Over the past two years, I've come across several beagles that were lost or turned loose by their owners. I tried everything to find the owners but with no luck. The dogs that would hunt we were quickly able to re-settle with some local hunters, and I kept a few myself that became some great deer dogs. The problem was that I was slowly starting to accumulate the non-hunters/retired dogs. I made the decision to try my best to find great homes for these unwanted dogs as pets. I figured that for every abandoned dog I was able to adopt out, it would be one less on the roadside for anti-hunters to point out and use as ammunition for their campaigns against hunting dogs. Well I'm not sure if the desired effects are working, but I can tell you that I've been making a positive impression on lots of pet owners who have heard about what I'm doing. To further this campaign and to promote this type of activity, I've added the story of Merle, an older abandoned beagle who I had for 2 years before I found him a great home with a young lady outside of D.C. She has sent me pictures of Merle at work with her, sleeping in his little bed full of toys, and at home sleeping on her bed. And to think after 2 years of paying for dogfood for him, SHE was the one continuously thanking ME for giving her such a great dog. The feeling I got seeing him so happy is undescribable.
Now I understand that this type of adoption is not as easy with other breeds, and that the beagle is already a popular companion which makes it easier, BUT I think that we as houndsmen should organize something like this on a much larger scale. That way, WE would be the ones dealing with the unwanted animals from our own sport, and that would prevent incidents such as the Lenoir Co, NC incident from occuring in the future. If houndsmen are the primary groups rescuing abandoned hounds and adopting them out to loving families, then WE will be viewed as the GOOD GUYS, instead of the ASPCA and other organizations that have more ties to the HSUS and AR folks than anything else. If the general public thinks that houndsmen are responsible for rescuing and re-homing the unwanted/abandoned hounds we are all blamed for anyways, then suddenly we are elevated to a hero status similar to the SPCA.
This is just my opinion/two cents, but I think many of you would agree with me, judging from everyones support of Jim & Jerry for stepping up and adopting the hounds in Lenoir Co. What do ya'll think???