One sees a fair number of dumped hounds during bear hunting season around here. The animal shelter workers tell me that hound owners (some of which have spent in excess of $2000 on a dog) never call the shelter about lost dogs. I wonder why an owner who would leave an old dog by the side of the road wouldn't have the guts just to shoot the old dog. It would be far more humane than leaving him to starve or be run over by a careless motorist. Of course it's beyond me why a bear hunter wouldn't love his dog, even when it gets too old to hunt. Of course there are exceptions, one of which is a friend of mine. His oldies live in the house with him. I have never known a bird hunter to treat his dog with anything but devotion. One of my DH's hunting buddies and his wife had to get a bigger bed to accomodate their large pointer. The breeder/trainer we got our last spanial from which DH said was the best he'd ever had and who gave me my current springer because she couldn't have any more pups and he wanted her in a loving home which he was too busy training and trialing to provide has a number of old spaniels which live as pets in his home and have sofa provileges. Big cultural difference there.