I have had the pleasure this year of going on several tracks with Mike Lopez and his dogs Lucy and Andy. Their accomplishments in my mind are nothing short of incredible.
They came to Alabama this year on January 3rd and tracked through the end of the season on February 10th. During that period they recovered (as Mike says “put on the tailgate”) 33 deer. Amazingly, 23 (a full 70%) of these were tracked, bayed, and dispatched. .
Prior to coming to Alabama they recovered 103 in Georgia. Of these 42, or 41% were bayed and dispatched. The total combined numbers for the season was 136 deer recovered of which 65 were tracked, bayed and dispatched.
His main dog Lucy is 7 years old (born in May of 2010). Her first three years were her training period and she only tracked for Mike and close friends and relatives. The last five years she has been “on the road” and has recovered 567 deer, over 100 per year of which 243 were dispatched after being bayed up. Her three year old pup Andy is in training and goes with them tracking the deer behind Lucy but is kept on the lead until Lucy locks down on the deer. Then he can chase and bay the deer with her.
To achieve these results requires an amazing effort on the part of both dog and handler. They track day or night, often driving up to two hours to or between tracks. When not tracking they stay at a centrally located motel, resting and waiting for calls.
When I first started hearing about them a few years ago I was pretty skeptical. Since then I have witnessed firsthand what they do and how they do it. Lucy is a great dog and well trained. She has so much experience that Mike’s trust is 100% at all times. If she is moving, she is on the target deer and the only thing that will make Mike stop looking is lack of trespass permission or danger to the dog.
I have tracking dogs but my work schedule and my ongoing desire to hunt with my bow limit the tracks I take. If I can’t take a call for a hunter I always refer them to someone who can track it for them. There are a number of good ones in central Alabama but come January each year, Idaho Mike is number one on my list.

I had the pleasure of seeing Mike and Lucy work 2 years ago. I don’t think you can explain what this dog can do and of course mike is responsible for a lot of this but Lucy is just one of those once in a lifetime dogs. Hope you never need a dog but if you do, call. If the deer can be found, they will get it done.