Posted on 11/13/2005 3:22:26 PM PST by girlangler
Thanks to his Lab, hunter avoids death By Bill Wundram
BRENT Teel was going down for the fourth time in deep water. His waders, filled with water, kept sucking him deeper into the cold Mississippi River. Wader straps were tangling around his neck. Water was up to his nose.
I knew I was going to die. I was choking, but could yell for my dog, Junior. He had been circling me in the water. That black Lab knew that I was in big trouble. He swam to me. I grabbed onto his collar and he pulled me at least 20 yards to the bank of a sandbar thats 60 feet a long way.
Brent Teel is telling about his close call with death by drowning a weekend ago while duck hunting near his hometown of Buffalo. His voice is still hoarse from a cold, suffered from his struggle in the 45- degree water. He says:
My dog and God saved me from dying.
His mother, Pat Teel, speaks up, When I saw Brent after all that, he was shaking like in a convulsion. His lips were white. He could hardly talk.
Brent, 29, a big-time outdoorsman, set out in his boat for duck hunting with Junior. He was in a boat blind, anchored at the point of an island near Linwood, upstream from Buffalo. It was a spot where he had often hunted for ducks.
A flock of mallards flew over and I fired. I watched one come down and walked onto a wing dam to get the duck that was floating away. After 30 yards, I slipped off that wing dam into the water. It was deep. It can be 35 feet deep in some spots. I tried to get up, but my waders kept filling with water.
Brent kept his cool. If he could get his waders off, hed probably be all right. He stiffly held out his 12-gauge shotgun as a prod to help, but it went straight down into the deep water. As any outdoorsman knows, waders full of water can be deadly anchors.
I was getting weak, went down three times before finally getting out of my waders but the straps tangled around my neck. When I went down the fourth time, the water was up to my nose. I was freezing cold and drowning. I knew that I was gone, but somehow, could see Junior thrashing around me.
I yelled and he came close enough to grab his collar. He pulled me through the water right up to land, all those 60 feet, at least. Hes a young dog but strong and weighs 75 pounds.
Exhausted and barely able to move, Brent remembers stretching out on the islands shore, shaking and gagging. He crawled on hands and knees to reach his boat and shakily call on his CB to his dad, Steve Teel Sr.: Dad, I need help.
Steve says, He could hardly talk. We didnt know what was going on, but moved fast to where we knew he was hunting.
Brents family called the Buffalo Ambulance Service to wait on the shore. Brent and Junior were found huddled in the boat. The dog was close against him, as if to keep him warm.
We sat in the living room of the Teel home, listening to the family describe the ordeal. Brent brought Junior a rambunctious Labrador inside from his kennel. Brent hugged the big dog and said:
If it wasnt for this dog, I wouldnt be here to talk to you.
Bill Wundram can be contacted at (563) 383-2249 or bwundram@qctimes.com.
There are of course some unanswered questions in this
article, did he not have a belt on over his waders?
I know it's all too easy to get complacent though.
The bottom one (Dan) is hopelessly friendly, but he wouldn't save us from squat. We've got him 2 weeks ago from the pound. Since he is smart and friendly, I can't imagine how he ended up in the pound. The previous owners didn't want him - huh? Oh well, their loss, my gain! Little Ann, the black pup, is 6 months old and will bark fiercely - but run like the wind if the threat gets too close.
Their favorite game is for Ann to hide in a kennel (cave) in the back yard and growl. If Dan turns his back on her, she'll spring out and attack - so Dan has to face the cave and bark/snap at the little black 'bear' inside...
I love love my yellow lab (Icon)....I think he may be a liberal because he believes in recycling...he eats his own pooh!!!!
Egad! I had a shep/lab cross that looked IDENTICAL to your
picture!! Excellent cross, BTW. Smartest dog I ever owned.
I disagree. I dunno what they've done to the show dogs, but I have a Lab who's half field Lab and half show Lab - and she's a very smart dog. Has about a 75-word vocabulary (in English and German), understands hand and whistle signals, and has 3 agility titles and a retriever title. She can open doors, turn the latch on her crate (I have it bungeed) and be meltingly cute when she wants something. She's also very protective of me.
That picture of Big Junior just makes me laugh....he looks like a dog with a great sense of humor!!!
Here's Big Junior, looking more soulful than humorous:
He's all field Lab, and he's a very handsome boy.
What's the big deal? Any pit bull could have done that! \sarcasm\
Until recently I had 3 labs, one was a yellow lab (from the same litter as the blacks). He recently died from cancer. The yellow was quiet and not nearly as agressive as his brothers. But one day...we had an intruder...and he was absolutley scarey (one bite and he broke the guy's hip and pelvis.)
Steaks, roasts and all sorts of treats for that dog from now on . . . .
What a doll!
Of course she does get a LOT of exercise (we jogged/walked 4 miles this afternoon after church) and we watch her diet pretty carefully - she gets her regular food, a few healthy treats, and just a token nibble of a table scrap at each meal (one little corner off my steak or a morsel of chicken).
She eats the Avo-Derm dog food - an all natural food formulated for skin and coat conditioning.
I've heard about the Royal Canin and I'd be willing to give it a try. They have one local distributor, but it's a wholesaler and nowhere near me . . .
Good Hunting... from Varmint Al
Truly, Man's Best Friend
Smart Bart! Is he being solemn because of the ring-necks, or is he just a dog who takes life seriously?
Thank you! She's my precious baby . . . I haven't quite turned her into a poodle but she is my spoilt princess. (The folks at the hunt tests laugh at her because she schmoozes everybody - people and dogs alike - but when she steps up to the line she is ALL business.)
Hey - great going! I hunted with my old lab too.
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