Doc

Yes, I too can site cases where dogs have bitten people, menaced people, killed other people's pets, damaged livestock, etc., etc., and their action was something that could be sorted out legally. But I have tried to keep the discussion relevant to the situation that was mentioned in this thread. And my contention is still that dogs have more rights than people. For one thing, unless the town has a leash law, dogs have the right of trespass that is not afforded to humans, and that apparently was the crux of the problem mentioned in the original post.

How about a dog that just continually uses your yard for a latrine, which apparently was the case here? To bolster my original assertion that dogs have more rights than people, let me pose a scenario. A guy comes over and takes a dump in your yard. You have an armful of violations that are legally actionable. Somebody's dog comes along and constantly does exactly the same thing, you have no legal grounds for action. Dogs are legally forgiven all kinds of things simply because they are a dumb animal, but that doesn't change the fact that legally they have more rights than people. It's kind of a hard point to argue.

Then set down that crossbow, and ditch any kind of bow and restrict yourself to just the best rifle you can buy. You want all challenge taken out of hunting perhaps you should consider one of those canned hunts. Don't be a hypocrite. Let your actions reflect your words. None of that half-way stuff like using a crossbow. You wouldn't want people to think you are being "selfish" would you? What the hell is the matter with people? Here you have a guy that goes on and on ranting about bowhunters in terms of them trying to determine what weapons should go into bow seasons, and now is trying himself to be judgmental on what kinds of weapons that others should use.

As perfectly designed for stealth and camo as these critters are, why the hell is it that they can't seem to control that stupid little tail when they are in the final stages of the stalk? The dummy is doing its best to be still and smooth in its stalk, and there is that crazy tail twitching and flapping away. Maybe that's why nature evolved the short tail over time. It was recognized that cats cannot control their tails so nature just shortened them up so they aren't so much of a give-away....lol. But speaking of nature and evolution and all that, what the heck happened to the dummy taking the video. How the heck did nature allow that misfit to escape the filters of evolution. There seems to be something wrong with that one that he doesn't seem to understand a dangerous situation that is unfolding before his eyes.

Well, I'm certainly willing to listen to any scenario where you can legally force the dog off your property and legally ensure that he will not return. Tell me how that works. I have some occasional canine visitors that don't seem to pay a lot of attention when I tell them not to come back .... lol. I would love some legal recourse.

Getting back to the original topic, I will say that it is no longer acceptable to act out rage and discontent in illegal ways. There is no excusing burning and looting your neighbors businesses simply because some injustice has been done to someone you don't even know. There comes a point where these things start to be honestly viewed for what they are: simple excuses for illegal and violent acts. I have no sympathy for such acts anymore. It isn't really rage and discontent. it is simply "party time" at your neighbor's expense.

Check out http://www.fastweb.com/career-planning/articles/the-35-weird-but-cool-college-majors if you want to see some of the college majors that some of these highly educated fast food workers may have taken......lol. Could be that these "highly educated" fast food workers grabbed the first job that came along for an instant paycheck and then lacked the intestinal fortitude to get out there and beat the bushes for a real job.

As I said, there likely is a lot more to the story than what we have heard. I am just saying that there are a lot of people who think it is perfectly ok to let their dogs (and cats) run loose. Every year I see plenty of evidence of that. So there definitely are people who defend "bad and irresponsible pet ownership" and see the rural areas as places where Fido can run free and be happy. And it appears that no matter what the actions of these free-range pets, a homeowner is legally powerless to seek remedies. So yes, it would appear that "dogs have more rights than humans", whether anyone other than myself is saying it or not.

Habitat is all local, and is on its own timeline, but all heading in the same direction. In my area, we are on marginal farmland and so the loss of small family farms happened decades ago, and there are other areas of the state that are even farther ahead than we are. And yes there are others who are living that perfect transitional stage of habitat progression right now. And of course there are active farming areas that consist of the large corporate type farms (not the best critter habitat). But it is all a matter of time. They are all heading for the same fate of maturation and development. And like I said, it will never go back in the other direction.

I am a pretty good weather predictor. My science is based on what plans I have on the calendar. If my planned activities count on good weather, I can accurately predict that it won't really be that that good. That prediction system works pretty good.

lol .... From what I have read, it seems like dogs provoke more bear attacks than what they deter. Remember that old saying about always having someone around that you can out-run? Well apparently dogs have that philosophy too, after they go pick a fight with a bear. When that dog goes whipping by your pant leg and disappears into the woods, that only leaves you standing there with a pissed-off bear......lol.

Unfortunately, it is a fact that the hey-day of great whitetail habitat left us as the small family farm unit began to disappear. We went through a marvelous habitat change which could be called transitional as farms went out of production and turned old cropland into specialized deer-productive browse-land. Fields morphed into sparse brush lands, and created tailor-made habitat for deer and populations boomed from the change. We will never see that transitional habitat again .... ever. A relative insignificant few will try to build individual parcels of improved habitat but almost all of the wild land will experience maturation with canopies elevating far beyond useable reach. It's happening already. The rest of the land will experience increasing development and non-deer-friendly land uses. So we all agree that prime specialized habitat is what is needed to maximize herd sizes. But we also have to recognize things that are beyond our control. Habitat quality on an over-all state level is one of those things. And so we have to get used to the idea that herd sizes must be held at increasingly shrinking levels because of this. It's unhappy, but our best whitetail years are behind us and really will never return.

I do not understand the expression of outrage over police brutality justifying the burning and looting of neighboring properties. Where's the logic in that? That kind of lends credence to the suspicion that none of this really has as much to do with police brutality as it does with a simple excuse to hold a party and burn and break things.

Footwear is one of those products that I never mail-order. I must try them on. Nothing is more worthless than ill-fitting boots or shoes.

I suspect there is a lot more to this story than a dog crapping in a yard. I don't know if this was the actual case or not, but I have had a rather large dog displaying aggressive behavior in my own yard, and I will say that had I been holding a gun at the time that dog would never have threatened anyone ever again. And that would be true whether he was still coming at me or had turned around to leave. I will not be threatened on my own property. Frankly, I am getting a bit peeved at the increasing attitudes that animals have more rights than people. I am seeing this all the time now as people get these pets only to turn them loose and let them have free reign over anyplace they feel like wandering. I would truly like to see a statewide leash law that had some real teeth in it.

Yes, habitat is the primary controlling factor of herd management. That really is the one factor that determines how big the herd can naturally grow and how big it should grow. However as a state, that is the one feature that we have the least control over and it is the one feature that is on a fast decline. The next important factor in herd management is hunting activity and how efficient hunters can be used to regulate herd size through antlerless permitting and harvesting. If done right, this factor can be used to maximize the use of the available habitat. Predators are a very distant third importance in herd control. You might see some effect from predators, but I suspect that it is one of the more over-estimated impacts. I will not comment on the turkeys because I am not a serious turkey hunter and have not ever taken that big of an interest in them.

My working life started around 8 years old when I carried water, and fed the sheep. Yeah, I had to work for my $1 per week allowance. I was also the kid up in the hay-mow tramping in the loose hay as it came off the big hay fork up on the tram (yeah, hay didn't always come in bales). But eventually we did get to real bales that had to be loaded on the wagon and stacked up in the mow. Funny thing was that even as I grew up and did more work, I don't remember that allowance getting any bigger. To all of that I eventually helped my grandfather run a pretty huge trapline, and took on odd jobs at the small farmers around the valley. That was back when we still had farmers in the valley. I may be one of the very few guys here that know about bagging wheat on a combine. Yeah, the kid with some pretty severe hay fever spent hours with his face over a wheat bag while it filled .... lol. What a mess I was at the end of the day. Through college summers, I worked at Olympic Park on Scottsville Road mostly at the golf driving range at night and doing all kinds of maintenance work during the day. After graduation fro RIT, I took on a toolmakers apprenticeship at Bausch and Lomb. Thought it would make a good background for my engineering degree. I was right. First real full-time job was designing optical instruments at B&L. Great beginning because it was pure engineering without all the systems and paperwork B.S. Spent some time just bopping all over the place trying to find the right company to hunker down in. I even spent some time in architectural design. You know those paper transport subsystems on the Xerox copying and printing machines that are all the time jamming? .... That's where I finally put most of my engineering time at. Yeah, I did get involved in all areas of copiers, but specialized in moving paper at ridiculous speeds and putting the 10 pounds of stuff in the 5 pound bag kind of work. It was fun! I began the best job of my life 11 years ago when I retired ...... love the benefits!

Look, there is no excusing what the shooter did. That was a ridiculous and inexcusable over-reaction to the situation. But let's not be so quick to let the dog-owner off the hook. In my mind, it is the pet owner's responsibility to be in complete control of their pets at all times. If you can do that then you shouldn't have pets/animals.

Everytime they step into the ring, there is a risk to their lives. I don't see any problem with them getting whatever obscene gobs of money they can get. It is a gladiator style activity and if they get rich from it, I simply say it is one damned hard earned wealth. I love boxing, warts and all. There is a kind of raw honesty to it where a fighter is forced to confront an awful lot of what he is made of. The emotions, courage, and dedication are undeniable, but I will admit that there is a level of barbarism to it all, kind of in the same vein of another sport that has guys chasing after another with a weird shaped ball with the intent of grinding him into the ground with as much force and damage as possible. But, I will not assign all the ills of the world to the fact that such a sport exists, nor will I whine about the amounts of money involved. I am not one who wails and moans about the amount of money anyone can make in the sports world (or anywhere else for that matter). They are worth whatever they can get people to pay for them just like any of us. I am not expecting that this fight will be any Hagler/Hearns kind of fight. I expect that Mayweather will display his defensive skills and avoid being knocked out and Pacquiao will be the one pressing the fight (but carefully). Fight will end by decision .... no knockouts.

Yeah, most of my trail cam usage has absolutely nothing to do with hunting. I just like to see critters being critters when they think no one is looking. It's interesting. Sure I get a lot of deer pictures, but I get a whole lot more excited seeing that fox carrying a rabbit, or that coon wading around in the creek, or that heron tat just landed. That's all fun stuff.

There are damned few people who begrudge a necessary helping hand up to those who through no fault of their own have found themselves in a financially strapped condition. And that includes the rich people that everyone is so fond of railing against in their practice of class envy. But the fact is that there are entire generations that have accepted the welfare road to living out their lives. And there are plenty of libs who are content to leave these people in that situation and even facilitate it. Those are the scumbags. There are people who have been conditioned to accept handouts without any regrets. Politicians and their pink supporters are very happy to keep these people there, not as a help up, but as chains to hold them down. You want to talk about scumbags? It isn't the recipients that fit that title as much as those who promote their way of life and encourage them to stay where they are by inventing new systems to take advantage of. Those are the real scumbags.

When is the last time a welfare recipient gave you a job? I will tell you that it is a whole bunch of rich guys that provided for and still are providing for everything I've got. So if tax cuts provide a more friendly business climate to encourage people to do business here, I guess I won't holler about that too much. It sure doesn't work out well waiting around for a pay check from some poor person. That could be a long wait, couldn't it. But I sure don't have to wait long for them to dip into my pocket helping themselves to a good portion of my hard earned gains.

I've heard it said that "The road to hell is paved with good intentions". Sometimes those old sayings have a lot of truth to them.

The same night that I had a raid on my feeders and the garbage can, the next-door neighbor a ways up the valley fond a big old muddy bear foot print on their house wall. They had their feeders wrecked too. But I'm not sure what he bear had in mind while he was checking out that house wall.....lol. I think that bear probably needed a little re-training in the natural fear of man.

You know there is so much of this discussion that waves some big red flags when it comes to semi-butchering an area to clear shooting lanes. It also makes me look long and hard at simply throwing up some pop-up ground blinds and expecting deer not to pay attention .... even if they are expertly brushed in. Think about a deer spotting a little square box mounted to a tree, and then think about some brand new monstrosity set up in their living room that we expect them to ignore. Imagine a treestand that sticks out from a bare tree with these climbing sticks buckled to the tree. And we are expecting them to simply ignore all our forest renovations? Yes it may work fine with younger deer, but those that have made it through a few years by simply being wimps, may just be a bit more twitchy when it comes to some of our constructions. These reactions to that simple little harmless box stuck on a tree should be telling us something. And by the way, many of those "bolting" bucks got the hell out of there before they even approached the box to smell it. It appeared to be just a response to a visual stimulus without the scent and sound senses. They simply saw it and scrammed. Yeah, a lot of these videos are telling us a lot more than simply the right and wrong ways to use a trail-cam. There's other lessons to be learned there too. Just something to think about.