Posted by Laurie on 5/23/2007, 8:40 pm The sun was just showing its sleepy face as we gathered our gear and woke the dogs that August morning. Miguel and Rico had planned this particular hunt for months and we as “gringos” were almost as excited. Their weathered faces were a testament to the experience they had with the dogs, and as they approached them, in unison their tails began to wag like they knew what was taking place. Boar hunting in the Puerto Rican desert was a dream I had as a small child growing up in the Ozarks…it was now becoming a reality right before my very eyes. As the sun danced slowly across the warming sand we mounted our horses now laden with packs and supplies for both us and our noble dogs. We headed out, the 2 gringos, Miguel, Rico and our 4 dogs beginning a journey none of us would soon forget. Part II… The Prize…soon
72.137.177.139
Dog Desert – Chapter One
The lead dog Paco was a mass of muscle and attitude, a champion among boar dogs he was unmatched in his tenacity for the hunt. His brother Canino was the largest weighing in at over 115 lbs, heart & soul boar hunter, he worked effortlessly in bringing home the prize. Our 2 other companions Meluno & Nerezzo were smaller but as hard and as focused as the others. All raised on the smell and the taste of the hunt they were unstoppable in their quest.
It had been awhile since I had rode through the brush and heat of the Puerto Rican hills. I had forgotten how hard it was. The dogs however, happily trotted well ahead of us, heads low and tails high. They raced through the desert, skillfully manipulating the dips and hills hidden beneath the sand. Their muscular bodies moving swiftly, I was mesmerized by their beauty.
As the son rose higher in the August sky, so did the temperature. We stopped frequently to water our dogs, ourselves and the horses...without them we were nothing. The breeze, though strong, was hot and dry, like sand paper against my city softened skin. Rico laughed as I winced, his deeply wrinkled face engrained with his years in this unforgiving land. The dogs lazed unaffected under a weather beaten Acacia tree, panting heavily with big wide grins on their faces.Rico in his broken english shared stories of past hunts, of wins and losses, and of the one prize, the one boar who would never be taken.
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