CouesWhitetail

It does look awesome!! and like Bonecollector said, you can always put another one on the back! Thanks Eric! Amanda

Probably will go to the pound again this week. We had to wait awhile so we could get Julie's vaccinations all up to date. We don't usually vaccinate for kennel cough, but the vet recommended it if we are getting a dog from the pound. I will keep you all posted. Amanda

Well, let me tell you a little about my old dog, Molly. I found her abandoned, starving and loaded with worms and mange. She was perhaps 12 weeks old and I was out javelina hunting on the San Carlos. I took her home with me and then we placed an ad in the paper to see if someone owned her. In the meantime we took her to the vet and got all the medication she needed and started treating her. After awhile a tribal member calls and says "that's our Wolfy". So we take her back to the rez and yet when we got there, they said oh, no it's not the same dog. Well, we already had another dog and she was very unhappy about us having the new little dog, so we asked the people if they wanted this puppy and they said yes. So we gave them all the medicine and explained how the mange treatments went and hoped for the best. Maybe a week or two goes by and I stop by to check on the dog. Turns out they are not treating her well at all, but I couldn't take her with me at the time. However she was certainly ready to go home with me. When I pulled out of the driveway of their house, she chased my jeep up the road until I got onto the ramp to get on the main highway. It was heartbreaking to leave her there. I still remember seeing her in the rearview mirror trying so hard to catch up to me so she wouldn't have to stay there. Eventually Paul went back and got her. We treated all her medical problems and it was amazing how beautiful she turned out. She loved to chase rabbits and squirrels, to swim and to dig. She chased things so hard she had to have surgeries on both her knees to replace ligaments. As she got older she had lots of arthritis and trouble jumping and running. Sometimes we had to carrying her up out of steep canyons. When she couldn't really run and she was happy, she would start to dig. It was always a good sign when she started digging at the snow or dirt. She loved to sleep in Paul's closet in his laundry basket. She was over 15 years old when she died. She had kidney failure, along with other medical problems, and had stopped eating when we finally decided to put her down. The day after she died I shot a javelina. Interesting circle to her life where I was javelina hunting when I found her and at javelina camp when she died. She was my hunting buddy. If she didn't get to go with me, she always ran out to the jeep when I got home to see if I had a deer or javelina or something there. She would make it hard to hunt because, if for example, I was hunting turkey, I would try and have Paul keep her back at camp, but sometimes she would escape and run as fast as she could to find me. I remember one time when I heard something panting heavily and charging toward me while I was waiting for a gobbler to step out. I got nervous thinking a bear was coming, but it turned out to be her and she was so proud of herself for finding me. She sat as quiet as a panting, excited dog can next to me while we listened to the gobbler sound off. It didn't come in, but it was a fun morning. She was very much afraid of guns. She loved to chase squirrels and go squirrel hunting with me, but if I shot one with a gun, she would sometimes run away and hide. When she was just a puppy someone had shot at her with a shotgun or BB gun. Years later the vet showed us the BBs that were in her when she had to get xrayed. You could feel some of them under her skin. I can't imagine shooting a little puppy.... Anyway, she had a great life with us. She hardly trusted anyone except us, so no one really got to know her as a friend like we did. She loved to sit in chairs and she carried her dogfood bowl around with her. She often would carry it full of food outside through the dog door to eat out in the back yard. Funny girl. I tried for years to get a picture of that, but never did because she would drop the bowl as soon as she saw the camera. It hurts to let her go, but it was time and I know she enjoyed her life with us. I made a memorial video. here is the link: http://www.coueswhitetail.com/video_clips/Molly_Memorial.wmv In case you can't see the video, here are a few photos. she made a lot of people smile with her happy face hanging out my jeep while we drove around:

Thanks for posting this, that's a cool story and pics!! Amanda

Hey All, I asked Clay to work on some new ideas for tshirt designs and he has come up with some good ones!! Many thanks to Bill Quimby and Mike Fabritz (Rembrant) for allowing me to use their coues deer artwork!! And also thanks to Josh (Grong) and Alan Ellsworth for letting me use their bucks on shirts Let me know what you think about the shirts. Would you buy one? Which design do you like best or would you want one of each? When you click on the links you will see the shirt in the design lab. There is a ROTATE link above the shirt and if you click on that you will see the back of the shirt. The deer art looks darker black in the lab than it will on the actual shirts. So they will actually look nicer in person than in the sample. sand shirt with Grong's buck: http://www.customink.com/lab/?cid=16313802-575806 Military green with Grong's buck: http://www.customink.com/lab/?cid=16313938-575806 Camo one with Alan Ellsworth's buck on it (the artists will likely have to convert the buck to one color): http://www.customink.com/lab/?cid=16296074-575806

No Mike didn't do it, CustomInk did it from photos I took of those bucks at ISE. Mike is working on a different buck for me that I think will be awesome! Amanda

Here are a couple more that I think look awesome....thanks to Mark Oliva for letting me use his buck on the shirt! This is the 135 archery coues buck that was at the ISE show with the DeClay buck. And thanks to Harold DeClay for use of his monster buck. Check these out: Oliva buck: http://www.customink.com/lab/?cid=16391628-575806 DeClay buck http://www.customink.com/lab/?cid=16393049-575806

here is the link to the post Steve is referring to. Great story and pics to go with it! http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/in...showtopic=17446

Wonder if those will fit my jeep cherokee? Got any pics? They in good shape? Amanda

Thank you for the info Bill!! Amanda

Wow, that's an amazing set of features on this rangefinder!! Amanda

Thanks Gentlemen!! I am really happy to see the site growing so fast! And thanks GH for sticking with me and the site! As with any family, it's not always a smooth ride but it's a worthwhile and rewarding one! How's this for something that shows the growth of the site? Monthy NEW topics (not posts, just new topics/threads started). In 2003 we had maybe 15-20 new topics/month, now we have 450! Nice!!! Let's keep it growing! Amanda

I will be there by 9 am on Sat and stay until probably close to 5, might leave earlier to get to the water project before dark. I will have a CouesWhitetail.com booth along with handing out info for the ADA, OE4A, and AZSFWC. Amanda

Ok, my sticker guy finally got back from deer hunting and cleared some time to make some stickers for me. I got a bunch of the deer made so if you already have a sticker and want to add deer to it, you can. I also made some of the stickers with the deer already added in if you don't have anything yet, you can get the complete set. I will have to charge for the deer the full stickers with the deer. I will keep the plain ones free. Later today I will add them to the sticker page so people can order them. What do you think?

Hey All, I am happy to announce that Randy Phillips of Archery Headquarters has signed up as a sponsor of CouesWhitetail.com. In addition to a great selection of archery gear, you will get great service there. If you purchase a bow there, they will install all accessories, completely tune the bow, give you instructions on shooting and you get 30 days use of their indoor archery range! They also have the DART system so that you can practice life-like hunting scenarios!! They even have a page on their website where you can calculate the kinetic energy of your arrow given the given the weight and velocity. So next time you are in Chandler or need some archery gear, drop by their store or give Randy a call and see what they can do for you. Need more info? Check out their website: Thank you for the support Randy!! Amanda

10-4!! I still can't believe no one has reported his truck. He is all over the valley all the time! Amanda

Hey All, A buddy of mine saw this sticker and sent me the pic to post. You were at archery headquarters today.

Better hurry on the shirt, date is coming fast!! Amanda

I like them both!! Neat action mount! Amanda

From Pete Cimellaro: 3-9-10 G & F Commission Meeting comments and update To those of you who have been following the deliberations of the Arizona Game & Fish Commission, no surprises in this afternoon’s 3 – 2 vote to move from a neutral position to opposition of SB1200 / HB 2189. This change was made when Robbie Woodhouse changed his vote, just like he announced he would last Friday. Special thanks to Commissioners Jack Husted and John Harris for their continued support of the legislation. While this decision is disappointing to many of us, it also clearly defines the difference between those commissioners appointed by former Governor Napolitano and those appointed by Governor Brewer. You may make your own assertions as to who your are more comfortable with; I appreciate the recent appointments. Today Commissioner Freeman spoke of how a change in the political climate may take us in another direction in the future. I think he is absolutely correct and we will need to be vigilant! It was a change of political climate that woke many of us up just a few short years ago. When Governor Napolitano, then candidate Napolitano asked the WCC members to support her and we chose not to, the climate became cold, ice age cold. Since we did not rally to help elect her, either she or her staff, decided we were unneeded. Sportsmen were shut out from any meaningful dialogue with her office. This marked the first time I had seen a complete dismissal of sportsmen by a Governor’s administration. In the past it didn’t matter whether it was a democratic or republican administration, the door was kept open; and then after we opposed one of Napolitano’s commission nominees, the door was sealed forever. As citizens we have a right to question and to participate in any public process, including commission nominations. As major stakeholders we even have more than a right, we have a responsibility to speak up. If we pass on that responsibility, then shame one us for what may follow. Currently we find ourselves in a struggle with those who want an equal say in the commission selection process. Actually it goes beyond that, they want more, they want to change the culture of the agency. We, as sportsmen are standing in their way, and they will whenever possible try to diminish our contributions and more importantly our role in Arizona’s wildlife management process. Make no mistake, they want change and they want it without paying for it. Perhaps, since they want to be full partners, we should suggest that sportsmen take a year off from the approximately $70,000,000 we contribute annually to the G & F Department and let them fund the agency for a year. I know this would certainly make them full partners in my mind! While I am not being serious in my jabs at the envrio’s; they are deadly serious about being full partners in directing the agency. An important side note, because most of you are not aware of the contentious atmosphere that has arisen regarding sportsmen’s contributions to the agency; let me bring you up to speed. We went to the G & F and asked them specifically for the numbers. Show us your budget breakdown and give us the contributions sportsmen make to fund the agency. We armed them with the knowledge that we needed good numbers that were defensible because we would be challenged. We were given numbers that ranged from about $67,000,000 to over $70,000,000. We chose to use the higher numbers because they included funds derived from watercraft and many of those are used for sportsman’s activities. Commissioner Freeman took great exception to the numbers we used and when we stated that these were department numbers he said he still disputed them. Our suggestion to the Department and to Commissioner Freeman is take care of your disagreement in house. We did exactly what is right, based on what we were told. To wrap it up, yesterday at Senator Nelson’s stakeholders meeting for SB1200, lovable Bill McLean was at his best! He was there as a ex-Commissioner and more importantly to represent the “369,000” sportsmen who did not belong to any of the wildlife conservation organizations. Bill, this rang a little hollow for most of us. As the father of the infamous “you don’t represent your organizations membership, you only represent yourself” statement, we decided to dismiss the message; but later it did bring us all a good laugh! Support SB1200 / HB2189; help keep sportsmen from being an endangered species! Pete

Wow you are fast. that wrong link was up for maybe 30 seconds!! So you like the glass? Amanda

Looks like Jim's #3 has the broadest appeal so far. I used it to create a beer glass. How many of you would like one of these? http://www.customink.com/designs/beerglass..._ite=designback

Funny yet frustrating story!! Hope you get your gun soon. Amanda

Guess I tuned in a little late. Thanks for the update. Amanda

The commission is meeting today and I believe this is on the agenda. You should be able to watch it live, but I just checked and it didn't appear to be on. Perhaps they are in executive session. But you can check back periodically and see if anything is going on. The meeting was supposed to start at 1 pm. http://www.azgfd.gov/inside_azgfd/CommissionCam.shtml