Dear Editor,
I am writing this as a concerned citizen and hunter. I own land in Marie, W.Va., and I hunt mostly every morning and every evening. I have been hard at it since the opening day of Bow Season in September. I work very hard to prepare and nurture my 3 spots between 2 properties; I put a lot of time and money into this sport in order to enjoy the solace in the woods and harvest my own food. I also enjoy the challenge of harvesting bigger bucks. But, for the past 6 weeks, however, I have had to work around at least 4 different dogs, 3 with collars, who are almost daily running the bucks now, mostly since they have a stronger scent from the rut, making them easier targets. I and my adjoining neighbors are very frustrated, and I fear that these dogs may be harmed once the rifles come out on Monday. I also fear for the more vulnerable deer that cannot outrun these dogs; I witnessed a doe this week with her leg missing, and this broke my heart. She hasn’t learned to walk on 3 legs yet and was hobbling to move and dragging her hind quarters through the leaves. I have also observed two of them in with cattle disturbing their peace.
I have driven down the roads surrounding my hunting grounds (Webb Gate Road and Marie Road, and Pem Ellison Road) and have spoken to a few residents, the UPS man and looked for these dogs to no avail. Most people say to just shoot them. I have contacted the DNR, who have also asked a few locals about these dogs; people say they have seen the black one with the orange collar (the ring leader), but don’t know who he belongs to. It is believed by some of us given the properties they have harassed the wildlife on that they are coming from the Pem Ellison Rd. If you own these or any dog, it would be appreciated if you would kindly contain them and protect them from getting hit by a car, potentially causing a car wreck that could hurt people, prevent them from harassing the wildlife, and keep them safe from disgruntled hunters. I think I am speaking on behalf of many property owners and lovers of the hunting sport. If you know who owns these dogs, please share this article with them and/ or contact the Beckley DNR Office at 304-256-6945.
We were able to capture pictures of two of them on game cameras.
There is another long-haired, big, black dog with brown fur on the feet and a medium-sized, short-haired cocker spaniel/poodle looking white dog (has a collar).
