Family pets have long been known as a popular way of defending one's self against the ill intentions of predatory wildlife. I recall a few years ago the story of two men who were working out on the Kenai Peninsula one spring, when one of the men's dog came running back to his master with a grizzly in tow. The man climbed a tree and observed the bear chasing the dog around the camp, after which the bear, having made his point, left the area. The other man heard a gunshot and came running back to camp just as his friend was grabbing a shovel to bury his dog, which had a bullet hole right through its forehead. "Dog like that'll git a man killed", was all the guy said just before kicking the dog into the hole and covering it up. Pets can be useful in bear country as an early warning system, providing that the warning comes early enough. The challenge is in training them to run away from camp, not toward camp.
All of which goes to say that training of the family pet is the key issue here. Now, we all know bears are often found near our favorite fishing holes along the salmon streams. Never mind that the bears were there first; history tells us that what really matters is the guy who is there last- not the guy who was there first! So how do you outlast a bear? You guessed it- cats! But not just any pound kitty will do, oh no! You must train your cat to conduct himself appropriately in bear country and friends, that means you have to teach 'em how to swim. It's really simple, and relies on a method I learned from my dear old pappy, summarized in my life verse, "It would have been a whole lot easier for me to learn how to swim if dad hadn't tied the sack shut". Just toss 'em off a bridge into a river (a lake will do, but it's hard to toss a sack full of cats and bricks very far). You want the cats that can figure out how to untie the sack. Armed with a half-dozen water-trained cats, staked out in a perimeter around your fishin' hole, and you're in for a peaceful afternoon casting for cohos without a care in the world.
All of which goes to say that training of the family pet is the key issue here. Now, we all know bears are often found near our favorite fishing holes along the salmon streams. Never mind that the bears were there first; history tells us that what really matters is the guy who is there last- not the guy who was there first! So how do you outlast a bear? You guessed it- cats! But not just any pound kitty will do, oh no! You must train your cat to conduct himself appropriately in bear country and friends, that means you have to teach 'em how to swim. It's really simple, and relies on a method I learned from my dear old pappy, summarized in my life verse, "It would have been a whole lot easier for me to learn how to swim if dad hadn't tied the sack shut". Just toss 'em off a bridge into a river (a lake will do, but it's hard to toss a sack full of cats and bricks very far). You want the cats that can figure out how to untie the sack. Armed with a half-dozen water-trained cats, staked out in a perimeter around your fishin' hole, and you're in for a peaceful afternoon casting for cohos without a care in the world.
