In Gus We Trust - NH Big Game Tracking and Recovery

10/25/2026

In the right place at the right time.

We were out late last night tracking a deer that ended up on posted property. When I say posted, I mean this was the most posted property I've ever seen. Not only had they put signs on their own property, they had also felt it necessary to put signs on the neighboring property (some of these the neighbor had already ripped down). They also had installed Ring cameras 20 feet up in trees where their property abutted a snowmobile trail.

Surprisingly, the hunter was able to get permission from these paranoid property owners to retrieve the deer. So we came back the next morning, working on about 4 hours of sleep and while dealing a nasty respiratory sickness (me, not Gus).

That deer was not dying anytime soon, but as we were leaving we got a call from a good friend. One of his buddies had shot a deer just a few miles away from where we were. Even though all I wanted was to go home and take a nap, I knew Gus wanted to get his teeth in something so I couldn't let him down.

Gus made short work of the 400 yard track, and filled the freezer for another hunter. That's my good beast!

10/17/2026

Weird things happen, even with the best of shots. This deer had been hit right behind the shoulder - pretty much perfect shot placement.

So why did the hunter need to call us? Well, he found his Lumenok ~75 yards beyond where the deer was standing, and the sign on the bolt was inconclusive. Crossbow bolts can be difficult to read because they don’t always pick up the same sign a traditional arrow would. It was also raining pretty good at that point, so the visible blood trail would soon be disappearing.

The rain doesn’t bother Gus’s nose in the least though. We decided to wait a few hours to give the deer time to expire, and met at 9:00pm. Gus was standing over the deer by 9:15pm.

That’s my good beast!

10/17/2026

That's my good beast!

Gus was pointing right at this deer and it still took me a second to see it between the blow-downs.

10/10/2026

The title is misleading (the dog finds him anyway), but this video shows the amazing things a dog can do with its nose. Well, and its brain... and sometimes with a little help from its handler.

Scent trailing dogs are indistinguishable from magic. Ready for yo...

10/07/2026

If you’ve been following this page, you probably know that Gus likes to feast on raw venison after a recovery.

Early this morning, we got the order a little mixed up—Gus got his venison heart before finding the rest of the deer.

We do everything we can to ensure we get there before the predators do, but sometimes even a 2:45am wakeup is not enough. A bear had made a meal of this deer before we arrived. I’m guessing it carried the heart away when we approached and scared it off the carcass.

When predators get into a deer, the track often looks like a spoked wheel at the end—the dog will track/chase off whatever had been eating before honing in on the actual target. I could tell that’s what Gus was doing here, but was hoping the damage was minimal. It wasn’t, so I will spare you the pictures.

It’s unfortunate for the hunter, but in nature nothing really goes to waste.

09/29/2026

If you've wondered what it looks like to have a 100lb beast-on-a-leash (aka, Gus) drag you around the woods... wonder no longer! Here's a brief video from my end of the rope.

We did find this deer, but unfortunately the camera mount broke beforehand so I wasn't able to capture the recovery on video. I'll do better next time.

09/28/2026

Gus, your reputation precedes you.

Normally when we meet a new hunter, I warn them before Gus gets out of the truck: “The dog is not friendly; he is here to do a job. Don’t look him in the eye, don’t talk to him, and definitely at no point try to pet him.”

The first two are more for Gus—the less distractions he has, the easier it is for him to focus on his job. The “don’t pet” part is legitimately for the hunter’s safety. There are about 10 people in the world he will let touch him, and he will touch back if you are not on that list.

This hunter knew all of this before I even started to say it. We had found deer for two of his buddies last year, and he had remembered what they said about Gus. He even knew Gus likes the heart as a reward without me having to ask.

Congrats on the deer, Trever, and thanks for trusting Gus to find it. That’s my good beast!

09/25/2026

Thought I was gonna have to swim for this one!

This was from last season but it's been a slow week... We did end up recovering this deer--it was a youth hunter's first harvest.

09/22/2026

And that's what a ☠️ bear looks like.