DATE: Monday, May 26, 1997                  TAG: 9705260044
SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: MARY REID BARROW, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   64 lines

COUPLE BRING LOST HOUNDS TO HEALTH HOMES SOUGHT FOR HUNTING DOGS WHO SURVIVED MONTHS IN SWAMP

When the starving brown deerhound crawled up out of the swamp, she was so covered in mosquitoes that Waverley and Margaret Traylor thought the dog was black.

The Traylors were deep in Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge where Waverley was taking photographs for a book he is writing. It was several months after deer-hunting season last year when the couple happened upon the miserable hound.

``She couldn't stand on all four legs without shaking,'' Waverley Traylor said. ``All four of her legs were bleeding. You could see her ribs. She was hanging her head.''

When Margaret Traylor realized the dog was covered with mosquitoes, she sat down to put some repellant on the suffering creature and the exhausted dog curled up in her lap.

That day, the Traylors gave up taking pictures and took the dog home to care for it. Now, a year and many hundreds of dollars in veterinarian's bills later, she's healthy, friendly, lovable and exuberant. They named her Dree, which is Scottish for ``survivor.'' A deerhound is a Scottish breed.

The once-shy deerhound has become a house pet, sleeping in the Traylors' bedroom. She gets along well with their house cats and two huskies.

The Traylors are wildlife rehabilitators. They operate Wildlife Rescue, and in addition to their own dogs and cats, always have injured or ill wildlife to care for. They would really like to find a good home for Dree.

And now the Traylors are caring for two other dogs that need homes. In April, the same scenario played out again, only this time two lost hounds stumbled out of the refuge swamp and into the Traylors' hearts. These two were in as bad a shape as Dree was a year ago - all skin and bones.

``All I had was some trail mix - raisins and such - and they ate it up,'' Waverley Traylor said.

Little Bit and Mama, as the Traylors call these two, are not yet as socialized as Dree. But both are friendly and appear eager for human contact. Mama runs right up for petting, but is very subservient, crouching on the ground. Little Bit is still wary.

``She wants to come desperately, but won't,'' Waverley Traylor said. ``She wags her tail and plays but won't come close.''

He thinks that Little Bit and Mama would make good pets like Dree if they had an owner who was willing to take the time to work with them.

He assumes all three dogs belonged to hunters who used them to hunt deer. Although the refuge does have a deer season, it does not allow tracking deer with dogs, said Lloyd Culp, refuge manager. Many hunt clubs, however, own or rent land adjacent to the refuge.

``And the deerhounds invariably end up on the refuge,'' Culp said, ``because that's where the deer run. And the dogs will run themselves ragged. They'll run until they can't run any more.''

When a dog becomes lost in the refuge swamp, the refuge issues a dog retrieval permit, which allows the hunter to search for his animal, Culp said, and most of them are recovered. Deer-hunting season is over in January, and Culp was surprised that the Traylors' dogs were able to survive for several months until they were found.

But they did and, thanks to the Traylors, are healthy. Call 463-8218 if you are interested in giving any of these survivors a home. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MARY REID BARROW/The Virginian-Pilot

Waverley Traylor found Dree deep in the Dismal Swamp National

Wildlife Refuge. Traylor hopes to find a home for the hound.

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