Kobe part 2 - Page 1

Kobe soon lost his white spots and grew little two inch antlers. That is what is called a "button buck" around here. I am surrounded by hunters everywhere. My family are all hunters. I am not. They kept telling me that when gun hunting week came, after Thanksgiving, he most likely would be shot and eaten. I bought non-toxic orange paint and painted the word "No" on both sides of him and put a blue ribbon around his neck, like a dog collar. I just stapled it together so that he would not have a problem with it if it got caught on a tree or fence, or if he ran away and grew too big for it. The staples would give rather easily. Well, he licked the paint off but the collar worked fine. I was still very worried so I tried penning him up in three dog kennels put together, just for the gun hunting week, but he went crazy being penned up and was throwing himself against the fencing, so I let him out. He was a wild thing and needed to have his freedom. I understood that, but worried about him constantly. Gun hunting week came and five days into it, Kobe was still coming for his bottle and meal, but he was acting very scared and must have witnessed things "out there" that were frightening to him. I was worried sick and again tried to pen him up, but this time in my garage with the door up, straw on the floor and a kennel fence panel where the door was, but he still would not go for it. I let him out into the "wild" again. I still warned him about the cars, the bad people and the coyotes. I didn't worry about dogs anymore as Kobe was as big as a Great Dane by now and could run like the wind. He always showed up for his meals, everyday. Until day six of hunting season. That was about ten days ago. No sign of Kobe since. I have went through all the woods around here calling for him, but no sign. In the meantime, I had to listen to stories from my relatives who were hunters how (my cousin Ron) shot three deer yesterday, knocked them down, but they all got up and ran away and he couldn't find them, and my brother-in-law Brent, telling me he shot one just before gun hunting season, with an arrow and got a good hit on it, but it ran away and he could'nt find it in two days of searching. They both talked about how much blood they saw while "tracking" the deer they had shot. These stories are breaking my heart with Kobe not showing up. I know Kobe is dead and as the saying go's, that's life. But what has been keeping me up for the past ten days, is the thought running through my head that the "bad people" are eating my buddy. My friend. I can't hardly stand it. I have prayed to God to let him come home. I don't ask for much. Just one little deer. I don't understand why God made a world in which basically everything gets eaten in the end, and most living things in this world get eaten while still alive. God could have made us all plant eaters or even rock eaters, or sunlight eaters. After all, he IS GOD. Why do we living things, have to eat other living things to survive. The bad people have killed my buddy and are eating him. I can't stand it. If he would have had large antlers, his head would be on their den wall. I have posted a picture of Kobe, myself and my two grandchildren in the ad section. I know this is a GSD web site and I apologize for putting all this here but it has always helped me to write things, to get over them. I like this web site because there are like minded people here that care for animals as much as I do. Damn bad people.

oh sorry I didn't read part 2 before posting after part 1. Sounds like Kobe was truly wild, he was fortunate to have had you as his friend. Sounds like you tried everything you could to keep him safe. It is very hard to cage a wild animal if they have not been raised in a cage. He might have killed himself in a worse way by trying to escape an enclosure. I hope he ran like the wind away from the hunting area, or was killed instantly by a good responsible hunter. I guess the only other thing you could have done would have been to transport him to a state park or somewhere hunting was not allowed, or kept him sedated during hunting season. Hard to think about it - I know I love all of my animals and can't ever see myself raising animals for food - I'd be overrun with cows, chickens and pigs here if I did that - they would all end up pets. molly

I do eat meat. I guess it is not fair for me to hate the hunters so much, but there is a difference between shooting something and it running away to suffer, maybe for days, and the way slaughter houses kill their animals. Bad things could be said about both, I guess.

I'm turning into such a mush as I get older,not even 6:30 here yet and I'm blubbering over my keyboard like a 4year old. Touching story, really no proof any harm came to you furry friend,untill such time think of him just doing what he should had been doing all along,living in the wild. Doing what you did was no easy task My hats off to you for your effort Happy Holidays Charlie

OMG thats so sad!

That is heartbreaking. I'm hoping the gunfire just scared him off. He sounds too younge to be legally shot. Poor little guy. Prayers for the deer!

I'm so sorry to hear about Kobe. You just have to pray that he got really scared and ran like the wind so far away that he got lost, but will find his way back. I am an animal lover to more so now than ever since we moved into the country, and understand how you feel. We have crazy hunter's out here and Some hunter's even kill coyote's just for the thrill. I am very very sorry to hear about this and I will pray that he will come back, but if he doesn't you gave him a wonderful life and he was free. Best of Wishes Kel

my heart breaks for you. I'm so sorry and I'm also blubbering over my keyboard. I'm praying for you to have some peace about the situation. It takes a heckuva person to do what you did and I would have done the same thing. I'm in the middle of deer hunting country here in NC. Got a large farm and I do not allow deer hunting on my property.

Do Right-- How awful for you. I'll never understand anyone that enjoys the sport of taking life. And what's up with the thoughtless relatives? A pox on them, Do Right, for being so insensitive. By some miracle, I hope he comes home. I saved those pictures you sent me last July of Norris and Kobe. Anything's possible--All the deer could have scattered, and he might have followed them. Eventually, he might even find his way back.

I had a Malamute shot in her kennel and my front porch sprayed with buckshot. The local cops told me to post the land and if the moron returns, to make a citizen's arrest and call them back. I found that firing my own shotgun in his direction eliminated the need to call the cops back and I never did see him again. Some are just crazy to shoot anything that moves. A few years ago another local genius killed a kid's pet pony while it was in the corral. As that weren't quite enough fun for one night, he and his redneck pal had another push of their of their buddy, Captain Jack, and shot and killed a farmer's pregnant cow. They got their wrists slapped by the law. Boys will be boys you know. I share your pain for Kobe and I have feeling his instincts kicked in, he evaded the hunters and has found himself a herd of his own. Don't discount that happening, he may very well still be alive. Just think of him as running free as the wind enjoying his newly found wild life. You may even get a glimpse of him one day. I hate some of these hunters too, but since we have seen fit to all but eliminate all natural predators of our wild deer herds, they are a necessary evil. I do wish some would wait til a deer grows bigger that Blitz to kill it.