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G_j

(40,366 posts)
Tue Oct 9, 2012, 10:45 AM Oct 2012

"Bear hunting dreams come true for children with disabilities and illnesses"

(my input: there certainly are far healthier "dreams" than killing something)

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/hunters-critically-ill-kids-chance-hunt-big-game-article-1.1176262

Bear hunting dreams come true for children with disabilities and illnesses

The United Special Sportsman Alliance asked bear hunters in Wisconsin to donate their hunting permits to help children achieve their dreams.

By Michael Walsh / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Friday, October 5, 2012, 6:09 PM

An 11-year-old girl, waiting for a heart and liver transplant, had her dream come true when she killed a 335 pound black bear with a single shot to the heart.

The United Special Sportsman Alliance (USSA) organized hunting trips in Junction City, Wis. for children with disabilities. The non-profit charity is dedicated to helping disabled and critically-ill children experience the "outdoor adventure of their dreams!" In this instance, the dream was bagging a black bear.

Kaitlynn, 11, from Stetsonville, Wisc., was born with tricuspid atresia, a type of heart disease. She expected to return from the hunt empty handed but managed to shoot the 335 pound black bear, which her family intends to mount on the wall.



"When I looked through that scope I didn't see it as a bear, I saw it as like a 300 pound lion that's about to like attack you, so I held the gun as steady as I could, I turned my head and then I shot," Kaitlynn told ABC News affiliate WAOW-TV.

Little Savannah, pictured above, has had trouble feeling “normal” because of her constant battle with illness, her mother explained. On the trip Savannah managed to capture a 121 pound bear.

..more..
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/hunters-critically-ill-kids-chance-hunt-big-game-article-1.1176262#ixzz28oTKHcGr


32 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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"Bear hunting dreams come true for children with disabilities and illnesses" (Original Post) G_j Oct 2012 OP
Yes, there are healthier dreams. Here is one example. Tennessee Gal Oct 2012 #1
thanks G_j Oct 2012 #4
I'm sorry to say this, but Arugula Latte Oct 2012 #10
Good grief....... Tennessee Gal Oct 2012 #15
The bottom line, though, is rodeos are cruel. Arugula Latte Oct 2012 #18
Well, excuse me. I can do without your lecture. Tennessee Gal Oct 2012 #29
Which is more cruel, killing an animal or what they do to them in rodeos? begin_within Oct 2012 #22
That reads so much like the Onion cthulu2016 Oct 2012 #2
Don't dream of killing an animal. Tom_x Oct 2012 #3
It is almost satirical. mzmolly Oct 2012 #5
Make A Wish Foundation has been doing this for a long time. n/t RebelOne Oct 2012 #6
what if a kid wished to fight in a real war? G_j Oct 2012 #11
No. Not hunting trips. LisaL Oct 2012 #16
Works for me. Brickbat Oct 2012 #7
Well it doesn't work for me. LisaL Oct 2012 #8
Is your objection to hunting in general, or kids hunting, or kids with disabilities hunting? Brickbat Oct 2012 #19
Killing for fun is stupid. GeorgeGist Oct 2012 #30
Disgusting. nt Arugula Latte Oct 2012 #9
Went on a lion hunt once former-republican Oct 2012 #12
Their last wish is to kill a defenseless animal bkkyosemite Oct 2012 #13
well a bear is not exactly a defenseless animal former-republican Oct 2012 #17
against a gun they are defenseless G_j Oct 2012 #20
Canned hunting. ronnie624 Oct 2012 #26
Wonderful, heartwarming story. Grave Grumbler Oct 2012 #14
to each their own heart-warming and inspiring message-of-life-through-killing LanternWaste Oct 2012 #21
different dreams for different people. same as we all have different bucket lists as well loli phabay Oct 2012 #23
sure, and not every item on those lists G_j Oct 2012 #32
????? Dying and their bucket list includes killing a bear???? Taverner Oct 2012 #24
yup you probuably dont. hunting is a large part of rural america loli phabay Oct 2012 #25
Thing is I'm not against hunting Taverner Oct 2012 #27
its all about management. most dnr realise that its a balancing act of populations loli phabay Oct 2012 #28
Yuck. proud2BlibKansan Oct 2012 #31

Tennessee Gal

(6,160 posts)
1. Yes, there are healthier dreams. Here is one example.
Tue Oct 9, 2012, 10:50 AM
Oct 2012

The local high school held a rodeo last Saturday. In the afternoon they had special needs children come for some fun. My grandson has Down Syndrome. They helped him ride a horse, rope a dummy calf, ride the mechanical bull, and pet a goat. They gave him a shirt and a cowboy had. They had him throwing his hat and yelling "Yee Haw."

That night the real rodeo was held and my grandson was admitted free. They had him ride a horse in the opening procession. He was grinning from ear to ear.

It was an unforgettable experience and it was a reminder that there are some great young people in this country!

 

Arugula Latte

(50,566 posts)
10. I'm sorry to say this, but
Tue Oct 9, 2012, 11:08 AM
Oct 2012

rodeos are supremely cruel, too. Have you seen how they yank the calves off their feet and how they torment the horses and bulls to make them buck? I would never attend a rodeo nor a circus that uses animals.

I know your grandson wasn't involved in those activities, but supporting rodeos in general just perpetuates the cruelty.

On another note: If your grandson liked the horseback ride, I wonder if there is a riding therapy place nearby? They do great work and tend to treat their animals very well.

 

Arugula Latte

(50,566 posts)
18. The bottom line, though, is rodeos are cruel.
Tue Oct 9, 2012, 11:21 AM
Oct 2012

You presented rodeo like it was an alternative to a cruel event. What I'm saying is that people who go to rodeos help perpetuate that sick form of "entertainment" and the brutality inherent in them, even if that is not their intention.

There are alternatives to attending them, and other ways for your grandson to have fun.

Tennessee Gal

(6,160 posts)
29. Well, excuse me. I can do without your lecture.
Tue Oct 9, 2012, 11:51 AM
Oct 2012

I am happy for my grandson.

And I am happy that there are young adults who spend time with children like my grandson.

G_j

(40,366 posts)
11. what if a kid wished to fight in a real war?
Tue Oct 9, 2012, 11:10 AM
Oct 2012

I liked to "play war" when I was a little child. I might have even wished I could fight in a "real war".

LisaL

(44,962 posts)
16. No. Not hunting trips.
Tue Oct 9, 2012, 11:18 AM
Oct 2012

"But there are some wishes the foundation won’t grant. For the past year, Make-A-Wish has refused to arrange hunting trips."


http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=94686&page=1#.UHQxwK7wGSo

bkkyosemite

(5,792 posts)
13. Their last wish is to kill a defenseless animal
Tue Oct 9, 2012, 11:14 AM
Oct 2012

bet it's the parents who gave them that outlook on life or I mean death.

 

former-republican

(2,163 posts)
17. well a bear is not exactly a defenseless animal
Tue Oct 9, 2012, 11:19 AM
Oct 2012

But the way black bear hunts are set up by guide services , very little can go wrong.

Most of them are stand hunts over bait.
 

LanternWaste

(37,748 posts)
21. to each their own heart-warming and inspiring message-of-life-through-killing
Tue Oct 9, 2012, 11:28 AM
Oct 2012

I'm not too terribly impressed by anyone whose dream in life it is to kill.

But... I suppose to each their own heart-warming and inspiring message-of-life-through-killing-- or however they want to rationalize it.

 

Taverner

(55,476 posts)
24. ????? Dying and their bucket list includes killing a bear????
Tue Oct 9, 2012, 11:31 AM
Oct 2012

WTF???

I guess I just don't understand flyover America

 

loli phabay

(5,580 posts)
25. yup you probuably dont. hunting is a large part of rural america
Tue Oct 9, 2012, 11:39 AM
Oct 2012

My daughters bucket list would include some extreme hunts and fishing if she was in the same situation.

 

Taverner

(55,476 posts)
27. Thing is I'm not against hunting
Tue Oct 9, 2012, 11:43 AM
Oct 2012

I just see no reason to do it. Bear never bothered me, so why bother him or her?

However, if it's a fish - it's coming up and getting a nice whack on the head Granted, I am too impatient to fish a lot, but I love taking the kids down to the fish pond (with guaranteed catches) and grabbing a few trouts

 

loli phabay

(5,580 posts)
28. its all about management. most dnr realise that its a balancing act of populations
Tue Oct 9, 2012, 11:47 AM
Oct 2012

Also the permits pay for all sorts of other conservation. Hunting feeds a lot of people and ensures managable populations so we dony have thousands of deer wandering through the suburbs starving in the winter.

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