Taz reminds me of my Big Red I had as a kid. He was an Irish Setter that had been put out because be was too slow to jeep hunt Quail. He and I hit it off and he was my protector and pal. My mom could not raise her voice to me when Red was around. He would not allow strangers close to us kids, and bit the heck out of a man who walked up to my sisters play pen out in the yard one day without speaking to mom. He would go crazy if we ever got a gun out, pointed and honored better than any dog I ever had. Everyone knew Red and respected him. You best not come around the house if you did not come straight to the front door and knock. His neck hair would stand up and he had this low growl that said you are treading on thin ice buddy. The only other person he ever bit I know was my mother when Red was fighting with a pointer over some deer meat scraps and she reached in to break up the fight. He was so ashamed of his mistake he sulked around with his head down for almost a week. Mom did not blame him, she knew better than to stick her hand between two fighting dogs. Red lived 21 years we know of, despite being being poisoned one time. He became blind and deaf and passed away while I was off at school.
When Red died, I got another Red Setter, Belle, who was almost the same way. she slept under the babies' bed and you had best tell her you were there or she would pull your feet out from under you. She would always stop one of the kids from going toward the street even if she had to throw the kid down and sit on him.
Some of God's greatest gifts are a good woman and a good dog, and I am lucky, or blessed. to have had both in my life.

This is gold. I have not had the pleasure to read something so good in a long time.

The others that mentioned a book are absolutely right. It would be an amazing read.

Thanks for sharing this stuff with us.

What is the story of the spike and Taz? That is an awesome picture.

Is this your Weimaraner? I saved this pic from aldeer a few years ago.

Thanks for sharing Taz with us.

LOL, I haven't seen that pic in years. Yes , that is my wife Weimie and a little rescue buck we bottle raised. I took the pic in my den in Cahaba Heights. I saw that pic on another forum once and said I took it, Some idiot called me a liar, but looked like an idiot after I put up pics of the den w/o the dog and deer.

My wife had T-shirts made with that pic on them and the logo SIZE DON'T MATTER.....

the "spike" is a rescue buck that I raised. Lil terd took to sneaking in the back door and getting on the sofa to watch TV with my wife. He spent as much time in as out.

Awesome. Thanks for all the stories..

Johns Road???

yes, Johns road. stinky water too...

Enjoyed that very much. Thanks

Great stories Troy. I have been lucky to have 3 great dogs in my life. They are truly a blessing!

Yea I'd be surprised if you ever checked anyone there that actually had a license.

What did you do with the deer you raised that would become so tame they would stay in the house? Is it possible to return them to the wild after that? How long do you keep them?

they went different places, usually where there was no hunting or limited hunting.. I'd release em one year old. Far as I could tell they had a good survival rate, over 80% for a year.

Did you put a collar on them or seen them on camera? Just asking how you knew the survived.

ear tags back then...

the deer in the pic went totally nocturnal when released. Land owner had camers pics of him at 11pm-3am, he was never seen in daylight by anyone and lived to be at least six. I think he paid attention when watching those early Primos shows on TV.....

Best thread I have read in a while. I wish they would start one of those warden TV series in one of the southeastern states other than Florida. Thanks for the stories.

Just bumping this back to the top. I have read these stories once again. Thanks for the stories again Mr. Troy!