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Disabled teenager shows skill on first hunting trip, bags goose
Sunday, November 04, 2007
BRADFORD — Jason Shellenberger is good with his hands. He has to be. His legs don't work.
"I think he has beaten every Nintendo or Play Station game he has ever played," said his stepdad, Tom Rose.
Extras
Perhaps the hand-eye coordination that has made the 14-year-old Bradford seventh-grader so good at video games is now paying off in a totally new and different activity for Shellenberger — hunting. Rose introduced the youngster to hunting this year, buying him an apprentice license and taking him goose hunting at a privately owned gravel pit near Troy.
It was difficult for Shellenberger to get to the waterfowl hunting blind. He was born with spina bifida, a condition that leaves a portion of the spinal cord uncovered. Victims have different degrees of paralysis. Shellenberger is paralyzed from the waist down.
"We had to maneuver the wheelchair over some pretty rough ground," Shellenberger said. "But once we got to the blind, it was OK."
Later, in order to make getting to and from the blind easier for Shellenberger, Rose and his friend Bill Cox of Bradford devised a special cart that makes riding considerably easier. It is wide enough to put a wheelchair inside and has large tires to handle the uneven terrain.
"The first time we went out, we wondered how we would ever be able to use the wheelchair if it was muddy or if there was snow on the ground," Cox said. "But Tom and I are welders by trade, so we took a cart that I use to haul logs and converted it so it would hold a wheelchair. Now it's much easier to maneuver."
On that first hunt, they arrived at their blind early, about 6:30 a.m. Not long after, a couple of other hunters brought down geese, so Rose and his Labrador retriever went off to help bring in their birds. While he was gone, Shellenberger saw a chance to get his first goose. He and Cox were in the blind, and when the geese came their way, the young hunter didn't hesitate.
"I aimed a little bit in front of it and took my shot. And it came down," he said.
"He's one better than me," Rose said. "I haven't picked one out of the air yet."
For Cox, it was great to see the youngster get his first goose.
"You have no idea how good that made me feel," Cox said. "I told my wife that if I don't get another bird, that's going to make my season."
Rose plans to get a thrower and try some trapshooting with Jason, saying, "We both could use the practice."
Shellenberger said he likes hunting and admits he hasn't been doing much in the outdoors.
"It's a great thing," Rose pointed out. "His mom likes it, too. He needed something to get him away from the video games and into the outdoors. It's not just handicapped kids, plenty of other kids spend too much time in front of computers and televisions."
Shellenberger said he likes playing basketball outside, but other than that has been pretty much confined to the indoors. Now, since he has been hunting a few times, he plans to do more outside when he can.
Shellenberger will take Ohio's hunter education course next year. The apprentice license, created last year to help recruit more people to hunting by allowing them to accompany a friend or relative into the field to hunt, gives people a chance to find out if they like the activity before buying a regular license, which requires hunter education.
"Hunting has been a lot of fun," he said. "I'd like to do some more, either for different kinds of birds or maybe for deer."
"You'll have to be a lot quieter when you hunt deer," Rose kidded him.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2409 or
jmorris@DaytonDailyNews.com.
Outdoors options
for the disabled
Disabled people don't have to sit inside while others are enjoying the outdoors. There are several organizations that promote outdoor activities and skills for the disabled. For more information, visit ohiodnr.com, nrahq.org/compete/disabled.asp or wheelinsportsmen.org.
