OUTDOOR

Tales and Trails

BY DAVE BECK Charlie’s last hunt

It’s a pretty safe bet that during this time of year you will find me out in the woods, alone, hunting up shed deer antlers. I could probably count the number of times on one hand when I’ve gone hunting with a partner, with the exception of Charlie. He was and always will be my all-time favorite. Charlie, a black Lab belonging to my friends Tammy and Gunny, has sadly gone on his last hunt. Today I salute him and I thank him for all of the miles that we trekked in the woods together.

Charlie and I only spent time together during the shed antler hunting season, yet he knew my truck and he knew that when I pulled into the driveway we were heading to the woods. He was so excited that he would run around the yard like his hair was on fire. To be honest, I was just as excited. Don’t get me wrong, I prefer to walk in the woods alone but walking with Charlie was just better, even if he drank all of my water, which happened all of the time.

Charlie was a horrible shed hunting dog. He never once found a shed antler before I saw it first and he certainly never found one on his own so that he could bring it to me. No, that wasn’t his deal. I even tried taking a picture with Charlie holding a deer horn in his mouth but he just wasn’t interested in that at all. I couldn’t even get him to pose behind a shed. As soon as I would kneel to snap a quick photo, he would lunge toward me, almost knocking me over so that he could give me a dog hug.

One of Charlie’s traits was his boundless energy. If I walked five miles, he walked 20. Even in his golden years, Charlie would range out in front of me as if he always had to be the first to see everything. I couldn’t guess how many antlers I found with him as my partner, but I always wondered how many more he passed by because he ventured out so much further ahead of me.

Charlie had a bad habit that I never shared with Tammy and Gunny because I was afraid that if they knew they would yell at me or worse, put an end to our outings. Charlie ate deer poop pellets like they were Milk Duds. Initially I would yell and pull him away by his collar but in the end, he would just bound ahead of me and find another pile. How can you not like a dog like that?

Last week while I was out shed hunting Gunny left me a voicemail message. I called him instead of reading the message. I continued to walk a deer trail back to my truck while we made small talk and then Gunny got to the reason for his call: “We had to put Charlie down.” Now this part I swear is absolutely true and if I have embellished in even the smallest degree, may I never find another shed antler for the rest of my life. Before I could take another step, I looked ahead on the deer trail and there was a shed antler. How’s that for a “Chuck

wink?”

Didn’t get enough Dave this week? Visit “Outdoor Trails and Tales with Dave Beck” on Facebook for photos and video of Dave’s adventures. You can share your own photos and video with him there as well, or by emailing him at [email protected] news Also, check out OTT content on Instagram @ thepiercecountyjournal

Even in his older years, Charlie was always raring to go on expeditions into the woods. Photo by Dave Beck

The moment I found out Charlie died, I saw this shed on the deer trail ahead of me. Photo by Dave Beck