En's first real search!

[TimL_168]

So, this season has been very slow for me so far. I've only been able to get into the woods a handful of times. I haven't advertised Endeavor for tracking services because I've only worked her on training tracks and area searches. I really want to get a couple recoveries under her belt before I try to help others find their lost deer.
Today was kinda sorta the real deal. Saturday afternoon, I found out that someone killed a small buck the previous evening. The guy didn't find his deer that night. He did find it the next morning, but he left it there. I'm not going to get into all that. All I'll say is this: I was told the deer was less than 300 yards from a road and had died in a dry creek bed. I took her in a little farther to get downwind. We found good...GOOD blood and she broke her heel and lunged down a trail. I switched the lead to her harness and tried to keep up with her. It was impressive. She really knew what to do. She tracked down into a depression along the creek bed. When she got there, she must have caught wind of the carcass because she lifted her head from the ground and cast back and forth a couple times. She changed her demeanor a bit and charged up to the far side of the depression and down into the creek. She ran straight to what was left of it. Being two days old, gut shot, and ravaged by coyotes and vultures, it was a total loss of meat. But it was a really great opportunity for her to get some real world experience. The crazy party is, on the way back out she was pulling off to the side once we got near the road. I corrected her twice. Just as I was about to tell at her, I realized there was a roadkill deer hidden between the guard rail and a tree. So really, she found two today!

[centrop67]

That's awesome Tim!