A common site within the club is the little Brown streak that
bounces around and barks at nearly every person that drives up to the camp.
You hear a constant call of his name to make sure he is safe from vehicles
coming and going and when he is not at the skinning shed pulling a hide out
of the gut bucket he is chasing around other dogs humping their legs as he
is only a fraction the size of dogs that frequent with members. Other times
he is in Mortal Combat with any one or multiple members that get great joy
out of the aggression he shows from a simple look his way or an action he deems offensive.
He goes by many names but the common ones are Buddy, Buddy boy, One leg,
Hump per, Little Man, or Spark-O.
When you think of a deer dog a Dachshund breed may not come to mind.
However in our camp the Proud Owner Wes Nelson uses his Miniature dog Spark-O to trail
wounded deer and allow us to recover deer that we would not normally be able to recover.
During the 2006/2007 Hunting season Spark-O recovered 7 deer that were trailed but given
up on by the hunter due to lost blood trails. Many times the blood would simply stop,
Night would come or lights were not good enough or in some cases rain
will have made the following of blood too difficult.
Being as little as he is has proved to be an asset in that the deer are not afraid
of him and he generally will not sound off unless he is right on top of the deer.
Many times we fear for the well being of Spark-O because he is aggressive enough that
he will attack a standing deer and on at least one occasion he had to be restrained
because of a Doe that was aggressively swatting at him with her hoofs when he had her cornered in a ditch.
Another problem with his size is the ability for the hunters to stay with him as he
darts through heavy vegetation when trailing a deer and many times he will get too far ahead.
Many a briar patch has taken it toll on hunters trailing behind him in an effort to
keep him safe from a deer's assault when cornered.
He's the camp Pal and when he goes to trail everyone wants to go because no one can
believe it till they see him in action and it is always a big thrill when he jumps
atop of the deer and starts pulling hair telling us he found the game.
Below is one story from the 2006/2007 season where having a blood trailing dog paid off.!
On my way back from hunting this afternoon I Saw Wes parked at the Bridge Stand
location and pulled over to see how his afternoon hunt had progressed. He told me
that another member (Chris, a young 17 year old) had shot a deer and Chris said it
was a Monster. Wes had sent another hunter back to retrieve Spark-O in the event the
deer was not dead. Chris had said that the Deer stepped out on the Greenfield and
started to browse when he finally was able to get a shot he said the deer fell in
his tracks and then pulled himself with his front legs back into the cutover before he could get another shot.
He stayed on the stand till nearly dark when Wes who was hunting near came to see if he had gotten a deer.
As with most of the times that Spark-O is used a caravan of members came to watch
the little dog do his thing and upon his arrival Wes carried the little dog in
his arms until we got to the location Chris said the deer was last seen. We
looked hard for blood but could find none however that did not explain the
deer pulling himself back into the cut over without an injury of some kind.
Wes lowered Spark-O to the Ground and told him to get him. After a couple sniffs
and circles off he went in the direction that Chris had said the deer had gone.
Within Yards the dog sounded off and started deep into the cutover with 6 to 8
hunters on his heels as best they could fighting the worst briars you could imagine.
Once Spark-O got close to the deer we heard the deer take off with Spark-O hot on his
heels and headed directly across the worst of the cutover with only Wes and Tim in
pursuit. I along with others headed back to the road so as to advance to the other
side of the cut over in an attempt to head the deer off. It was now dark enough you
could barley see and only the occasional light from Wes and Tim could give you a
bearing of where they were. Several of us had positioned ourselves in front of the
direction Spark-O was headed and could hear Wes yelling to Tim that there the deer
is and for Tim to Shoot him. The problem was that Tim was a few yards behind Wes
and could not see the deer in the light and Spark-O was giving the deer the what
for from below which was adding to the confusion. The deer again took off at an
angle back across the cut over again with Spark-O, Wes and Tim hot on his heels.
The deer was clearly hurt but was strong enough to stay in front of his pursuers.
Tim had now handed the 45 pistol to Wes because he could just not keep up. Wes now
yards behind Spark-O who had again cornered the deer by his apparent barking got
hung up in a mass of vines and briars only to be passed up by Tim this time. It was
a comedy of events. All along my group was skirting the woods just outside the cut over when we heard Wes shoot.
He yelled the deer is down and by the time I got there Spark-O had a full 10 inches of
hair pulled from the rear of the deer. I asked Wes how good a deer it was and Wes smiled
and said 5 Points. We all had a big laugh about the Monster and called Chris to come drag
his monster from the cut over. Wes and Tim looked as if they had been drug through a bob
wired fence with blood streaming down both of their faces.
Without Spark-O this deer would have died a slow and painful death. The shot from Chris
was very high and had only clipped the spine leaving the deer paralyzed on one end to the degree he could not flee.
It is our belief in the club that every effort should be given to retrieving wounded game.
Having a Spark-O around makes that possible.
