Question: I've had three bird dogs stolen from me over the last ten years. The last was just two weeks ago. It seems like once I have the dog trained and hunting well, he gets stolen. You must've had this problem over the years. Any suggestions to prevent this from happening to dog number four?
Tom K., Escanaba.
Answer: Four times in the last thirty years, to be exact. I had a fist fight with two fellows attempting to steal a German Short-hair from me, years ago. My German Shepherd was the determining factor in that encounter. I had a fellow and his girlfriend who'd like to stop by the kennel and visit an English Setter of mine. They'd seen him while driving by one day and seemed harmless enough. Their visits stopped the day after he turned up missing. When I was in college, I had a German Short-hair while living in off-campus student housing, namely a flat in a converted house. I'd put the dog out on a chain to go to the bathroom as there was no fence. One morning, after being out for about thirty minutes, the dog disappeared and the bull clasp was laying open at the end of the chain. If you've ever seen or used a bull clasp, you know they can't be opened by the bull or dog being restrained.
The last and most recent incident involved an anti-hunting fellow who moved in next door to my shooting preserve. The fellow took the dog from my truck which was parked in my parking lot. Five hours later, I caught him driving down the road with the dog in his mini van. After a short chase, I stopped him and he admitted that he knew it was my dog but he refused to turn it over. I was charged by a Washtenaw County prosecutor with assault and battery and malicious destruction of private property. He was charged with nothing. We have an anti-hunting, anti-hunting, anti-NRA prosecutor. What more could you expect?
I now use ridged-rod stock fencing tops and sides on my kennels. A cement floor and a padlock on the gates makes for a very secure system. You should also have a microchip put in your dog. The vet can do it for not too much money and the chip will have all of your information on it. Most vets and shelters have scanners.
Charlie Linblade
Mighigan Wing Shooters Hunt Club
Michigan Pheasant Hunting
Michigan Bird Dog Training
