Description :“That 800 metres seemed like about 8 Kilometres”
Overview
By Ethan Cusack
My name is Ethan Cusack and I have been going pig chasing with my Dad since I could walk. We currently have 3 working dogs. Brownie who is my Dads gun dog. She is mostly Bullarab with a bit of Great Dane in her line. We have had her from the day she was born as we also owned her parents. Being 10 years old she is slowing down and getting towards the end of her career but still loves nothing more than catching big boars. Our other bitch is called Bonnie who is a Bullarab Bulldog cross. She has been hunting off the back from a young age and is super quick. Our newest member of the team is a 10-month-old pup called Mac. His father is a purebred Catahoula and his mother is a Great Dane Bulldog cross. He is actually Mum’s dog that we got from up near Mackay. Dad’s theory was that dogs that catch pigs in cane will catch pigs anywhere. We originally had a bitch picked out but when we went to have a look at the litter there was just something that Mum liked about Mac so we ended up coming home with him.
We started taking him out at about six months old because if we left him at home he winged like crazy. Dad thought he would run the other way from a pig but he was soon proven wrong. He went straight on the first pig he saw and hasn’t looked back. He is already hunting off the Ute and has caught some good size boars one out. Recently we were lucky enough to have Jesse and Bec staying at our house. We caught some good pigs and had lots of fun. One Friday night myself Dad and Jesse went for a quick run that turned out to be a long run. We headed out to some grain feeders and were disappointed when the dogs only come up with a sow. Dad had seen some large tracks at one of his other blocks so we decided to go for a look. By now it was just past midnight which is when the big ones come out. As we were driving along the track Mac started to whine but being a young dog we weren’t convinced until a bit further down the older dogs went crazy. The cage doors were flung open and the dogs all floated straight towards the mountain.
The tracker lost reception at about 900m so we knew that they had gone up and over the top. Having been up that steep thick mountain many times before we decided that it would be quicker to drive around to the other side and hope that the trackers would pick up the signal again. Relieved when we had signal that they had all treed quarry and about 800m from where we could drive to. That 800m seemed like about 8km’s as we still had to contend with the steep thick mountain terrain. We knew it was a good one because we could hear nothing until we got within about 100m from it. Dad quickly dispatched it as the dogs had been on it for a while now. It was a cracker with big tusks and shoulder pads. A real mountain warrior it had to be weighed. With no way to get it out Dad had to walk back and get the scales and lifting ratchet while Jesse and I took some good photos. We could hear Dad swearing when he was nearly back to us.
Puzzled Jesse asked him what was wrong. I got the scales but forgot the f&*#)@n lifting gear. No one wanted to go all the way back so we hobbled him, put a branch through his legs, hung the scales in a tree and lifted him and hooked him in the scales. What a circus he was not high enough and still touching the ground. Jesse suggested digging under him but Dad laughed and said that would take all night. We ended up hanging the scales higher hobbling one leg to the scales then Jesse and Dad lifted the pig while I hobbled the opposite leg and connected it to the scales. Success, he weighed 115kg and we were all buggered but excited. By now it was about 2.30 in the morning and I had to play Rugby League that day so we headed home. I have caught many big boars with my Dad but this is one that I will definitely always remember.