Lost my dog for 5 days... That's a bad feeling.

Let's get this out of the way first. She had a GPS collar on... Turns out, they don't work to well when you forget to turn the collar on. (yes, it's embarrassing, but I want to tell a cautionary tale)

It was the first drop of our first North Texas quail hunt of the season. Everyone was excited. Star gets the nod with the best pointer they have to be the first pair on the ground. She works great for 30 minutes, ranging out to 150-200 yards and checking back in every 5 minutes or so for a pat on the head. She gets over a ridge on me and it takes a few minutes for me to get to the top. When I get there, she is no where to be seen. I pull the gps out of my pocket and that's when that sour taste sets in on your mouth and you know you messed up big time. I forgot to turn her collar on.

That was Tuesday morning 12/27/2022. We stay until Friday afternoon on 12/30/2022. Riding the roads, talking to neighboring ranches, ranch hands, well pumpers, lost and found posts on the local county lost and found pets facebook page (shared 274 times), etc.... Nothing. Not only is she lost, she is running around with a few hundred dollars worth of collars on without power.

We even did the old leave your jacket where you last saw her trick. Negative.

Hope was fading with each passing hour, then passing days until it was time to head back to Louisiana.

I, a 41 year old man, wept as I shut the gate and pulled on to the gravel road heading back home. I relived every step, and misstep I made along the way. It was my fault.
She was gone.

Saturday, New Years Eve, came and went with little fanfare as Star was the only thing on my mind. I told the story to countless friends and family, never concealing the fact that it was my fault. I was to blame.

Sunday morning, 1/1/2023, I'm laying on the couch watching TV and the phone rings at 9:15 am. "Who the hell do I know from Grand Prairie, TX?" I thought. Suddenly it hits me, it could be about Star!!!

I answer the phone, and the best words you can ever hear came through on the other end. "I found your dog." It was a deer hunter at a neighboring camp about a half mile from the one we stayed in. All that time and she shows back up where we lost her. He sends me this picture...



Within an hour a friend of ours picked her up and got her returned that afternoon.

Moral of the story... No matter how excited you get, calm down and make sure everything is done correctly. A great hunt can become a nightmare in an instant.

These 3 were ready to kill me...