Watching the embers of a likely dying beloved pet begin to fade is never easy.

But when you're a hunter whose dog is also a frequent sidekick to outdoor adventures, well, the picket duty becomes all that more difficult.

After all, you've grown up together to be a team, you reading the dog's body language while he or she notes the tone of voice, the nod of the head, the wave of a hand or the short bleat from a whistle.

Call it primeval if you must, as some reckon to do. Call it symbiosis, also if you are so inclined. But a hunter and his dog are more than just "friends." They are fellow travelers - adventurers - along life's unsteady, not-always-plotted path. They've come to depend on one another in ways that most other pet owners could only guess at.

Please see my latest News-Herald Outdoors Blog posting as I comment on the discomfort over watching my 12-year-old Jenny Lynn struggle with the affects of what her vet calls the canine version of a stroke.

There is hope, given that in 80 percent of these identical cases a dog can recover most functions on its own. Yet after 24 hours this hope appears to be waning.

It hurts in ways that I have not felt in years; not since the loss of my last retriever and hunting buddy, Miss Daisy.

In advance, I thank you for your support. And for the hunters who've also been there, done that, I appreciate your silent nod of understanding and your tears of recognition.

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischkorn@News-Herald.com