| |
 |
|
CASH Courier >
2007 Spring Issue
Selected Articles from our
newsletter
The C.A.S.H. Courier
ARTICLES from the Spring 2007 Issue
Hunters Kill Beloved Raxi In Pennsylvania
By Im Sook
On Jan. 6, 2007, my dog
Raxi was shot by a hunter at Bell Acres Borough Park. I had been ill for
awhile, but that morning I was finally feeling better.
I woke up on Saturday
thinking it would be the best Saturday I’d had in a month or so. I’d been
working with my dogs teaching them to walk on the treadmill, and that
morning Raxi, our youngest dog, learned how to walk by himself without my
being there right next to him. Bob (my husband) and I laughed and Bob
decided to treat them by taking them to a park down the road from us.
A half hour later, my
phone rang. It was Bob saying that Raxi got shot by a hunter, and Yi-Byun-Ni
disappeared. She was following him, but when he carried Raxi to the car, she
was gone. I heard the words “hunter”, “shot” and in a frantic attempt to
find him, I went to the state game land which is eight miles the other way,
then turned around to go back to the park. I called Bob again after not
being able to locate his car. I knew he talked about taking the dogs to the
park, but I heard “hunter” and I went to the Game land and wondered why my
husband went there. He told me he left the park, but Yi-Byun-Ni was still
missing. I passed Bob when he was on his way to the emergency vet which is
45 minutes away. I reached the park and looked for Yi-Byun-Ni for 1.5 hrs
when the police was gathering all the hunters and investigating. I left
after no success of finding Yi-Byun-Ni; I hoped she would be at home, and,
thank heavens, when I got there, she was there.
Raxi made it to vet and was in 6.5 hours of surgery. He made the surgery
okay, but they were concerned about his recovery because of infection. His
colon was ruptured along with three large arteries, and he had lost lots of
blood. His small intestine was pretty much destroyed. They said we can come
see him around 10:30-11:00pm. When we got there around 10:30, they told us
he had taken a turn for worst, and that within the last hour his blood
pressure dropped and they were not sure he would make it.
We told them, he’s only 3.5 yrs old and he’s really strong. He had never
been sick and he had good chance of living, so to do whatever they could to
save him. The next six hours were critical they said. I woke up at 4:30 a.m.
and kept praying, and wondered the whole time if I should call the
veterinarian. At 5:15 a.m. the phone rang to say he is on a machine and his
heart is back on it’s own, but the lung is still on a machine. The news was
not good. They said he would probably have less than a 10% chance of getting
home. I asked them to keep him alive until we got there and that we’d be
there as soon as possible. Five minutes later the phone rang again. He had
vomited his own small intestine and they asked for our permission to put
him down. The vet also made the point a couple of times to us that the dog
was away from the shooter - they could tell from the bullet entry and exit.
The Game Commission wanted the policeman to tell Bob that there is a state
leash law, but he will not charge him for it, and he wanted to know if the
dog was chasing the deer. Apparently, if your dog chases a deer a hunter can
shoot the dog. It’s really appalling - why is the life of a dog less
important than a hunter to make his kill? If you have a weapons that kills,
you should have some responsibility to not shoot anything that moves! Also,
there was no sign in the park that hunting was allowed or that was hunting
season and that walking was not allowed. We didn’t know they hunted there
and that it was a hunting season - who would know unless you follow this?
The policeman told my husband there was one man who described all three dogs
correctly, and said “he saw three dogs chasing an old man and biting his
pants leg”. This incident didn’t happen. There was only one hunter that my
husband saw when he got to the park, and he was surprise to see him. So, Bob
stayed away from the trail and stayed close to the road because he recalled
there was a rule that you cannot shoot within (he couldn’t remember 50 or
100 yards) he thought 50 yards. So, he stayed close to the road and the dogs
were no further than 50 yards he said, but I know my dogs stay within 20-40
feet. Raxi was a border collie mix, and he was my husband shadow and never
left his side.
How is it possible to have a law that if a dog is chasing a deer that a man
can shoot it? This is really appalling. Can you help to change this law?
Also, when a person carries a weapon that kills, shouldn’t there be strict
laws or rules about boundaries that are enforced? Also, how can a town have
a park that is both for walkers and hunters and not provide any warning or
safety notice? My husband has gone to the town council meeting asking to
make it safer or not allow hunting there.
Also, a lady who lives next to my rental house said she made her yard into a
bird sanctuary, but one of the crazy neighbors is shooting guns at all times
of the day and night, and scaring the birds, not to mention how dangerous
it is. I don’t know if you can help her out, but I forwarded your email to
see if you can help her. - Im Sook
|
|
|
|
