Retirement Sucks! Time for a COMEBACK!

Just over a month ago our Weimaraner Souris-Manon was very, very ill after two back-to-back bouts of pancreatitis. The Vet also discovered a fairly serious heart murmur. So the decision was made that at nearly 14 years old, Souris would retire from the hunting fields.

A couple of weeks ago, after the opening day of the waterfowl season I posted this photo to announce Souris' retirement and noted that she seemed to have accepted the decision and would from now on just spend her days relaxing in the warm sun.

But then I started noticing that Souris' eyes were getting a bit brighter every day and that she was protesting a bit more each time I took the other dogs to the field. So another decision was made: retirement sucks! Souris was getting back in the game! Here is a video of her first post-retirement performance. ENJOY!!

Shooting Sports

Since publishing Pointing Dogs Volume One in 2011, I have to admit that I've been a bit lazy about photographing my dogs in action. For the last couple of years, I've tended to reach more for my gun to shoot birds for diner than for my cameras to 'shoot' dogs for books and articles.

But this year, I decided to get back to capturing the action with my cameras. And I've added a bit of a twist; I've vowed to shoot even more video than still images. So watch out! I'm now armed with a new Sony camcorder and the latest version of iMovie and I intent to post a video every week or two throughout the season.

Here's my latest piece. It's features my dog Henri (Silvershot's Pocket Rocket) hunting sharptails and snipe on a friend's ranch a couple of hours north of the city. As you will see, my shooting --with camera or gun -- sucks. But we had a great time despite my lack of skill.