Recollections of a hound hunter - Arthur Meyers

I had a veterinary practice in Blackburn when I first met Arthur Meyers.

He was salt of the earth always dressed in old oilskin clothing that he looked like he slept in (and probably did).

He lived in Box Hill about four kilometres away and he started to bring in his bloodhounds that he hunted with. We came to realize that he often walked to us with his dogs. He presented us with some pretty sick and injured dogs that had often been missing for a week or two. He insisted on the best care available which often involved expensive treatments and he always provided all the best preventative care such as worming, heartworm, fleas and other external parasite controls that all in all amounted to a large financial outlay.

Because of his dedication and our realisation of his situation we did provide discounted services, however we were aware that he reverse-mortgaged his house to keep himself going.

All our staff were quite stunned by his dedication to his dogs and we thought he would feed his dogs before himself.

I consider Arthur as a true animal lover, great Aussie and maybe a legendary deer hunter.

By Dr Peter Cullen BVSc – Mansfield Veterinary Clinic

Editors Note:

Dr Peter Cullen, now a veterinarian at Mansfield in Victoria asked if he could submit this short article as a mark of respect for a man he obviously harbored a deep admiration for as an animal lover. A very different perspective on hunters than that all too often portrayed in the mainstream media.

Arthur Meyers was well known in the Victorian hound scene, both for his attachment to his hounds and for his vocal, active and unwavering support for the ongoing fight to retain hound hunting. Arthur was a member of the Australian Deer Association for nearly forty years and he was an active foundation member of the Victorian Hound Hunters Inc., an organisation he was awarded Life Membership of.