A Call For Wallets.

Seems like every year about this time, disaster strikes.  Last year the readers of this blog came together and gave from the heart to help Dutch Salmon's family defray the costs incurred when their son, Buddy, was deathly ill.  (He's fine now, by the way. Just saw him on Christmas).

This year's crisis involves a dog.  An 11 month old Tazi puppy... (probably like a second cousin to our new Ashley).  Young Irbis, from Steve Bodio's recent litter suffered a terrible compound fracture, and requires immediate surgery, or he will lose his leg.

Steve is like a lot of artists, in that he is generally broke.. (I can relate), and will have a difficult time funding this procedure.  He has put out a bleg (begging on a blog) on his Querencia blog.  Go there and see how you can help... see how his readers have helped.   Any amount greater than zero will be greatly appreciated.  You've come through in the past, and I know you can do it again.

UPDATE 7:51MST -  Nice work.. I hear the goal has been reached!

"The Lincoln Bedroom."

Due to unprecedented requests for access to the future residents of Mountain House, we've decided to call the little guest cabin "The Lincoln Bedroom". The Clinton years weren't totally wasted on us! I don't have to explain how it works. When the DUTCH T-Shirt button is removed tomorrow, it will become self-explanatory. Nice little place. Small fridge and microwave, shower, sink and toilet. What else could the weary traveller ask for?

Of course, a "donation" does not have to be in the form of money. Food, alcoholic beverages, etc. are welcome as well. We're easy. ;o)

Fundraising Update.

Thanks to all who have ponied up and ordered the DUTCH T-shirts to help out with the Salmon family expenses in the wake of Buddy's illness. Thanks, especially, to those who also got quilt raffle tickets, and ordered items from Dutch's bookstore.

We got orders from local New Mexico residents, and also from as far away as Florida and Massachusetts, Eastern and Western Canada, including the Maritimes, and Great Britain! Dutch has a lot of friends, but also there are strangers out there who just wanted to help.

The T-Shirt orders have dropped to a trickle as of today, so we'll pull the plug on them on February 1st. I'll remove the "Donate" button then. That will give us time to order up the blank shirts and other paraphernalia Margaret will need to produce the final product, and get it to all who donated in a timely fashion.

We'll add our check to the one the quilt raffle folks will be giving Dutch at his Pack Hunt in mid-February.

Thanks again!

You People Are Great!

When asked to step up, you respond with vigor.

While we're not exactly swamped with DUTCH T-Shirt orders, we've gotten more, in a short time, than I would have expected. Some people have even donated the $28 and decided to fore go the shirt so the whole amount goes to Dutch, which is cool. Other people are sending cash, with no strings (or T-Shirt orders) attached.

Thanks to bloggers Steve Bodio and Todd Birchfield our original post went nearly viral. On the first day we broke all visit records, logging 247 visitors!
We received donations from Great Britain, as someone had cross posted Steve's post- which linked our post- to the British website, The Hunting Life. We're still getting several visitors a day from that site.. and a lot of them are off to the bookstore, as many of the comments were about Dutch's landmark book, Gazehounds & Coursing. I think he may be moving a few copies this month.

I've heard from the quilt raffle organizers, and they've raised over.. well, a lot of money, and that was before you all read about it here, so a lot of money may turn into a shitlo boatload of money.

And if you follow the live traffic feed over there on the sidebar, you'll see that a goodly number of blog visitors have left via Dutch's bookstore . Dutch has confirmed one book sale... a very expensive book, in fact.. as a direct result of our post.

So.. why not keep up with the good news:

Buddy came home from the hospital on Saturday, and in Dutch's own words, "is on the mend". The snowball effect of which is that Dutch was able to bring out his hounds yesterday.. hounds who hadn't run in nearly a month.. to put the fear of god your deity of choice into a few jackrabbits. We took this opportunity to give Dutch his own shirt. He likes it, and thinks everybody should get one! ;o)

Other than the fact we had to walk 2 hours before jumping the first one, a good time was had by all. We'll be doing it again tomorrow.

Step Up to the Plate.

Many of the readers of this blog know Dutch Salmon, or know who he is. In addition to being one of the best outdoor writers in America, he's one of the true gentlemen of the sport of hounds and open field hunting.

We've known Dutch, and his wife, Cherie and son, Buddy for almost 10 years. Just before New Years, Buddy was air-lifted to the University of New Mexico Hospital with a sinus infection that got out of control, first with paralysis, then seizures. He's had at least one brain surgery, and is still hospitalized.

This has caused financial hardship, and untold wear and tear on vehicles, as there's no easy way to get from Silver City to Albuquerque.. just check a map.. not to mention the cost of lodging in a city hundreds of miles from home.

The coursing community of the southwest has stepped up to try and help defray some of these costs the Salmon family are facing. There is a raffle going on for a "Saluki quilt" for which I'll try and post the details of.

We'd like to expand the effort beyond New Mexico. One way you can help is to check out Dutch's bookstore. There are thousands of titles available, on subjects ranging from open field coursing and fly fishing, to biographies of the heroes and villains of the Old West, and more. If you've never checked it out, now would be the time. Books make great gifts!

Not content to sit and let others carry the load, we've come up with a unique fund raiser: The "Dutch" T-Shirt!

Yes, it's the same great style as the official poster for your favorite new President, and the image posted here recently of an eminent blogger/photographer.

The large (6.7" x 9.7") image will be displayed prominently on your choice of White or Natural cotton T-Shirts, in S-M-L-XL for $28 including shipping. All proceeds, less our raw materials and shipping costs, will be turned over to the Salmon family. Please email me: dan@shotonsite.us , or Margaret: margaretfairman@gmail.com with your order, and with questions about orders and sizes other than those listed. We'll accept payment by PayPal, or personal check. I've placed a tool at the top of the sidebar for PayPal orders directly on this site. If you use this method to order and pay, make sure you tell us the color and size of the shirt you want in the message box.

I heard from Dutch by email this morning. He says Buddy is improving, and may be able to come home soon. He also told me he hasn't chased a hare in more than a month.... possibly a personal record. All the more reason to hope for Buddy's return to health.

We hope you all can help. And pass this information on to those who aren't savvy and hip enough to read this blog!

UPDATE: Here are the details on the quilt raffle. I'm sorry, I couldn't add the pictures of the the quilt, but I've seen it, and it's pretty cool, especially if you have Salukis, or are close to someone who is:

"Cindy Brown has donated a 52 inch quilt in shades of blue and gray withSaluki heads in the corners (see photos), to be raffled off and all theproceeds will go to Dutch and his family. Cindy will bring the quilt andtickets to the hunt on January 17^th . The tickets will be $10 each or 3for $25.00. SWCC will offer tickets via the USPS. Send your check, madepayable to SWCC to the treasurer Bill Brown, PO Drawer 29, Mesquite, NM88048, sorry no paypal. The tickets will be returned to you and thedrawing will take place at the Dutch’s Pack Hunt on February 14^th .Checks will be taken up until the day of the drawing and tickets givenout if you are sending a check by mail it must be postmarked by February5^th so we have time to get the tickets back to you. If you are notpresent at the drawing the quilt will be mailed to you and watch for theannouncement on the lists we have posted information to."