An Open Letter to the Person who ruined my rabbit hunt and tried to kill my dog.

Here's a general response.

My dog is apparently ok, though Im keeping a very close eye on him. On the vet's instructions he didnt have anything to eat for the rest of yesterday, which didnt exactly thrill him. Today he's back on normal food and seems fine - he's back to rough housing with his big sister and doesnt seem worse for wear.

I did call the DNR as soon as was appropriate - they dont answer their phones on the weekend, at least not here. I've since learned there's an emergency hotline - but it wasn't really an emergency. What I did do was call the RCMP, who apparently have had other calls about the same thing in the same area. They said they would be in touch with the DNR, took my details and said I could expect to hear from the DNR about the issue.

As for the meat being poisoned, you're right, at this point I have no idea if it was poisoned. But I also came to the sound conclusion that there was a reasonable chance it was. It was a piece of meat, the size of a fist, tied to a tree on the side of a road. There was no bait site or trapline (or if there was, it was illegal, that close to the road and in that area). At the very least it was suspicious.

As the vet told me - take no chances - I got it out of him ASAP and was glad I did. Ethylene Glycol (Antifreeze) does not manifest its symptoms immediately - even for days - and by then it would've been way to late to say "Oh Darn, I guess it was poisoned after all, woops."

The road in question is not private, so presumably its government. As such I was walking with an unloaded .22 rifle. My idea was to walk to the top of the mountain to where there are numerous trails and power line cuts, which are the legal distance from the road for the safe discharge of firearms. Its a common hunting area. The road was too thickly snowed for my Jimmy, so I was going to hoof it up the hill. Good cardio.

Thanks for the kind words some of you have shown, and for those of you who have had similar experiences, my condolences - I can't imagine how that must have felt and frankly I hope I never do. Some sound advice about stuff to carry in the woods. I always have the basics - matches, compass, water, leatherman (knife and pliers), but I think I'll be tossing my new bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide in there too. Disinfectant and purgative in one.

**Update**
Called the DNR, they figure it was likely bait for a trap, but are going to check it out to be certain. Bit worried as Nanuk upchucked his breakfast today, which was without precedent - he's off to the vet this afternoon, needed a checkup anyway.
 
Last edited:
Some hunters will put a piece of bait out and leave it after the hunt for a couple of reasons:

1.) It trains the predator to come to same area.

2.) It is too much of a hassle to deal with spoiled meat (the best stuff for attracting predators), it is simply better to put up another piece at the same spot on the next hunt.

I find it pretty unlikely that somebody is putting out poisoned meat, especially with anti-freeze as the poison. If there is poisoned bait the likely culprits would be your local conservation officers and I doubt that they would leave it up unattended. Likely your dog is sick again because you induced vomiting and it still has remnants of it in its tummy. I have a dog (Lab) who has thrown up numerous times and rarely is it only 1 time/session.

I would hazard a guess that somebody got an idea for coyote hunting to use bait and just left it up after they finished for the reasons stated above.

I would point out that it isn't wise to let your untrained pup go off leash without ensuring that he will always come and drop whatever he has in his mouth. There are many hazards out in the wild and if you aren't confident that he will obey you, all the kit in the world isn't going to help out. Especially with rabid animals, porcupines, poisonous mushrooms (trust me dogs will even eat those), frozen bodies of water, and other natural hazards.
 
Glad your dog seems fine so far...
How much hydrogen peroxide did you use to induce vomiting and what concentration?
 
1). It's not like anyone tried to kill your dog. Your dog, had he been killed, was hardly a target.

2). This is why most provinces have laws against letting your dogs run around at large. They can often get in trouble that nobodey meant them to. Now, I know you were with him and keeping him out of trouble, but you're lucky - he could have been caught in a snare or trap. I almost lost a Lab this way about 12 years ago, barely got the snare off in time. Glad to hear your dog survived, though.
 
TheCoachZed said:
1). It's not like anyone tried to kill your dog. Your dog, had he been killed, was hardly a target.

2). This is why most provinces have laws against letting your dogs run around at large. They can often get in trouble that nobodey meant them to. Now, I know you were with him and keeping him out of trouble, but you're lucky - he could have been caught in a snare or trap. I almost lost a Lab this way about 12 years ago, barely got the snare off in time. Glad to hear your dog survived, though.
Click to expand...
Gee, the guy didn't mean to kill your dog, so it's all good.

And of course we all know to never, ever let your dog off leash.

:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
I`m glad your pup is okay. Would be nice to know if the meat was poisioned or not. Would be illegal in most provinces, not sure what your laws are down east.
 
A corollary: CO wound up calling me, asking me to show him where it was; so went on a ride along with him. Fortunately most of my tracks were still there. We had a poke around, didnt find a trapline, snares, etc. The road apparently is neither public nor govt. so I could have had my rifle loaded and fired from the roadway if the opportunity presented itself. However trapping along the road is not allowed, hence why he was interested in seeing for himself.

Dog is ok, vet gave a clean bill of health. CO took the meat to be tested but am not too worried.

It was a good couple of hours hanging out with the CO: great guy, we got to talking about the ups and downs of his job, and even about his sidearm (Sig P226). Invited me for ride alongs next week, cant wait.
 
your title is a bit misleading as it makes it sound like someone intentionally ruined your hunt and attempted to kill your dog. but, the odds are your dog simply found someones yote bait and you got all worked up about nothing. you stated that it's neither a government or public road and you're allowed to shoot from that road. i'd bet that someone else knew this and simply set up some bait in hopes of getting a predator to show himself on or near the road.

i'm glad your dog is alright, but all of this over a piece of rotten meat seems like a bit of an overreaction. have you stopped and considered that maybe you are the one that ruined someones hunt by tampering with their bait?
 
I know yotes are smart but I don't think they can read.Common courstey would have been for the person who left the meat hanging from the tree to post a sign saying so.Therefore a rabbit hunter with a hound or two would know the area is baited.Just saying.
 
Dench said:
A few mouthfulls from the bottle does it. So I would guess not that much for a dog.
Click to expand...

They prescribed 30ml straight from the bottle. If he hadn't vomited within 20 minutes, repeat with 45ml. This was by his weight, which is about 35lbs.

He didn't much care for the experience, but it got it out of him inside about 8 minutes.
 
JAGDMORDER said:
Hope your dog is o.k mate. I had chineese neighbours once poison my cat with a bowl of antifreeze. Good thing I did not let my anger get the better of me and force them all to drink a couple gallons themselves, or I would not be able to own firearms anymore. Bastards..Good luck ...
Click to expand...

Exact same thing happened to friends of mine. It makes me sick.
 
Come on... put up a sign? Are you guys kidding around? Putting up trash is a no-no. A paper sign or wooden one over your bait is plain stupid. The meat was likely not poisoned and the hunter very likely left it to be cleaned up by the coyotes and crows. I personally don't hunt over bait but when I see dead meat out in the bush my first inclination is not to think that somebody is out to poison me or my dog. Not many incidents of poisoned bait as poison is a controlled substance and there is a responsibility for landowners to use it appropriately. No trapper/hunter would use poison as it is likely illegal or unsporting. Unfortunately, you fellows who live in the big cities are exposed to too much sensationalism and look at relatively innocent things in a pretty negative light. My dog has eaten all sorts of nasty stuff out in the wild (dead birds, dead small game, coyote poo, deer poo, etc) he hasn't died yet...
 
If the road is open to hunt on for anyone and its "good" meat then your dog distroyed some hunters bait! Someone who has spent more time and effort then you to hunt yotes. So, its a bit dramatic to wish them any harm if they have as much right out there as anyone else?
 
69mustang said:
If the road is open to hunt on for anyone and its "good" meat then your dog distroyed some hunters bait! Someone who has spent more time and effort then you to hunt yotes. So, its a bit dramatic to wish them any harm if they have as much right out there as anyone else?
Click to expand...

Not according to the Conservation Officer who asked me to do a ride along with him up there to check it out. Hunting yes - leaving out meat when you're not there - No.

Excuse me if I take the word of the authority over yours there, Joey-Ray-Bob-Jimmy-Bo.
 
It sounds like it might have been an improvised bait station put out by a coyote hunter. Wire/string to hold things together and to keep the crows/ravens from making off with the whole thing. Having it off the ground lets the scent disseminate better and make the 'yotes work for their dinner.

As the OP said, it was a Crown road that wasn't maintained in winter and was used only by snowmobilers and I would guess the odd cross-country skier or snowshoer so the actual 'public' traffic in the area would be very limited. Still, not an ideal area for a bait site, if that was what it was.

I'm a dog lover and currently own both Beagles and Labradors for bunny hunting and grouse/partridge/waterfowl. I also trap. I tend to avoid areas where I know guys will be running their dogs, as I never want to be in a position where one of my snares is responsible for killing a beagle. I will post signs stating that there is a license trapper at work in area such and such. Putting signs next to traps/snares, sadly, will guarantee theft of same.

It is a difficult balancing act sometimes. For pet dogs, I would also be concerned for them picking up 'bad' habits such as running wild game, especially young pups. Once they get into the habit, it is difficult to break them from it and thus next to impossible to take them in the woods during the off-season for hiking/camping/fishing trips. Here in Newfoundland, any dogs found running wild game in the spring/summer can be legally destoryed by conservation officers.

I would also suspect that if the meat had been poisoned, you would've seen signs of dead carrion birds and other animals around the bait site. There are idiots out there quite capable of doing such a thing, but this scenario really doesn't have that 'feel' to it.

Anyhow, glad the pup is fine. Losing a dog before his or her time is hard under the best of circumstances.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom