Gentlemen (and Ladies )
Craig is out of the country at the moment and has asked me to post the following on his behalf. So many of our fellow AR friends have been so generous with your support of Punki , and we , along with Punki are very thankful for both your concern, as well as your monetary support of his recovery efforts. The following thread is dedicated to raising funds to pay medical costs,while affording a couple of sportsmen the chance to enjoy world class hunting in our favorite destination..AFRICA.
Our very best to all our friends on AR
Good Hunting
Dave Fulson

Dear friends,

As many of you are aware, my daughter Brittany was recently involved in a hunting accident while on safari in Namibia. Please allow me to let Brittany explain the accident in her words:

“In April 2009 I was in Namibia, hunting leopard with hounds with PH Nic Kruger at Omujeve Safaris.  We were on a very aggressive leopard in terribly thick cover.  We pulled off to water the dogs, expecting the leopard to move off--hopefully into better ground.  When we went back in the leopard was prepared, but we were not.  While our dog handlers were trying to pick up the scent the leopard ambushed us.  I was walking behind Nic when I heard his first shot go off, but in an instant the cat had jumped over the first dog handler and onto our chief dog handler, Punki, now laying down in tall grass.  Unfortunately I didn't see this, and there was no time for instructions. I stepped around Nic, and saw the cat thrashing in the grass, I assumed it was because it was wounded and not because it was chewing on Punki. I thought I had a clear view of the cat, and fired.  The leopard had chewed Punki’s ankle and bit through the leather belt on his hip but jumped off after my shot, unfortunately I was a few inches low and he was struck by the bullet.  The whole incident lasted less than three insane and most regrettable seconds.  Thanks to superb first aid and fast evacuation Punki is recovering at an amazing rate, but his medical bills are extreme.  Punki is one of the most experienced leopard hunters in southern Africa, with 25 years experience with his hounds.  I have established the "Punki Recovery Fund," and the proceeds of this auction will go to continue to provide Punki with the best medical care available.”

I personally have also hunted with Punki in the past and know him to be both a courageous and skilled hunter. In order to help fund the enormous medical bills associated with the recovery and rehabilitation of this good man, I have teamed up with some good friends in the industry to develop two exciting safaris with the entire proceeds dedicated to the Punki Recovery Fund. These two safaris will be awarded on a sealed bid auction with the winning bidders determined on July 15, 2009. Here are descriptions of the two safaris:

SAFARI ITEM # 1

NYATI SAFARIS AND CRAIG BODDINGTON
7-DAY CAPE BUFFALO SAFARI (COUTADA 14-MOZAMBIQUE)
AND
RIGBY .500 NE DOUBLE RIFLE WITH HORNADY AMMUNITION

This is a 7-day Cape buffalo safari in Mozambique's famed Coutada 14, in the Marromeu Delta, generously donated by Nyati Safaris. This hunt is for one hunter and one observer. Plains game available subject to quota and trophy fees. You will be using your newly refinished Rigby .500 boxlock NE, 24” barrels with a straight stock, suitable for left or right handed shooters, donated by Craig Boddington. For your hunt, Hornady has donated 100 rounds of .500 NE ammunition. This hunt will be filmed for TRACK ACROSS AFRICA on The Outdoor Channel, with show host Craig Boddington in attendance.

Safari may be taken based on available dates in 2010.  Nyati Safaris recommends September-November, with October the ideal month.

Not included in the package is: transportation to and from Beira, Mozambique, and for air charter (approx. $2000) from Beira to and from camp and other plains game is available and subject to quota and trophy fees.

VALUE:  $42,500

MINIMIM BID:  $20,000



SAFARI ITEM # 2

Omujeve Hunting Safaris Namibia, Reiser Taxidermy and Tracks Across Africa LEOPARD WITH DOGS IN NAMIBIA
14 days 1x1, 1 HUNTER AND 1 OBSERVER


Enjoy one of Africa’s most exciting and successful leopard hunts in central Namibia with Omujeve Safaris. You will follow one of the finest packs of hounds in pursuit of the large Tom leopards that Namibia is noted for. This hunt will be filmed for TRACK ACROSS AFRICA on The Outdoor Channel, with show host Craig Boddington in attendance. Plains game available at trophy fees per Omujeve price list. Reiser Taxidermy in Windhoek, Namibia has generously included a LIFE-SIZE MOUNT of your leopard and SHIPPING to the U.S. is included.
Safari may be taken on available dates in 2010; Omujeve recommends 14-day period in April through June as the ideal time. Not included in this package is transportation to and from Windhoek, Namibia and additional plains game subject to normal trophy fees. Visit Omujeve Safaris website at www.omujevesafaris.com for additional information on their operation.

VALUE:  $35,000

MINIMIM BID:  $15,000

The process for submitting a sealed bid for these packages is very simple. Each bid must contain the following:

• Your name, mailing address, telephone number and e-mail address
• Indicate the item you are bidding on (either safari #1 or #2)
• Your bid amount

This sealed bid should be mailed to the following address:

Safari Classics Productions
ATTN:  PUNKI RECOVERY FUND
5206 McKinney Avenue, Suite 101
Dallas, TX 75205

Your sealed bid must be received no later than July 15, 2009. If you are the winning bidder, you will be contacted immediately. Your full payment will be due within 10 days.

For more information, you can e-mail me directly at craigboddington@mac.com or call Safari Classics at (214) 360-9599.

Many thanks to all of you for your support of this fine man.

ADDITION TO BUFFALO AUCTION HUNT:

Rowdy Woodson of Woods and Water Taxidermy in Austin, Texas has generously donated a shoulder mount of the Mozambique buffalo, so please consider this added to the package!

Regards to all, Craig
Craig Boddington

Dave,

If you and/or Craig are happy for us to do so, we'll be happy to put this on our www.shakariconnection.com site free of charge....... all you have to do is let me have your permission to do so.

I'd suggest we copy your post from 'Dear Friends' to Craig's signature. Aternatively, if you prefer other text, just send it to me.

Great hunts offered. Thanks. I am certainly going to consider them, as will others, I am sure.

Steve
You have my full blessing to copy this, as you see fit, onto your fine site. Barbra Crown has also offered to post this. Thank you for the help Steve, you are an awfully good man !
Cheers
Dave

Dave,

Thanks for those kind words. I just believe in doing the right thing.

We'll have it on the site by about midday CAT tomorrow.

I'd love to be able to bid on hunt #1 but would need to sell another two or three thousand books between now and July 15. Let me see, if I sell 100 a day with my commision that would be...oh, hell. I have a better chance of getting struck by lightning.

I do hope other AR members can help out by purchasing one of the hunts though. It seems like a great cause.

Steve, thanks a million, of course I echo Brother Dave: Please post!
Thanks again, all best, Craig

Craig I like what you are doing to help out.

By "straight stock" do you mean no cheekpiece or no pistolgrip?

this offer is what you call "stepping up to the plate and doing the right thing". props to all involved in this fine offer!!!

Damn but Mama Shakari is getting good at this!

I hoped to have the info on the site by 1200 CAT and we made it by 1154 CAT.

The Special News announcement directly under the Buff pic here: http://www.shakariconnection.com/index.html links to the relevent page here: http://www.shakariconnection.c...boddington-hunt.html and she's even hyperlinked the e-mail addy.



Guess I owe her another dinner!

I have too much planned too far out to jump on this.

Which is to say, given the foregoing, too little left over time or cash.

But this is a good opportunity for anyone who can make it happen.

Best of luck to all concerned.

ADDITION TO BUFFALO AUCTION HUNT:

Rowdy Woodson of Woods and Water Taxidermy in Austin, Texas has generously donated a shoulder mount of the Mozambique buffalo, so please consider this added to the package!

Regards to all, Craig

GUYS, I'M AN IDIOT!!!! ROWDY WOODSON'S "WOODS AND WATERS TAXIDERMY" IS IN CONROE, TEXAS . . . NOT AUSTIN AS I JUST POSTED. MY APOLOGIES!!!!

Thanks Craig. I've already sent in both of my bids on both hunts and now knowing that a shoulder mount on the Cape Buffalo hunt is also included is welcome news!

UPDATE ON PUNKI

On 5 June I received a report from Trevor Filmer and from Punki's current doctor in South Africa, Dr. Marinus Swanepoel. From Trevor, Punki is feeling much better, has been cautioned to slow down! He seems to have regained much movement in his foot and lower leg, and the infection seems gone. He is actually taking interest in some new puppies, which we read as a good sign that, in his mind, he is starting to believe he may actually get back to his hounds. He needs a further surgery in about three weeks, depending on continued recovery, but right now he is doing just great--CONSIDERING!!!!!!
Once again, my thanks to all for you continued concern and interest. Regards, Craig

From Dr. Swanepoel, in part:
"I saw him just now and his wounds
look stunning. He is also able to mobilize albeit with pain but I told him to take it easy. It may take up to six months before his pelvis will be completely healed and he may never get 100% function back, although I do not see it impossible to return to his former job. Depending on the sucess of his upcoming surgery this may be in less that three months time.
At the moment I am quite confident for his sake.
Regards
Marinus Swanepoel

Cool!

Rich
Buff Killer

Uh, yeah, very cool considering what happened to the poor guy just 40 days ago! Thanks, Craig

Craig, Considering this whole thing was a terrible accident. You, Dave and your friends have really stepped to the plate. Some would have talked about doing something. You guys got the job done. Because of starting a new business and the state of affairs I will not be able to bid, but hope you raise a ton of money for Punki. You have shown your true colors and its all good.

PS I really like the show!

the day I die, if I have half a dozen friends the quality of Craig, I will consider my life a success.

A lot of people would have walked away and made some token commitment. Craig has gone beyond "talk" and is walking the walk here. He is the kind of stand-up guy who begins to restore my faith (lost 02-11-08) in humanity.

If every one here sent about $25, the bills would be paid and leave enough for a retirement package for Punki.

Rich
Buff Killer

Thanks, Jeff H--and thanks to everyone. Quite a lot of folks have helped with this, from a little bit to a whole bunch. ALL is greatly appreciated. In virtually every mail delivery we all get "opportunities" to give away spare $$, and the reality in this economy is few of us have much, if anything, to spare. I am truly grateful to all of you who have chosen to help Punki. Brittany and I are embarrassed by the necessity to ask for help. So I have no issue wih those who prefer not to, nor with the few who have (sometimes very pointedly) suggested that this is our problem and we should deal with it. Reality is this is too big a problem for us to deal with, and Punki's recovery hangs in the balance. So we asked for assistance--and I am incredibly humbled by the way the hunting community has stepped in.
Again, my thanks to all. Punki continues on the road to recovery, with just a couple of weeks now to what we hope will be his last surgery.
Regards, Craig and Brittany

Good luck!

Brett

UPDATE ON PUNKI:

On the 24th Punki underwent what we hope will be his final operation. Early on in this nightmare we posted some overly-optimistic reports, so I will try to avoid that . . . but I don't want to make it sound worse than it is, either! Punki was strong and had a great attitude going into the surgery, which always helps. Dr. Weakley is satisfied with the results, but this was lower abdominal stuff, tricky because of possbility of infection. So it's a wait and see, and if "so far so good" remains, he will be released from the hospital in about a week, with more recovery and then physical therapy. Right now the prognosis is very good.

On the business side of this, ultimately South Africa's equivalent of "workman's comp/health insurance", which his employer, Trevor Filmer, has paid into on his behalf for many years, has refused to pay one thin dime. Their rationale: The accident took place in Namibia, not in South Africa! This is essentially the reverse of the Namibian outfitter's insurance, which refused to pay because Punki was a South African, not a Namibian (even though he was in Namibia working on a legal work permit). The only way to understand this is to shrug your shoulders and say, "TIA" (This Is Africa). I am not surprised by this ruling, but it makes the success of our two auction hunts, and all of your generous contributions, all the more important! We will open the auction bids on 15 July, so there is time, and these will be two really great hunts.

There is another consideration, in that this has been a wakeup call for me, and I'm sure for many of us. This is obviously an unusual situation in that a bullet wound is involved--but I'm not at all certain the insurance picture would be different if all the damage had been done by the leopard--or if there was something more mundane and likely, like a vehicle accident. It's easy to say that the outfitter should assume liability, but not quite the same on the ground. In order to save Punki's life, the outfitter was required to write a large "down payment" check before the doctors would even touch Punki--large enough to put their business in jeopardy. When I got home I wired a much larger amount to pay them back, and to keep care going for some time. That tapped me out completely, and then we started asking for help--which many of you in the hunting community generously provided. Barring complications, we (including Punki) should be okay. Long term, I have renewed my MedJet Assist family membership, and I am going to take a hard look at very comprehensive "trip insurance." The scary thing is that this could happen to any of us, and the assumptions I have operated with my entire life about insurance, medical care, and such don't necessarily apply in a Third World country!

Again, thanks to all of you for your continued interest and support, please remember Punki in your prayers. We will know a lot more in just a few days.

Regards to all, Craig

If there is any good that will come from this incident, it is the possibility that the realizations you have identified regarding insurance terms and liability will be more carefully considered by those of us who could have just as easily been in those shoes.

Thank you for this information.

UPDATE ON PUNKI:

SO FAR, SO GOOD. Indications are last week's surgery was a success, but he remains in the hospital while they monitor for infection and complications. I hesitate to say anything more for a few more days, but currently he seems on the road to final recovery.

Once again, thanks for all of your support and good wishes.

Regards, Craig

Craig,

what good news to spread. You are all three in our prayers. Is it "nosy" to ask how you and Brittany are handling things? I cannot imagine the misery you two are going thru.

Best wishes and God Bless

Rich
DRSS

Craig,
On the other side of this situation, how is your daughter doing? This can be a very traumatic incident for the shooter as well. May Punki have a full recovery, and Brittany return with you to the field.

Best wishes,
Rob and Leah Ware

and the winners are...

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Steve Richards:
and the winners are...

For the Omujeve leopard hunt, Mr. Bill Jones.
For the Nyati buffalo safari and rifle, Mr. David Porter. Many thanks to both of you, and I will look forward to hunting with you. And, again, thanks so much to our other bidders.

Craig, have you considered turning in a claim to your insurance company? Your personal liability is good worldwide and it does not sound like there is much question about liability. Typically the policy language states that they (the insurance co.) will pay all sums they are legally obligated to pay. I'm sure if Punki took your daughter to court they would find her liable therefore it looks like you have a claim under your homeowners insurance policy. Certainly worth looking into that's why you have it, to prevent catastrophic loss which seems to be happening here. Just a thought. I am an insurance agent and I know the company I represent would certainly entertain the claim. They would investigate and pay based on the merits of it. This is probably pretty good information for most of you to know that you probably have some protection in a situation like this. Your auto coverage however is almost assuredly subject to territorial limits and will not protect you.

To Shooter Boy, thanks for the good thought. Had I been there, maybe, but I was 1,000 miles away and Brittany isn't covered by my insurance. Hindsight is such a marvelous tool! I have learned a great deal about what can go wrong! Thanks to a lot of great folks, we are all doing okay, including Punki! He is now out of the hospital, hopefully for good, still has minor infection at the wound site, but that seems to be responding. It will be some time yet before we know how much residual damage in that leg, but it could have been so much worse. I will keep you posted.
Regards, Craig