Cowardly Killer not Hunter - by Billy Nelms
12-11-2008, 09:29 PM
#1
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 217
Cowardly Killer not Hunter - by Billy Nelms
Killer not Hunter - by Billy Nelms
http://www.tidewaternews.com/news/20...er-not-hunter/
Killer, not a hunter
Published Thursday, December 11, 2008
I’ve been hunting most of my life — all types of hunting: bow hunting, black powder hunting and hunting with dogs. Hunting with dogs is very traditional and dates way back into early times.
My son, Tyler, who just turned 13, and I starting raising our own hunting dogs about seven years ago. I taught him at a very early age the responsibilities of caring for his dogs. He does the feeding, watering and most of the cleaning of pens and water bowls, and I provide the vaccinations, wormers and the feed. He has raised 14 puppies over the years and is in the process of raising six more.
I would say he has done as well as any adult could have done given the same opportunity. He treats his hunting dogs as pets with an obligation, meaning they are pets when in their pens, but when collared, loaded and turned loose to run game, that’s their obligation to him. From the time he turns them loose until the time he puts them away, they hunt and they hunt hard for him.
Last Saturday, when he carefully picked out eight dogs to get the job done, little did he know he would only have seven at the day’s end. You see, some coward who calls himself a hunter took the life of one of my son’s prized possessions (his name was Ranger) by shooting him with a slug gun.
We tracked Ranger most of Saturday night. We worried about him all night and finally, on Sunday morning while thinking we were close to retrieving him, we got close enough for my son to walk into the woods to retrieve Ranger and load him into the dog box.
What Tyler found was his dog covered in blood, dead from a gunshot wound. Try explaining to a young boy who has devoted the last five years raising this pet/friend/hunting dog how someone could do something this pathetic to an animal that was out for one reason — to make my son proud. I couldn’t explain it to him; neither could the animal control officer who showed up to write the report.
Tyler’s question to me before going to bed that night was, “How can a man with a loaded gun, that calls himself a hunter, shoot a 25-pound dog that was only doing what I taught him to do?”
Ranger was just hunting. He never messed with anyone, and he wasn’t even able to defend himself. All I could do was agree with Tyler because I can’t even imagine stooping that low.
My only hope is that the individual responsible for this senseless act have the guts to read this column and then look himself in the mirror and realize what he has done and whom he has affected.
Then, if you are a real man, find us. I would like to introduce you to the person you hurt the most, my son, and have you answer the question I was unable to answer.
How could you take the life of a harmless pet that was doing what he loved to do: just hunt. No matter how hard I try, I can’t explain to Tyler how or why you did what you did.
After that, we would be done and the law would handle the rest of your punishment, which in my opinion would be far less than what you really deserve.
Ranger will be sadly missed.
BILLY NELMS is president of the Bent Barrel Hunt Club in Ivor. His e-mail address is [email protected].
Email: Click here to Email
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http://www.tidewaternews.com/news/20...er-not-hunter/
Killer, not a hunter
Published Thursday, December 11, 2008
I’ve been hunting most of my life — all types of hunting: bow hunting, black powder hunting and hunting with dogs. Hunting with dogs is very traditional and dates way back into early times.
My son, Tyler, who just turned 13, and I starting raising our own hunting dogs about seven years ago. I taught him at a very early age the responsibilities of caring for his dogs. He does the feeding, watering and most of the cleaning of pens and water bowls, and I provide the vaccinations, wormers and the feed. He has raised 14 puppies over the years and is in the process of raising six more.
I would say he has done as well as any adult could have done given the same opportunity. He treats his hunting dogs as pets with an obligation, meaning they are pets when in their pens, but when collared, loaded and turned loose to run game, that’s their obligation to him. From the time he turns them loose until the time he puts them away, they hunt and they hunt hard for him.
Last Saturday, when he carefully picked out eight dogs to get the job done, little did he know he would only have seven at the day’s end. You see, some coward who calls himself a hunter took the life of one of my son’s prized possessions (his name was Ranger) by shooting him with a slug gun.
We tracked Ranger most of Saturday night. We worried about him all night and finally, on Sunday morning while thinking we were close to retrieving him, we got close enough for my son to walk into the woods to retrieve Ranger and load him into the dog box.
What Tyler found was his dog covered in blood, dead from a gunshot wound. Try explaining to a young boy who has devoted the last five years raising this pet/friend/hunting dog how someone could do something this pathetic to an animal that was out for one reason — to make my son proud. I couldn’t explain it to him; neither could the animal control officer who showed up to write the report.
Tyler’s question to me before going to bed that night was, “How can a man with a loaded gun, that calls himself a hunter, shoot a 25-pound dog that was only doing what I taught him to do?”
Ranger was just hunting. He never messed with anyone, and he wasn’t even able to defend himself. All I could do was agree with Tyler because I can’t even imagine stooping that low.
My only hope is that the individual responsible for this senseless act have the guts to read this column and then look himself in the mirror and realize what he has done and whom he has affected.
Then, if you are a real man, find us. I would like to introduce you to the person you hurt the most, my son, and have you answer the question I was unable to answer.
How could you take the life of a harmless pet that was doing what he loved to do: just hunt. No matter how hard I try, I can’t explain to Tyler how or why you did what you did.
After that, we would be done and the law would handle the rest of your punishment, which in my opinion would be far less than what you really deserve.
Ranger will be sadly missed.
BILLY NELMS is president of the Bent Barrel Hunt Club in Ivor. His e-mail address is [email protected].
Email: Click here to Email
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12-12-2008, 07:02 AM
#3
Fork Horn
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Phenix City,AL
Posts: 126
RE: Cowardly Killer not Hunter - by Billy Nelms
Man I sure hate to hear that. Hunting dogs are special dogs to us... especially when you raise them from pups and train them yourself.... they are way more than just pets, they are your best friends and your best hunting partners. This guy is truely a coward and I hope he gets what he deserves. Try explaining to your son the difference in an ethical hunter and an unethical one. I feel for your son.
12-12-2008, 07:21 AM
#4
Fork Horn
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Fauquier Co. VA
Posts: 231
RE: Cowardly Killer not Hunter - by Billy Nelms
Hokie has it been investigated, any suspects? No excuse for actions like that,does the VHDA plan on pushing for stiffer penalties and laws against anyone(including the owner)shooting a dog?
12-12-2008, 11:30 AM
#6
Typical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 675
RE: Cowardly Killer not Hunter - by Billy Nelms
We shoot dogs on our lease. Hunting deer with dogs is illegal in our game zone and we don't do it. The only dogs we get are strays. They may have a collar, but we still shoot them. One of our members had some stray dogs chase a buck in front of his stand. He shot the buck, then had to shoot one of the dogs to get them to leave. He wouldn't leave the buck for fear they would return. He had to send a text message to us for help. I once got permission to hunt a power easement on a deputy sheriff's land. Just after sunrise his 3rottweilers ran by. Not a good hunt, but I didn't shhot them. The article doesn't say where they were hunting. If it was public land, I would not have shot him. If I was hunting someone else's land or lease, I would not have shot him. On our lease, I would have.
12-12-2008, 11:38 AM
#7
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: north florida
Posts: 1,277
RE: Cowardly Killer not Hunter - by Billy Nelms
ORIGINAL: RenaissanceBiker
We shoot dogs on our lease. Hunting deer with dogs is illegal in our game zone and we don't do it. The only dogs we get are strays. They may have a collar, but we still shoot them. One of our members had some stray dogs chase a buck in front of his stand. He shot the buck, then had to shoot one of the dogs to get them to leave. He wouldn't leave the buck for fear they would return. He had to send a text message to us for help. I once got permission to hunt a power easement on a deputy sheriff's land. Just after sunrise his 3rottweilers ran by. Not a good hunt, but I didn't shhot them. The article doesn't say where they were hunting. If it was public land, I would not have shot him. If I was hunting someone else's land or lease, I would not have shot him. On our lease, I would have.
We shoot dogs on our lease. Hunting deer with dogs is illegal in our game zone and we don't do it. The only dogs we get are strays. They may have a collar, but we still shoot them. One of our members had some stray dogs chase a buck in front of his stand. He shot the buck, then had to shoot one of the dogs to get them to leave. He wouldn't leave the buck for fear they would return. He had to send a text message to us for help. I once got permission to hunt a power easement on a deputy sheriff's land. Just after sunrise his 3rottweilers ran by. Not a good hunt, but I didn't shhot them. The article doesn't say where they were hunting. If it was public land, I would not have shot him. If I was hunting someone else's land or lease, I would not have shot him. On our lease, I would have.
........
12-12-2008, 01:30 PM
#8
Spike
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 67
RE: Cowardly Killer not Hunter - by Billy Nelms
ORIGINAL: RenaissanceBiker
We shoot dogs on our lease. Hunting deer with dogs is illegal in our game zone and we don't do it. The only dogs we get are strays. They may have a collar, but we still shoot them. One of our members had some stray dogs chase a buck in front of his stand. He shot the buck, then had to shoot one of the dogs to get them to leave. He wouldn't leave the buck for fear they would return. He had to send a text message to us for help. I once got permission to hunt a power easement on a deputy sheriff's land. Just after sunrise his 3rottweilers ran by. Not a good hunt, but I didn't shhot them. The article doesn't say where they were hunting. If it was public land, I would not have shot him. If I was hunting someone else's land or lease, I would not have shot him. On our lease, I would have.
We shoot dogs on our lease. Hunting deer with dogs is illegal in our game zone and we don't do it. The only dogs we get are strays. They may have a collar, but we still shoot them. One of our members had some stray dogs chase a buck in front of his stand. He shot the buck, then had to shoot one of the dogs to get them to leave. He wouldn't leave the buck for fear they would return. He had to send a text message to us for help. I once got permission to hunt a power easement on a deputy sheriff's land. Just after sunrise his 3rottweilers ran by. Not a good hunt, but I didn't shhot them. The article doesn't say where they were hunting. If it was public land, I would not have shot him. If I was hunting someone else's land or lease, I would not have shot him. On our lease, I would have.
12-12-2008, 01:57 PM
#9
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: va USA
Posts: 580
RE: Cowardly Killer not Hunter - by Billy Nelms
Shooting a dog straight off, if he was wearing a collar is wrong.
I guess my question is where was the dog when he was shot. Was he on your lease, public propertyor someone else's private property.
If he was on your lease or property, then someone should know something. Public property, sorry that your dog was shot but I doubt that we'll ever know who did it. If the dog was on someone else's property.... the real hard truth is that the dog shouldn't have been there. I'm not saying that shooting him was right, but if a private land owner is over run by other peoples dogs and can see how it would happen.
I guess my question is where was the dog when he was shot. Was he on your lease, public propertyor someone else's private property.
If he was on your lease or property, then someone should know something. Public property, sorry that your dog was shot but I doubt that we'll ever know who did it. If the dog was on someone else's property.... the real hard truth is that the dog shouldn't have been there. I'm not saying that shooting him was right, but if a private land owner is over run by other peoples dogs and can see how it would happen.
12-12-2008, 03:19 PM
#10
Spike
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 67
RE: Cowardly Killer not Hunter - by Billy Nelms
By the way does any1 know the penalty of MURDERING a dog(not a wild 1)? You would think it would be pretty hard(penalty and as a human to do)doing something like that. If somones dog ever ran across one of my pieces of land, that thought would not even cross my mind. Some people are just sick[:'(]. no other way to put it or defend it!
