Finally, finally, FINALLY, one outdoor sporting organization has reached out to this Weekly Mistake with news. The Mississippi Hunting Dog Association (MSHDA), in conjunction with its Tri-Lakes chapter, announced recently that it had raised $147,000 to benefit LeBonheur Hospitals for Children. You read what I said - $147,000! LeBonheur currently has 25 locations in three states - Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi.
My thanks and sincere well wishes go out to the MSHDA. Thanks for the good news. You see, in the past, I could barely keep up with information provided by sporting groups like Ducks Unlimited, the National Wild Turkey Federation, the NRA, Quail Unlimited and even the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation; that was a good thing! Now it seems as if they don’t exist. I don’t hear a thing!
But recently, I got a call from an old friend, Dale Trotter, vice president of the MSHDA. He informed me that the non-profit MSHDA is still alive and well and is continuing to perform the many good deeds it is noted for. LeBonheur is but one example. The MSHDA also has helped common folks with serious health issues like cancer, raising money to help defray medical expenses of those individuals. To list a few, though I will not publish their last names, $7,000 was raised for Wilson, $35,000 for Otis and a whopping $75,000 went to Brad. As if that’s not enough, the MSHDA also has donated to Wheeling Sportsmen ($4,000), Catch-A-Dream ($10,000) and to the Shriners. WOW, you can’t tell me the MSHDA isn’t spreading good will in the name of sportsmen, hunting dog folks or not.
Now it’s no secret that I am a still hunter, more specially, a bow hunter. And, until now, I knew very little about the Mississippi Hunting Dog Association. When I got that call from Dale, I became enlightened. You see, in the past there has been a small bit of animosity between dog hunters and still hunters. But we are all in the same boat, and if we don’t learn to paddle in the same direction, our boat it will surely sink. Don’t believe it? Just ask the anti-hunting, anti-gun crowd...
That having been noted, for more information about the Mississippi Hunting Dog Association, its charitable donations or to join, contact Matthew Scott at 228-209-0631, or email mshda09@hotmail.com.
More on Trotter
Many moons ago when I was freelancing an outdoor column for what is now a declining local newspaper, I got news about a monster buck a fella named Dale Trotter had killed. Trotter hails from down around Brooklyn, MS, so naturally, I had to interview him. That interview turned into a lasting friendship.
As Trotter and I swapped lies about his hunting, those tales eventually led to stories about my bow hunting exploits for elk in northwestern Colorado. Dale is a bow hunter, as well as a gun/dog hunter, and I told him where I hunted with my crew. The next thing I knew, Dale had gotten him a small group together and was camped a mile or so from us on the Clinetop Range near Glenwood Springs, CO.
To make a long story short, we often visited each other’s camp to swap lies and alibis after long days of hunting. But, with time running out before we had to depart, and elk being slim-to-none in our area, things were looking bleak. On top of that, I was getting mighty tired of eating hotdogs. Then Dale showed up one night with more elk meat than we could possibly eat. I don’t even remember whether it was a cow or bull elk he killed, I just know it was good, and very much appreciated.
Dale and his crew left for Mississippi shortly before mine, and I did finally manage to arrow an elk before we had to head home. Regardless, we all had a grand time. I’ll always remember and appreciate the camaraderie and sharing; that’s what sportsmen do, you know. Won’t you join us? And when you do, please bring a kid tag along with you…
Hattiesburg native Phil DiFatta is a lifelong outdoorsman who has written a newspaper column since 1982. Email him at pdifatta@hotmail.com.
