So, there we are, minding our own business (my Sadie and me) watching the 49'ers stage a monumental comeback when we hear about a million crows absolutely raising hell on the other side of the house. Now, remember that we live at the beach so houses are close together, and when we went out front to see what the commotion was about we found out that a hawk had taken a dove and was sitting in our next door neighbor's very tall tree having a late lunch...and the crows didn't like it much.
To make a potentially long story a little shorter, the hawk eventually dropped the dove for some reason and there it was lying on the ground...the perfect opportunity for an urban retrieve of a freshly killed dove. Crows screaming. Hawk joined by two others wanting in on the action. And Sadie and me. What's a guy and his dog to do?? Even out of season, we had to take swift action. In full sight of the neighbors on both sides of the street. And the people on bicycles. And the joggers (we are in "Sort Of Southern California" after all). And the walkers. And the weekend gawkers (aka "tourists"). So, again, what were we to do??? Quick decision: put Sadie at heel, give her a line (she hadn't seen the dove fall), and send her off on an out of season urban blind retrieve down a sidewalk and into another neighbor's driveway. Of course, she nailed it, brought it to hand and sat at heel waiting for the next one. In the interest of being the law-abiding citizens we are, I took Sadie back to our patio and then went back out front to toss the dove out for the hawks and crows to fight over.
Are we guilty of some heinous crime having retrieved a dove out of season? Are we to be pursued by one or more law enforcement agencies? Are we possibly going to be responsible for a Supreme Court review of Fish & Game Department regulations? Or...should I have plucked and eaten it? What would YOU have done?
To make a potentially long story a little shorter, the hawk eventually dropped the dove for some reason and there it was lying on the ground...the perfect opportunity for an urban retrieve of a freshly killed dove. Crows screaming. Hawk joined by two others wanting in on the action. And Sadie and me. What's a guy and his dog to do?? Even out of season, we had to take swift action. In full sight of the neighbors on both sides of the street. And the people on bicycles. And the joggers (we are in "Sort Of Southern California" after all). And the walkers. And the weekend gawkers (aka "tourists"). So, again, what were we to do??? Quick decision: put Sadie at heel, give her a line (she hadn't seen the dove fall), and send her off on an out of season urban blind retrieve down a sidewalk and into another neighbor's driveway. Of course, she nailed it, brought it to hand and sat at heel waiting for the next one. In the interest of being the law-abiding citizens we are, I took Sadie back to our patio and then went back out front to toss the dove out for the hawks and crows to fight over.
Are we guilty of some heinous crime having retrieved a dove out of season? Are we to be pursued by one or more law enforcement agencies? Are we possibly going to be responsible for a Supreme Court review of Fish & Game Department regulations? Or...should I have plucked and eaten it? What would YOU have done?