Got into work this morning and got a call on the cell phone from a friend telling me they were trying to verify a cougar sighting in Vancouver.
I headed in to town and had a dog brought in to give it a try. I'd like to say it was all bark and quick and easy "West side" Wet ground. But we were 3 hours from the sighting and it was mostly just watching the dog twitch a tail here and Grub a little there to show me the Pieces the the Puzzle. She never even opened up but she led me right to the Tree this cat was sleeping in.
Heck I can't even take credit for the Dog, U.R.E. had this dog on enough Cats down south that she's training me.
The cat was Darted and Safely relocated.
It was amazing how close this was. Basically in Downtown Vancouver. Between the VA, Clark college, and I-5.
I just wish that the general public realized that catching a Cat in August requires some serious training there's allot more to it for us than shooting Critters.
LIGHTNING RIDGE KENNELS
Walker breeding at it's best
Used to Catch Big Game
Our choice is as simple as Black and White
Devin Staker
970-756-5998 http://www.forum.workingdogsworldwide.com/
Yea I tried to give a plug to some of the benifits of having a Cougar season with dogs. We all know It takes allot of Hunting, Time, $$ and trainings to have well trained dogs ready for this, I was lucky enough to draw a permit last year and got to get after quite a few cats and do allot of training..
Although it appears to have been the right thing to do, you just enabled the State to take advantage of another Hound and Hound Hunter. Do they allow you a pursuit only season to keep your dogs trained and in shape? Does the State treat Hound Hunters as a valuable resource that offers excellent management of Cats? Does the State care that you feed your Hounds all year and all the time hope that you get an opportunity to work and excerise them? I came up with NO to those questions. The State of Washington is taking advantage of you....all of you, you need to set them straight. The next time you get an opportunity, tell Washington to call a State that cares about Hounds..... my two cents
Good job to Redbone hound. Since washington Banned hound hunting last March, Every time G.W. contact me for any help. I said NO THANK, YOU PEOPLE WONT SUPPORT HOUND HUNT FOR ANYBODY BUT U BEG ME TO HELP. I ain't think so. That's how we SHOULD STAND TOGETHER. But WDFW get ADVANTAGE of you so WDFW can just grab the broom and sweep all houndmen off the cliff from Washington Residence. U have no respect for all houndmen.
I cant see helping the F&G out when all they do is set there and let the legislators take the season away in Washington... we all need to stick together and not do the dirtie work for them. I will never again kill a cougar that is damaging any proporty or threatening anyone in washington till they open the season up to manage the cougars before they become a problem. All i did when i would kill cougars for WA. F&G was put a bandage on the problem and give the LEGISLATORS ... ( Rep. Hans Dunshee) a little more time to drag there feet a little longer. If we all stick together and quite killing problem cougars the hunting season will return that much quicker.
Brian Denney
Bearpaw Outfitters
208-682-9999
208-852-6495
So much for trying to Help Change opinion, I guess I should just give up also. Most of the News stations Cut out the Part out about Hounds completely and make it sound like the dr just noticed the cat sleeping in the tree, Now seams like some houndsmen don't think it's a good idea either to try and work on the situation and build relationships and attempt to Get some public support that was what I was trying to do with the article..
Maybe Magic will help us??
The Fish and game is working hard to get the Season back on a permanent basis.. I'm going to assume they are working allot harder than you are, I know they are working harder than I am so I have little room to criticize them and if I did I've talked to them several times in the last couple months seeing what was happening and what was going on...
So I respectfully disagree. I try and keep close tabs on what's going on with the seasons. Allot of people complain and Have ideas, but you sure don't see their Faces at the meetings and when you ask the WDFW about those folks that are raising Hell and complaining you ask the guys trying to write the bill about them and they've don't even know their names... so when things are trying to happen you are busy yelling to the wrong Crowd.. We all agree with you on this website, you need to go yell at the Public and let them have your opinion..
Everyone wants to Blame the Fish and Game because they are the easy targets, but they were doing everything they could to get the bill passed, and their presentation was actually pretty nice one, and shot holes in all the Anti Arguments that attack our way of life and our sport. (Did you not read the Fish and Game presentations?) They were definitely Pro Hound hunting season. (Now Enforcement might be a different story, and if you are referring to Enforcement then you should clarify, because Fish and Game did support Cougar hunting with hounds, I"m not speaking for enforcement)
The only thing that Fish and game didn't do to keep the Hound Season last year Which they probably could have made a Deal with Dunshee, was he wanted all of the Hunting seasons in Washington to go through a Scientific Review board. Then he would have allowed the cougar bill to pass. So personally I agree with WDFW to not Make that deal, we would probably loose allot more hunting rights if they did and It' would have been a Mess for all hunting and not just Cougar hunting.
WDFW Was solidly behind it, Conservation NW changed their Vote from do not support to a Do support HSUS Changed their Vote from Do not Support to No Opinion (Which is about as good as it gets from them)
Everything was in place for the cougar bill to pass.. Except
Dunshee wanted his Pet Program and a Scientific Review for all hunting seasons, and he was holding the cougar Program hostage because of it.
I agreed with WDFW's decision not to bargin all the hunting seasons for only 3 more years of Cougar Hunting.
What would you do if you guys do if you were the WDFW? Would you sacrifice all the other seasons to get another 3 year extension for cougar hunting?
Buddy, Thanks for trying to create some good press for houndsmen, spending your gas$, taking time off from your job and taking the risk to help the community at large in which you live. Sometimes we have to do stuff like that in life even though we may not see an "immediate" return on investment, doing the "right" thing is ALWAYS the right thing. I wish more houndsmen would quit pissin' and moanin' and realize that you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. Maybe if more of us were willing to help out even though we aren't getting what we want right now, then we would regain our status as the original conservationists and shed the public perception that we're all a bunch of outlaws.
WDFW did not take our cougar hunting away. I repeat, WDFW did not take our cougar hunting away. To the uninformed retards that seem to have a hard time getting the facts straight maybe you should get yourselves educated before you spout out your ignorance.
The best shot we had at keeping the pilot program or any lion hunting was funded and pushed by the WDFW to get the needed legislation.
Buzzard, Cougar hunting did not get banned last March. Our pilot program put forth by the WDFW that showed the effectiveness of hounds expired. After extensions that were asked for by WDFW let us hunt a few extra years. Hound hunting for Bear, Cougar and Bobcat was taken away from us in 1996 by the uneducated voters of Washington State. Not the game dept. The only hunting we have had in the last 15 years was the result of WDFW working on our behalf in an effort to manage cougars with the use of dogs. I consider it a gift from heaven and try not to bite the hand that has been feeding us.
Buddy: I will bet that that old dog didn't open because she had never smelled a city cougar before. She knows that you can't run pets that live with people. If she had been in the mountains maybe it would of been different. Good job you will probably get a lot more of those calls in the future will the kill season like it is in Washington, maybe the next one will have a full belly. Dewey
Im not going to start pointing fingers at people on the forum, that will do no good, but i do know that helping the F&G will not help the cause at all. I have the facts and did my part with letters and phone calls, and the bottom line is that the legislators.. primarilly, Dunshee just dont want cougar hunting. If that cat in Vancouver would have NOT been killed and it happend to tangle with some kids then maby the people on the fence would also put preshure on the Legislators to fix the cougar problem. Thats the only way you get anything done in WA. the general voting public needs to put preshure on the I-5 Legislators. If the hound hunters QUITE killing problem cougars then that day will come much faster. I was getting called 1-3 times a week to help F&G kill problem cougars. Killing the problem cats didnt help the number go up in town at all, and thats where the voting public lives.
Brian Denney
Bearpaw Outfitters
208-682-9999
208-852-6495
