Yesterday evening we went to a friends small piece of ground, where they constantly have problems with invading Muntjac. I normally go there quite a few times throughout the year and make contact with some of them, but this this year despite going on quite a few sorties, have not seen any of the perpetrators. However yesterday proved fruitful, and as one came sneaking out of a very large bramble patch on the boundary I squeezed of a round from my faithful old rifle. The wee beastie was only around 100m away and went down like a sack of potatoes. This was a good and bad thing, it is my instinct to place the shot for an instant kill, but having Heidi in the truck ready and waiting, I could have done with the animal running on for some distance, but at least animal met a humane end. I should point out that I would normally love to have Heidi with me whilst stalking, but as the weather was around -2 degrees C, I thought it kinder to leave her in the warmth of the vehicle.
A few minutes after taking the shot I headed back to the truck and drove a good way back to the place where the shot had been taken from. It was getting dark now so I put Heidi on her normal lead and walked to some 50m from the dead Munty. She then sat while I changed her lead for her tracking collar and leash, and we then headed closer to where the deer had first shown itself. Heidi showed a great deal of interest in the fresh scent of the deer so I told her to 'track on', which she did with great gusto, her head was glued to the floor as she almost pulled me over with her keenness to get to the Muntjac, which she did with no problem. Once she got to the animal she was very pleased with her find, giving it a close inspection, licking the entry hole, and savouring a few drop of blood that was laying under the carcass. I tried to get her to speak, but she wasn't interested at this stage. After giving her heaps of praise I dragged the dead animal back up the hill to the truck, with Heidi mouthing and tugging at the carcass as we went. Once at the vehicle we could shed some light on what we were doing, and I managed to get Heidi wound up enough to start speaking, albeit with some reservation but at least she was doing the job. She now did not want to be pulled away from her new find, which made getting her back in the truck a bit of fun but we got there in the end.
Upon reaching our larder back at home, which was only a 5 minute drive, I got the beastie hung up and gralloched, which gave me the opportunity to collect some valuable blood. The small liver I sliced into chunks for future training rewards, but gave Heidi a piece straight away which seemed to be very appreciated. It was then Heidi's dinner time, so along with her food she also was given a couple more bits of the fresh liver, I'm sure she thought she had died and gone to heaven! Once she had eaten she climbed into her bed, where I completed her day by giving her one of the Muntys cleaves to chew on. This was now a very happy dog having received a great big dose if incentive for her work, and I am sure its just the sort of thing she was in need of.
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