Qball
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2A Bourbon Hound OG
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View attachment 184139
We had to shoot one back in the fall that was showing signs of late stage distemper. I didn't shoot this one today because he got up after sitting in this spot for about twenty minutes. He walked around our house and went across our front yard and up around the next door neighbor's house.
He never slowed down, stumbled, or stopped like an animal with distemper would do if stricken with the disease. He walked a couple of hundred yards until he disappeared from view.
I am familiar with this coon. He has a distinctive tear in the center of his right ear. He's been around for several years, actually longer than their average lifespan. He could have just been resting in the warm sun at the bottom of our deck steps.
My wife and I observed him going to the bird bath multiple times to get water. Because of that, he doesn't appear to have rabies. It could be that he's just old and his kidneys are starting to shut down.
I got the Savage .17 HMR out and ready to go if we need to put him down. This is the same coon that @Chdamn's Wife saw in our yard when they were over here this past May.
It's not unusual for him to be out in the daytime. I think he likes to eat in the daytime so he doesn't have to compete with the other coons and animals that feed at night.
My son named him "Hans" several years ago and at one point would respond when his name was called. But he's just about if not completely deaf now.
If I see him suffering I won't hesitate to put him out of his misery. We'll see if he shows up tomorrow.
We had to shoot one back in the fall that was showing signs of late stage distemper. I didn't shoot this one today because he got up after sitting in this spot for about twenty minutes. He walked around our house and went across our front yard and up around the next door neighbor's house.
He never slowed down, stumbled, or stopped like an animal with distemper would do if stricken with the disease. He walked a couple of hundred yards until he disappeared from view.
I am familiar with this coon. He has a distinctive tear in the center of his right ear. He's been around for several years, actually longer than their average lifespan. He could have just been resting in the warm sun at the bottom of our deck steps.
My wife and I observed him going to the bird bath multiple times to get water. Because of that, he doesn't appear to have rabies. It could be that he's just old and his kidneys are starting to shut down.
I got the Savage .17 HMR out and ready to go if we need to put him down. This is the same coon that @Chdamn's Wife saw in our yard when they were over here this past May.
It's not unusual for him to be out in the daytime. I think he likes to eat in the daytime so he doesn't have to compete with the other coons and animals that feed at night.
My son named him "Hans" several years ago and at one point would respond when his name was called. But he's just about if not completely deaf now.
If I see him suffering I won't hesitate to put him out of his misery. We'll see if he shows up tomorrow.
