Tools...Toys...or Recreational Pets?

I've seen a very well known dog man and promoter of our sport come almost to tears when he thought his bulldog was near death...blood covering a swath of grass 10 foot wide....bulldog laying in middle of it. Wasn't cut...just near heat stroke....same ole story of hog breaking...CD catching up at next bay 1/2 mile away and catching hog. Just gave out before we got there. Dog lives but he was retired after that hunt.

I wouldn't feel the same way over just any dog I own...only a select few. But those select few...it's going to break my heart when/if I lose them.

It's different when you buy a good to great dog and it dies. Yes, I would feel a great loss...but it would be more like....just being upset that I lost an integral part of my team...that I may not be as successful as I would otherwise be.

The dogs I've raised from pups that have turned into genuine hunters are the dogs I'm talking about. The ones I've bonded with...spent hours and hours training and they have became dogs. With me...there is just a bond there that goes real deep.