By Larry S. Moore
The upland game rabbit season has been pretty tough on me this year. My oldest female Beagle, Lucky, is 14 and has not been able to hunt. She is just too slow in her old age. My male, Hank, has encountered some heart issues so I am not running him very much. He is 10 and I was really hoping for a couple more years in the field with him. Both dogs jump at the gates and bark to go with me. My wife says it is just pitiful to watch and listen to them whine as I leave. So I have taken just them on a couple of extra trips close to home. It wasn't about bagging any rabbits but about them getting out. I am not sure if it helped them or just made them feel worse when I left them home the next week. It did my soul good to see them hunting again. However, I missed them even more the next week.
What do the beagles have to do with disabled hunter access? It is about as close as I can come to imagining what it must be like for the impaired hunter wanting to get into the field. Access is limited unless there is private land to hunt. Special hunts offered by National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) Wheelin' Sportsmen or Safari Club International fill quickly, may be on dates that are not convenient or may require long drives to south-eastern Ohio. So the impaired hunter is left at home unable to enjoy the bounty and beauty of the Ohio outdoors.