Walker

There's an unwritten rule when it gets to selecting a hunting dog in the South African PH community... You never, ever, buy a hunting dog from anyone other than a proper breeder! The mere thought of buying one from a Pet Shop is as "out" as Jeb Bush is from the presidential race...

That's right... if you want to get yourself a "real" hunting dog, you find the finest breeder and pay an extravagant amount of money to make sure you get the dog with the best temperament and best nose possible... That's a "real" hunting dog!

Well, this tale is not one of such a dog... This tale is about a little pup - bought in a Pet Shop in the CITY of all places!

This tale is about Miss Walker - the most loyal companion a hunter can ask for.

My wife and I each picked a pup from two separate litters and decided to name them after our favourite Scotch... "Johnny & Walker" that day in the Pet Shop some 9 years ago... Johnny met an untimely and early demise at the hands of a thoughtless neighbour and his .270 but Walker prevailed and over time she became "Miss Walker" - due to her ladylike mannerisms. Walker was indeed a true lady and everyone who met her (dog lover or not) immediately fell in love with her.

In spite of her questionable background, Miss Walker showed a keen interest in hunting very early on and just loved chasing squirrels around the yard. She was not particularly successful in her endeavours though as the squirrels were way too fast for her and time and again she'd find herself yelping at the base of the tree the squirrel had vanished into. One day; I decided to ease her frustration so I took my pellet gun and shot one of the squirrels that was giving her such a hard time. The squirrel fell, Walker finally had her prey and she shook the heck out of the irritating little bugger until she was 100% sure it was dead. I repeated this a few times over the next weeks and soon Walker figured out that - if she helped me by finding the squirrels - I'd help her by killing the "irritating" little beasts...

One day as some friends and I got ready to leave for an afternoon hunt, I looked up and saw Miss Walker sitting on the veranda. The look in her eyes pleaded: "Please master! Can I come with?" Well I decided it couldn't do any harm so I picked her up and off we went in search of Bushbuck. I left Walker on the back of the pick-up as we went stalking a youngish Bushbuck Ram we'd seen earlier and my friend got a shot at it a short while later. As we walked up to the spot where the Ram had bolted away from after the shot, there was a sudden white flash... It was Walker passing me at Mach 1! She suddenly put her nose down, changed direction and was clearly on the track of something. I decided to give her the benefit of doubt and followed her to where the dead Bushbuck Ram was lying under a tree. From that day onwards little Miss Walker was an integral part of my hunting operation and this was only the first of many animals that she'd help me to recover...


2008 - first Bushbuck

I'll never forget the Nyala that Mark wounded at the bottom of a ravine down in KZN back in '09. There was very little blood to track but Walker got onto it she helped me chase that Nyala bull almost all the way back up the ravine where I could finally get a kill shot at it.

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2009 - Nyala KZN

Or the Blue Wildebeest later that year in Limpopo Province that ran for miles before Walker cornered it and gave Lorne an opportunity to dispatch of it...

I've lost count how many Warthogs Walker bayed for me. Oh boy! What she lacked in size - she sure made up for in sheer guts and bravery. The really neat thing about this little warrior was that - when you told her to back off - she would - thereby giving the shooter an opportunity to finish the wounded animal. A rare quality when it gets to Jack Russel Terriers...


2011


2014

More recently she saved the "behinds" of both my client and I hunting Buffalo... We were following up on a wounded buff in some seriously thick stuff and could barely see a few feet ahead of us in places. It was Walker who found that buff where it was waiting for us behind the bush and it was she who kept him busy until we could finally see him! Without her that day could've gotten very nasty real fast but it did not...



Well; last Monday Miss Walker joined Sabina on her morning ride and a few minutes into the ride Sabina's horse (Zhough) suddenly came to an abrupt halt as a Black Mamba lifted its head a couple of feet from Zhough's front leg. Zhough froze, refusing to move and the next moment Walker was between the snake and the horse. Sabina screamed to hell and high heavens for Walker to back off but (unusual for her - given her normal behaviour) the little warrior continued fighting the snake and alas received a bite to the head before the snake moved off into the tall grass...

Less than 20 minutes later the brave little girl died in my tracker (Sammy)'s arms as we entered the Vet's rooms...

Why she wouldn't back off from this particular Mamba I don't know. She's been hunting with me for so many years and we have encountered many snakes during this time. I've also shot numerous snakes out of trees around the house and each time she wanted to approach it she would back off if told to do so... Could it be that she felt a need to protect Sabina from this snake that was a few feet away from a horse refusing to move?

The answer we will never know...

Goodbye little girl! Rest in Peace and may there be many squirrels in your new hunting grounds. Give them hell!

I sure was enjoying reading about Miss Walker right up to the mamba encounter.
Very sad to hear of your loss.
There is no doubt in my mind that her defense of Sabina was here undoing.
There is no greater love than to lay down ones life for another.

I too really enjoyed your tale till the end. So sorry that you have lost a hunting companion. A good dog is part of the family. About like losing a child when you lose one. Thanks for telling her story to us. Bruce

Chris,

Thank you for sharing Miss Walker with us. She sounds like she was a great little dog.

These wonderful animals are never with us long enough, especially when they have an untimely death.

Tom

Dogs become family, I've lost two in the last 5 years.

A brave and courageous friend. You could want for nothing more.

quote:

Originally posted by bwana cecil:
I sure was enjoying reading about Miss Walker right up to the mamba encounter.
Very sad to hear of your loss.
There is no doubt in my mind that her defense of Sabina was here undoing.
There is no greater love than to lay down ones life for another.

Yup, not all stories have a good ending unfortunately...



She will be missed!

Sorry for your loss Chris, great dogs are what life is all about...
I gave up my Africa dream for my Princess Charlie, aka the dog named as Africa,,, hehe
She cost me almost 10 grand due to her surgeries, but she helped me though a terrible divorce and day to day crap and every time I walk through the door she is there for me and that tail wag makes my life complete...

I would love to walk up to people who say "it was just a dog" and punch them in the head, they just don't get it!!!

Miss Walker sounded awesome, never forget her!!!

Cheers
Chris

A man who has had at least one great dog in his life, is a lucky man indeed.

Thanks for sharing the story of your "little warrior" lady.

BH63

Chris, thank you for sharing such a wonderful story in your tribute to Miss Walker. It's hell when we lose our dogs, one of life's greatest cruelties is that our dogs don't live as long as we do.

RIP Miss Walker

Sorry for the loss of your brave little dog.

So sorry for you loss, She went down fighting for your family.

quote:

Originally posted by ChrisTroskie:

quote:

Originally posted by bwana cecil:
I sure was enjoying reading about Miss Walker right up to the mamba encounter.
Very sad to hear of your loss.
There is no doubt in my mind that her defense of Sabina was here undoing.
There is no greater love than to lay down ones life for another.

Yup, not all stories have a good ending unfortunately...



She will be missed!

Sorry to hear this Chris and now and again you come across a special dog and fine companion. Sadly many fine dogs succumb to snakes.

Sounds like Miss Walker was a great friend and companion.

Thanks for sharing her story with us.

Sorry for your loss.

It's hard to take the loss of a good dog but at least she died with dignity doing exactly what her instincts told her to do.

Sorry for your loss they do become part of the family

So sorry to hear about your pup. My condolences.

I've lost six dogs in my life, and have three at present.

Sometimes I look at them, and dread 'the day' and know it's coming, some day in the future.

One would think after six losses, it would get easier. As any dog lover knows, it simply does not.

The Rainbow Bridge will be glorious on 'our day'.

RIP

quote:

Originally posted by ChrisTroskie:

Yup, not all stories have a good ending unfortunately...



She will be missed!

An intelligent face, there were brains behind those eyes. I am indeed sorry that you lost such a perfect friend.

RIP, I had a bulldog as a child that died of snakebite from a cobra, never had another dog since!

Sorry to hear it, Chris.

Our adopted mongrel wild dog saved us from stepping on a brown snake on the walk to school one morning.

Thanks for the story and sorry for your loss. I have Jack female that looks just like her. She also loves to chase squirrels.

Sorry for your loss Chris, there is that special bond between man and working dog that only those who have ever worked with and owned dogs will know.

You know on the day you pick them up as a puppy that they will one day break your heart, but we choose to continue doing so because our lives are so much richer and full in having them.

Thank you for sharing your memories of Miss Walker, what a wonderful life she lived!

I recently had to to put my Jagd Terrier down. See Rtudy in the Dogs threads. I feel your anguish and she gave her life for your daughter . Jerry Hoover

I think it is better to say "her" family.
_______

quote:

Originally posted by jeff h:
So sorry for you loss, She went down fighting for your family.

I am sorry for your families loss. Losing a dog hits hard, because of their devoted, unconditional love.

It sounds like Miss Walker was one of the best. She lives on in your memories, and in your sharing stories and pictures of her with us.

Sorry for your loss. It's tough to loose good dogs. We only can love and enjoy them while we have them.

Sorry for the loss. These little dogs amaze me with their bravery.

Your loss will be felt for the rest of your life. But that dog sensed an issue and dealt with it as best she knew how. You are lucky to have had such a dog.

That sounded insensitive and I didn't mean it that way. You had a great dog. Losing her is hurtful, but what a great dog.

quote:

Originally posted by lavaca:
That sounded insensitive and I didn't mean it that way. You had a great dog. Losing her is hurtful, but what a great dog.

You were not being insensitive at all and no offence was taken. Your comments were absolutely spot-on.

Thanks also to everyone else who have replied.

Very much appreciated!

I raise my glass of Oban to toast this noble and faithful friend,hunter and warrior,indeed. Having buried too many Labrador or Chesapeake friends on the banks of Montana's Upper Missouri River I share the sorrow and pain of a short life cut even more.What wonderful memories are depicted in the posted photos and stories......let these sustain you.....and do.at some point,share your adventures with a new pup.

Chris I am so Sorry for your loss! I know how that feels.

Reminds me of some of the Ernest Thompson Seton stories I read as a child. Some were sad but taught me about the real world of animals as apposed to Disney !

Sorry to hear about your loss, these are indeed members of the family as much as anybody else is.

Chris,

Friend of mine lost his dog this morning also to a big mamba on the farm yard.

She has killed a lot of snakes in her 9 years but this morning her time ran out...

They do leave a gap that will not really be filled again...

Thanks for sharing the story, Chris and sorry for your loss. I have owned many dogs, both sporting and otherwise, and they do leave a hole not easily filled. However, as I told my wife after we lost our last, losing them is inevitable. But, that's the price we pay for all of the joy they bring us while they are with us. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Man (and Woman's) best friend, and not even a close second...

RIP Miss Walker.

quote:

as I told my wife after we lost our last, losing them is inevitable. But, that's the price we pay for all of the joy they bring us while they are with us. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Agreed 100%
For all the shed hair & little messes they make, I can't imagine life without them.