So, at 8-30am on Monday 11th May I get a phone call from a landowner saying that he'd been hit overnight by a feral dog, and one of his
pregnant ewes had been killed.
I get a bit of sleep late that afternoon, and head out to his property at 6pm and set up ready and waiting.
The owner believed that the dog had attacked at about 8pm the previous night.
Almost unbelievable, but the dog showed up at 7-10pm
There was no stealthy creep in towards the flock, or sitting back watching by this dog.
A big bugger,,,, and the moment it appeared, it just charged straight in and pushed through the then madly running sheep.
It split the mob into two, and I had the cross hairs on its shoulder as it ran through, but couldn't fire till it was clear of the mob.
As it broke through to the front it dipped its head and I expected it to accelerate further ahead,,, I squeezed the trigger, and at that split second
it hit the brakes real hard and almost turned inside out as it doubled back into the mob of sheep, and then turned and ran out the far side and didn't stop
till it got in among some trees way off in the distance.
F@ck, F@ck, F@ck, I thought,,,,,,,, I have just clean missed a broadside shot at about 90 meters.
I watched as way off in the distance it slowly disappeared from sight.
I stayed for another two hours in the hopes it may return, seeing as it hadn't managed to get a meal.
I went home feeling disbelief in what had transpired.
Tuesday the 12th I headed out again at 6pm and set up in hopes of success.
I sat freezing my butt off all night until 7am the next morning, and saw absolutely nothing apart from the sheep that now appeared to be at ease
and camped in one spot for the entire night.
At 7-30am I spoke with the owner and then headed home.
I had only been home for approx 1 hour, and I get a phone call from owner saying he got a large dog in a trap.
He said that it looked like it had been sliced across the top of the shoulders by a bullet.
He sent me this pic saying that the fresh blood lower down the shoulder was where he shot it in the trap,,,,, but above that it is clearly seen the slice across
from my bullet which had ceased bleeding.
An inch lower and it would have taken out the spine.
It had traveled nearly 2 kilometers before stepping into the trap.
So a joint effort,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, but its killing days are over now.