And that would be MY Telluride dog! If you asked me several years ago if I could photograph, much less participate in any form of hunting, I would have laughed in your face. I’ve been vegetarian for almost 20 years now. However, considering how unethically most animals in this country are raised so that we can put dinner on the table, I think if you have the courage to kill what you are going to eat, rather than buying it in nice, tidy, saran-wrapped packages in the grocery store (so that you don’t have to consider the life that animal had before it went into your mouth), then more power to you. I am lucky enough to watch my dog do what he loves best, and my friends go home with the meat. It works out for everyone.
So when some friends from Denver wanted me to take photos of their dogs pheasant hunting, including a puppy just learning the ropes, how could I say no? Especially since Blue gets to go….a very rare event for us. He didn’t start hunting until he was 5, so he is still learning, but loves it so much that he literally shakes in the car when we arrive.
Meet Journey, a lovely liver Flat-Coated Retriever! She is beautiful to look at, but knows her job, too.
and gets lots of praise in return for her good work (although she’d rather just go find more birds).
Don’t worry, Blue got some birds too!
The dogs LOVE the man that does the shooting. 🙂 Blue’s just hoping he might get that bird back.
Here was the best part of the whole day. Puppy time! Meet Maia…at just 4.5 months old, she figured out how to get this huge pheasant in her puppy mouth and proceeded to carry it around to everyone, showing off her prize. She is a lovely puppy, very friendly and outgoing, and calm when she had to wait in her crate while the big dogs were out. But as you can see, she is obviously is ready to go get some birds on her own very soon!
Eilin, not quite a year old, got some birds too, but was hidden in cover for most of them.
She still has such a puppy coat….hardly any feathering, but I swear, she is a Flat-Coat, not a Lab!
And Clipper, the experienced one. He has his Master Hunter title, and goes hunting many weekends with his dad, so this boy knows his stuff.
He’s happy to run around and carry his bumper during breaks!
But he’d rather be flushing pheasants! Good boy, Clipper!
And we end this post with another Maia shot. I had to. Puppy fever, you know. I can’t help it.
This might be my last entry for a few weeks. It is off-season in Telluride, and I’ll be out of town most of November. Stay tuned though, I have a session scheduled in California in a few weeks, and some snowy Telluride sessions lined up for when I get back!
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