I'm Mad About This!

[jdmidwest]

If you've ever been around Beagles I suspect you would think different. First off, beagles don't "run" they push. I think the guy has a very legitimate point in that a lack of any obstructions would hardly allow a dog with legs that short to harass any grown deer. I suspect that a deer turned to confront the dog because it had no fear of it. I've seen deer do that even with housecats.

I hope he stays after them, because it simply doesn't sound right.

I have been around beagles, we own 3 currently. One is a 3 y/o male that we took in and tamed down. He will run a rabbit and not bark. We also have a pair of males born last summer, they will bark trail but have yet to run one. We are fencing in a area to keep a few rabbits to play with the pups. They are not pets, they are hunting dogs.

My point, the owner did not have control of his animal, owners fault. Dog was running deer, could have been trained to do so, owners fault.

[strangercreek]

....as long as we're posting pictures of dogs. If you see this dog, I hope you are armed, because she is viscious

[fozzie.]

....as long as we're posting pictures of dogs. If you see this dog, I hope you are armed, because she is viscious

Can it hem up a deer?

But seriously...if I saw that gremlin-lookin' thing running around in the woods, I'd probably put a cap in it too.

[Gavin]

Running deer for whatever reason....Think I'd value the life of anybodies pet over a lousy deer.

[fishinwrench]

Running deer for whatever reason....Think I'd value the life of anybodies pet over a lousy deer.

Absolutely. Even the guys that own body shops would support that, I bet.

[Al Agnew]

I've been around beagles enough to know that a good beagle is VERY difficult to scare or call off a hot trail. They'll run a rabbit until the rabbit is shot or it goes into a hole, and even when it goes into the hole, the dog is often difficult for the OWNER to get away. A stranger shouting, throwing rocks, or shooting willy-nilly AIN'T gonna get the dog off the trail. And I'm still waiting to hear whether rabbit season was even open at the time this happened. And like Gavin, I'm wondering if the dog wasn't trained to run deer. Thing is, you guys are looking at it solely from the owner's point of view, or your own point of view that a beagle is a cute little dog. Like somebody said, beagles are HUNTING dogs, bred to run critters either in circles or to exhaustion, and deer probably can recognize when something is hunting them rather than just chasing them for the fun of it or playing with them. You don't know, and neither do I, what the exact situation was when the ranger encountered the dog and deer. Maybe he's just a dog hater and took the excuse to shoot his firearm at something he didn't like. Or maybe there's a lot more to the story than that. But I'm still not sure what else he could have done IF the dog was truly harassing deer. One final question...is it generally known that park rangers can shoot pets that are harassing wildlife? And if so, what the heck was the guy doing running his dogs so close to a place where they could stray into such trouble?

[Kicknbass]

I have owned beagles in the past, and they were not "trained" to run deer. However, they did, not by my will, but by instinct. I would take them rabbit hunting and if we jumped a deer, look out, they were gone. It took quite some time to break them of this problem. It would have been very unfortunate if some one would have shot them because it was "legal" to do so. I was fortunate on a hunt out at Busch wildlife when they got on a deer and took off. It ruined the hunt. They were gone, and we spend most of the day hunting beagles rather than hunting rabbits. Fortunately for us, my beagles didn't run across this guy from the park service. One of my two dogs was picked up by another hunter 2 or 3 days later and I received a phone call that this fellow had my dog. 4 or 5 days later, I receive a call from the folks at Busch that the other dog was found at the gun range. I was able to get both my dogs back. After that, they never ran deer.

This problem at Buffalo likely could have been handled differently. Most law enforcement folks are good people. However, not all. This was likely done by the latter. It would have been nice if the Park Service would have given the paper a statement to justify the act.

[techo]

....as long as we're posting pictures of dogs. If you see this dog, I hope you are armed, because she is viscious

I am not sure what kind of dog that is on the left....but scares me a little.

[Wayne SW/MO]

When Manes asked why the ranger shot his dog, he said the officer replied, “It had deer hemmed up and running them in circles. I love dogs but can’t stand to see a dog harass deer.”

According the article the rabbit season was open and it was legal to hunt in the park. The owner says that they didn't release the dogs in the park.

I'm just addressing what the article says happened, and I can't see where the was any reason for a deer to run in circles. A doe will run slowly to draw a predator away from a fawn, but she's not going to have have one now. The dog owner says there's no where that a deer could be hemmed in, and you have to think he's probably right given that its in an area that normally wouldn't be fenced.

I don't think anyone who's owned beagles believes they can run very far flat out, what it would take to run a deer, very far. I know they train them to push deer, but that's different than running them.

Like Wrench said, what did he accomplish?? he sure didn't SAVE a deer.

[Wayne SW/MO]

When Manes asked why the ranger shot his dog, he said the officer replied, “It had deer hemmed up and running them in circles. I love dogs but can’t stand to see a dog harass deer.”

According the article the rabbit season was open and it was legal to hunt in the park. The owner says that they didn't release the dogs in the park.

I'm just addressing what the article says happened, and I can't see where the was any reason for a deer to run in circles. A doe will run slowly to draw a predator away from a fawn, but she's not going to have have one now. The dog owner says there's no where that a deer could be hemmed in, and you have to think he's probably right given that its in an area that normally wouldn't be fenced.

I don't think anyone who's owned beagles believes they can run very far flat out, what it would take to run a deer, very far. I know they train them to push deer, but that's different than running them.

Like Wrench said, what did he accomplish?? he sure didn't SAVE a deer.