Well, I have a bird dog! Moses, a French Brittany, arrived home here in Kanas City on February 27th. Exhaustion soon followed close behind, and not to be forgotten, little treasures of accidents. Doubts slowly creeped into my mind. “How do I do this?” “Will he ever stop having accidents?” “Am I forever going to feel like a zombie?” “Never doing this again!!”
Then in a moment of wonder, he gazed at me with those dark eyes. He sat down. He waited for the food bowl to reach the floor, he waited at the door. He slept. O’ he slept! I enjoyed a night of sleep. A smile slowly emerged. A glimmer of hope found a place in my heart. The distant light at the end of a long tunnel started to flicker. Maybe, just maybe I can learn to teach a bird dog.
Accidents still happen. I still become frustrated. Then I realize, it is my fault, not Moses’. My expectations are sky high. His potential is limitless. Navy Seal operators have a saying, “embrace the suck.” When it seems hard, it is time to dig in. Adapt, and overcome. Moses and I still have a great many things to learn together. We are on a ultramarathon of sorts. Little by little we celebrate the victories. We are off to the races.
By Erin Woodward
Erin Woodward is a novice bird hunter. He was born and raised in Kansas where he currently resides with his wife and three children. Erin can be found during the fall and winter months venturing across the Great Plains in search of wild game. Summers are reserved for fishing and making homemade ice cream. His works have appeared in: Sage & Braker, Missing Sucks, Hunt Redi, Project Upland and Endless Migration.