorry about your lost. Too bad dogs can't live as long as their human hunting buddies.