I've been asked why I have never become a JRTCA hunt judge.
Simple: I don't want to deal with people who have a sense of entitlement.
And believe me when I say there are a lot of people with a sense of entitlement.
These folks figure that because they drove a few hours, the hunt judge who has taken his or her valuable weekend time away from family and friends has to find the quarry for them, and has to write a certificate no matter how incompetent their dog.
Do these people think the JRTCA pays hunt judges? Do they think gas and time are free?
It's ugly stuff, and so I stay away from that kind of nonsense, even though I do take folks out in the field.
Now, to be clear, I have met some great folks in the field, but I have met some real assholes with a sense of entitlement too.
Talk to any JRTCA hunt judge, and they all have stories, and I have them too.
How about the people who show up to hunt and then suddenly remember they have a "bad back" and a "heart condition" and so they can't so much as carry a post hole digger or a pack full of water? Right. I am supposed to be the beast of burden for all of it, today eh? Thanks for the notice!
Then there are the people who think hunting is like walking a dog in the park, and that their dog can be on leash the whole time. And what would happen if their dog was taken off-leash? Why it would run for the hills!
Then there are the people who think the way you find critters is that you drive right up to a hole. Walk a mile, or even two or three fields? My God, that sure sounds a lot like work! They never mentioned walking on the list-serv!
Then there are the people who have grabbed up my leather leashes to tie up their own terriers, only to be "surprised" when their dog gnawed through them. Replace my $30 leash that your dog ruined? Not even an offer! Just another expense I am supposed to shoulder for the privilege of teaching them.
Then there are the folks who cannot stop gossiping about petty show or list-serv nonsense, to say nothing of the ones who show up to go digging wearing tennis shoes.
Finally, there are the ones who suddenly remember, truck-side, that they are terribly allergic to poison ivy and they sure hope we won't see any of that in a Maryland or Virginia hedgerow!
Poison ivy in a Maryland or Virginia hedgerow? Nah! There's none of that. No worries there! Stay calm and carry on!
But you know what really piss me off?
Those are the folks that ask you to take them out hunting on a very specific date determined by their schedule.
And so you arrange your schedule around them, and you tell other folks that want to go hunting with you that weekend that they are out of luck.
And then The Entitled calls, texts or emails late in the day, THE DAY BEFORE, to tell you they suddenly can't make it.
And YES, I just got one of those messages. My text back was succinct:
Surprise! I arrange my schedule around you, and you crap out at the last minute. Others wanted this slot.
Don't call or email. A waste of time.
And I mean it.
Of course, I was pretty sure this was going to happen. After more than a decade of taking people out, I can generally smell trouble before it arrives.
The first sign of trouble was that this person mentioned two people that I know pretty well, but neither of these fine people seemed to be standing in line in order to take this person out themselves. Hmmmmmm....
Nor had these folks contacted me to vouch for the bonafides of this person who I did not know from Adam Had'em. More hmmmmmmm.
No matter. I try to be of service. Just because you smell smoke does not mean there's a fire. You have to give people the space to disappoint you, and not always assume they will.
But, of course, there were other clues. The second clue there might be trouble was that this person said they were entering a bitch in the Bronze Medallion class at some trial in Virginia.
Eh? A Bronze Medallion dog? Did this person dig three kinds of quarry to this dog under a JRTCA hunt judge? It sure did not sound like it! In fact it did not sound like this person had too much digging experience at all.
I read the email again, and the line that stood out was that this person wanted to show their bitch in the Bronze Medallion class that day "because she has earned the right to be shown."
What the hell does that mean? The DOG does not care about a freaking ribbon, and let's not pretend it does.
The ribbon and recognition are for the HUMAN who worked the dog. And in this case, the human did not appear to deserve the recognition.
But I bit my tongue.
What do I care what show people do? It's all nonsense anyway. Stay out of it. Edit, edit, edit. And besides, perhaps I was wrong.
But more clues of trouble followed. The third clue came in the second email which said the person was "traveling with one of the... judges" and that they wanted to get into the field by 9 am and out by noon or 1 pm so they could get back to show their dog that same day.
Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.
I should have pulled the cord right then and there, but like a fool, I said fine, I would work around that, and I gave them an address in Maryland where they could meet me at 8:45 am.
And so what happened?
What do you think?
They called me at 5:45 pm the day before (15 hours before we were to meet) to scrub the hunt because they could not get transportation from the dog show they were attending.
They had just found this out?
And so I fired off my "nasty gram" text: Don't call or email.
This gate has closed. Good luck to the next person who agrees to take them out.
No one is entitled to my time but the dogs.
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