Don’t Shoot Me!

Here in the upper midwest, deer hunting isn’t just a season — its a way of life.  And we don’t have just one deer hunting season to contend with, we have several.  Here in Minnesota, the archery season opener happened back on September 15.  A two-day antlerless deer season started on October 13, the regular gun season opened on November 3, and muzzle loader season opens on November 24.

So, from about October 13 until December 9 (the end of muzzle loader season) the woods and fields surrounding our rural home are crawling with armed men in blaze orange.  According to the Minnesota DNR, about a HALF MILLION  Minnesota hunters will harvest about a quarter million Minnesota deer.  Based on reports available from the MDNR, about four hunters will be ‘harvested’ and another two dozen will be shot and injured.

Don’t get me wrong, I think hunting is a wonderful thing.  When I was younger I hunted deer, grouse and chukars in Idaho.  But the number of armed humans per acre was significantly smaller then.

Although I realize that I am far more likely to be killed in a car-deer accident than by a deer hunter’s fatal blunder – the IDEA of getting shot is a whole lot scarier to me than the idea of hitting a deer with my car.

So, during hunting season the dogs and I either get our exercise at home or at nice, safe urban parks surrounded by highly developed areas.  Having a nice, large, heated dog training business right next door to my house is a big advantage this time of year.

For the next month or so we’ll work on dog tricks, clean up some obedience work, play a little fetch and let our neighbors enjoy hunting season…… without us.