Dozens of volunteer dog trackers will take to the woods over the next few months to help hunters recover wounded game from Vermont鈥檚 forests.
Even the most experienced hunters can miss their mark. And when they wound an animal, but can鈥檛 follow the blood trail, an all-volunteer group of certified leashed dog trackers are available to help recover deer, bear or moose.
Col. Justin Stedman, with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, said the animals, and their owners, play a critical role in Vermont鈥檚 hunting ecosystem.
鈥淚t is amazing how well animals can navigate and follow a blood trail that humans can鈥檛 even see,鈥� Stedman told 开云体育. 鈥淲hat would take hunters hours or days, or may never prove fruitful, they鈥檙e able to accomplish relatively quickly.鈥�
Tim Nichols, who鈥檚 been a part of Vermont鈥檚 dog tracking program since it began in 1996, said volunteers are on call at all hours of the day and night during Vermont鈥檚 deer, bear and moose hunting seasons.
He said trackers hate to see meat from an animal go to waste. And he said they also want the animals鈥� deaths to be as humane as possible.
鈥淎t least you鈥檙e going to find the animal the quickest way and the most humane way and finish it off instead of letting it suffer out there and die a slow death or die of being eaten by a bear or a coyote or something like that,鈥� Nichols said.
The program receives no state funding and relies entirely on donations from hunters who solicit the trackers鈥� services. Nichols said he鈥檚 often accepted gifts of venison or bear meat from lower-income hunters who can鈥檛 afford to donate. And he said inflation and other economic forces have begun to make recovering wounded game a matter of food security for some people.
"It is starting to get back to the way of, they might not have too much meat this winter if they don鈥檛 get this deer or this bear."Tim Nichols, certified leashed dog tracker
鈥淎nd so they can鈥檛 afford a lot of meat. And it is starting to get back to the way of, they might not have too much meat this winter if they don鈥檛 get this deer or this bear,鈥� he said.
Last year, Vermont鈥檚 42 certified leashed dog trackers responded to 352 calls and recovered 116 deer, eight bear and three moose. Nichols said trackers invest enormous energy and time to train their dogs, and endure long treks over rugged terrain to find their quarry.
鈥淚t isn鈥檛 for everybody 鈥� you鈥檒l get hurt. I鈥檝e broken an arm. We had a tracker break his leg,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 fun. If you like working with dogs, you鈥檒l love it. But you go through a lot.鈥�
Nichols, who currently has three tracking dogs, said there鈥檚 something in it for the canines, too. After a successful bear recovery earlier this week, for instance, Nichols said his dog was still excited when they got back home.
鈥淗e found the bear that we went after. And he came home and he went to my wife and he jumped on the bed, and he鈥檚 jumping around, and he鈥檚 like, 鈥楪randma! Grandma! You can鈥檛 believe what I found!鈥欌�� Nichols said. 鈥淪o yeah, they鈥檙e just like kids.鈥�
Hunters can find the of dog trackers in their area by visiting the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department website.
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