Emily
UKC Forum Member
Registered: Feb 2004
Location: West Kill, NY
Posts: 2047 |
Alex
Normally, if there is a danger to the cast, a timeout would be called. Of course, not everyone agrees on the degree of danger--some people worry about roads more than others, some people worry about coyotes more than others, etc. In reality, in the woods, the degree of perceived danger is often inversely related to the number of points the handler stands to lose if time out is called. Just remember that no win is worth losing a dog over. If you need to withdraw your dog to keep it safe, don't hesitate, and don't let anyone second guess you.
As for stranding people in the woods with their dog stuck across the river, thats clearly unsportsmanlike behavior. That was outrageous and I'm sorry you witnessed such a thing. Things sometimes happen that way when its close to the deadline, but that doesn't make it right. At the very least, the guide should come back to help after the judge (the same person in this case?) or someone else runs the card back to the clubhouse.
I don't know how big or how difficult to cross the river was, but the guide should've, at the very least, given him some advice as to whether it was possible to drive around, or whether the river was shallow enough to cross on foot, or maybe where there was a boat stashed. And a guide is NEVER supposed to leave people in the woods, scratched or not. Stuff like that sometimes happens between friendly competitors as a practical joke, and there are certain competitors that are so annoying that they get minimal help. Always carry a compass, look for landmarks, etc. just in case, but that kind of thing is very unusual in competitive hunts. The MOH shouldn't have let a guy that would do such a thing be the judge. At most clubs, the troublemakers are well known in advance. This is not a club you want to hunt at again!
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09-27-2009 06:38 PM
