Fishermen rescue 38 dogs from lake when foxhunt goes wrong

It was a big sporting event on Mississippi’s Granada Lake. Dogs set up with GPS collars were supposed to chase a fox. But things got out of hand when a pesky deer interfered. In the end, fishermen rescued 38 dogs who got off course and ended up treading water in the lake.

Passing deer proves to be a distraction

No doubt the dogs were charged with excitement at the fox hunt. But a passing deer proved to be too much of a distraction. The deer plunged into the lake – and the dogs followed. “A deer can swim the Mississippi River, and those dogs are not going to catch a deer in the water,” recalled Bob Gist. Gist and a buddy were fishing the lake when they spotted the huge group of hounds, says a story on apnews.com.

It’s enough to make you believe that your insurance agent really is your friend. Both Gist and his buddy, Brad Carlisle, work in the insurance industry, both for State Farm. If you’re in good hands with Allstate, these dogs needed those good hands. By the time the fishermen in the little bass boat responded, the dogs had been treading water for nearly an hour.

Fishermen rescue 38 dogs—barking was the tipoff

At first, the two men and their fishing guide weren’t aware of any trouble. Then they heard barking. Barking in the middle of a lake? Chugging forward they finally spotted the huge group of dog-paddling canines.

How do you get dozens of hunting dogs into a bass boat? In stages. Some of the dogs were so tired out, their rescuers had to lift their heads up out of the water, enabling them to breath.

The fishers-turned-lifeguards managed to crowd somewhere between 25 and 27 of the dogs on board. They turned around and headed back to shore. Once there, they encountered a large group of dog owners. The owners were in quite a dither, especially when they learned about the total estimated number of dogs yet to be rescued.

More to be found and rescued

That wasn’t all of them. Since the dogs were wearing GPS collars, one of the owners was able to guide the fishermen to yet another batch of waterlogged dogs some distance from the first group.

In the end, these fishermen rescued 38 dogs. We might add, dog-tired dogs. If a GPS collar can lead to rescue of a dog, maybe we really should think about putting GPS chips on our RVs. Just don’t expect a fisherman to find your fifth-wheel. We hope.

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