LAWMAN..........; The Tundra Shepherd Deer Tacker

Being a bow-hunter with some two decades hunting experience-unique, natural interaction among whitetail deer still fascinates me. As is often their undoing, a large buck was led past my stand at 4:00 p.m. by two obviously receptive does. At the shot, he bolted-causing the arrow to pass through too far back. Shortly after, I looked for and found the arrow. Upon its examination, it was apparent the shot had passed through his paunch.

Under such circumstances, the wisest thing to do is go home, get help, and give the deer several hours to bed down and expire. Experience dictates that a too soon pursued deer will leave his bed and cover a lot of ground fast-making his retrieval nearly impossible.

Upon arriving home, I phoned Scott Rice of Guardian K-9 Training. I soon had enlisted help, as well as "LAW", his twelve year old American Tundra Shepherd.

Law has a remarkable reputation for finding deer under less than idea conditions. His uncanny skill and preseverance are truly a marvel to witness.

The three of us arrived some 5 hours later at the shot location. One worrisome detail that could hinder us was the wind had shifted from strong out of the South to stronger out of the North-with rain threatening. Therefore any sign was probably hidden by the wind blowing the high grass opposite of where the shot was taken.

Law, keying on the scent on the arrow, was nonetheless, trailing in the direction the buck had fled. At 300 yards into the search, the scent seemed to disappear. Law patiently, methodically, circled the area until he again was on the scent. We were about 1-1 1/2hours into the search, and I, for one, was getting nervous. Scott, however, assured me the finding often takes longer than the shooting.

Law was working very slowly and cautious now some 40 feet in front of Scott. I had moved to one side about 30 yards to gain some high ground when suddenly, almost frantic, Scott called to me. Law had gotten behind, and snuggled into Scott's legs.

Running toward them I had no idea why Scott was chuckling so hard. just as my patience was wearing thin, Scott announced that Law had found my deer. It seemed whenever Law finds a deer, he reacts in this fashion. Scott of course knew this, I did not! As we eased forward, we spotted the buck in a bedding position, his nose facing south. As deer always bed facing the wind -we knew he had died before the 5:00 p.m. wind shift occurred.

Law- the "tracking machine" had added another chapter to his already accomplished book. His legend and local "bigger than life" reputation are well earned and deserved! Being fortunate enough to experience such a dog indeed marks me a lucky man. With out this fine dof, I very much doubt I would have recovered a magnificent, beautiful animal. I am pleased by the knowledge that despite age and wear, many of us, man and dog, are still good for the hunt. I like to think we have important things in common.

Mark A. Nunnelly