Deer hunters using tracking dogs is becoming more popular since recovery is one of the most important parts of being a hunter. We want to do everything we can to seal the deal and be good stewards.

A hunter’s hound made one of the most important recoveries of its life down in Louisiana earlier this year. We’re thinking this bloodhound, named Honey, probably got a few extra dog treats and ear scratches for his efforts.

Eli Alcock, age 3, wandered away from a friend’s home. After a fruitless search, Honey was put on the track to see what it could do. Here’s part of the story from Louisiana Sportsman recounting the effort:

Ultimately, what the dog found on the mile-long track in the wind and rain weighed only 35 pounds and stood only about 3 feet high, but it was a prize way more valuable than any state record buck ever will be.

Incredibly, Honey the deer-tracking bloodhound found 3-year-old Eli Alcock, who had wandered off through a hole in a fence at a friend’s house more than two hours earlier, while presumably following a hog dog named Mabley.

“I’m telling you, man, there’s not a greater feeling,” said Florien’s Downs, who works as a driver for the Natchitoches Fire Department and serves as pastor at Gum Springs Baptist Church in Hornbeck. “I have found several deer, and helped many a man put deer on the wall they’ll tell stories about for the rest of their lives.

“But there is no greater joy that I can even begin to describe than when I handed him to his mom and she knew that he was OK.”

What an awesome outcome! Kudos to Downs and Honey for a great recovery!