Time slowed down to a crawl. Looking around he tried to find something to grab to stop his awkward slide. Except for Patches, whose face was framed in a combination of amusement and fascination, he saw nothing. Flapping his arms in the air as if trying to fly, Scott made one final turn before sliding off the frozen pier. The man was only airborne for a split second before crashing feet first to wooden, floating dock. As he landed the pain was immediate and searing. It felt as if his legs had been caught in a vise and were being slowly crushed. What he didn’t know at that moment was that he had torn all the tendons, ligaments, and muscles from his knees to his ankles. Screaming in agony, Scott attempted to roll over. This move pushed him off the dock and into the lake, where he crashed through a thin layer of ice.
The shock of the frigid water stunned Scott so badly it took his breath away. His mind was now working in slow motion and his thoughts were jumbled. Glancing to his left his eyes focused on the deck. It was getting further away. That meant the wind and current were pushing out into the middle of the lake. If he did not get back to shore in a matter of minutes, he would either die of exposure or drown. Instinct demanded he kick his legs and swim back to shore. His brain immediately sent that message to his legs but as they attempted to follow the command unfathomable pain shot up his spine and hips all but causing him to lapse into unconsciousness. Fighting to hold on to his wits, Scott tried to tread water, but the water had now soaked through all the layers of his clothing, and the weight of those garments was dragging him down into the twenty-foot-deep channel.
After taking one last gasp of frigid air, Scott sank under the waves and into the darkness below the thin ice. The pain from his injuries numbed his will to fight, and the cold demanded he accept what fate held for him. Slowly his mind began to process that he was going to die in the lake he loved so dearly. How long would it take them to find his body? Who would come out into the frigid weather and make the search? Would anyone ever really know what had happened?
A few feet away, his dark-brown eyes glued to the spot in the water where Scott had gone under, a perplexed Patches watched. Leaping down from the pier to the dock, the dog slipped and fell on his belly. It took several moments for him to dig his claws through the ice on the wood and regain his footing. Rushing over to the place where Scott had rolled off the planking, the dog studied the water, took a deep breath, and plunged in. Paddling over to the spot where the man had disappeared, the dog took another deep gasp and dove under the waves.
Scott was slipping into an almost comalike trance when he felt something grab his hair. A second later he felt his whole body being yanked toward the surface. When he emerged from what he had assumed would be his watery grave, he took a deep breath and tried to refocus. Reaching up, he felt Patches’s wide head. The dog’s jaw had a firm grasp on the man’s graying but thankfully thick head of hair. For the moment he was safe, but as the wind was pushing them farther from the shore, they were still facing a huge challenge.
In order to breathe, Scott needed to roll over onto his back. Patches seemed to sense that and let go of the man’s hair, but as soon as Scott had deeply inhaled, filling his lungs with the frosty air, the dog once more took ahold of the man’s hair and began to paddle back toward the shore. Not only was Patches battling the wind but he was also breaking the ice with his feet and chest as he moved forward. Yet the tenacity that often got him into trouble now pushed him stubbornly forward. He would die before he gave up. The distance the dog had to cover was only twenty feet, but because of the conditions and the man’s weight, it took almost five minutes to it make it back to the place where Scott had slipped into the lake.
Patches swam beside the dock, allowing Scott’s body to bump up against the floating wooden structure. Though dazed and confused, the man finally understood what the dog wanted. Gripping the dock’s edge with his hands, Scott slowly yanked himself out of the lake. Rolling over, he quickly realized the dog had not followed.
Patches was so exhausted he could no longer move. He had used every bit of energy just to save the man. Now he was floundering in the water. Grabbing the dog by the scruff of the neck, Scott somehow found the strength to pull him to safety, but as he did, the man lost his balance and fell back into the icy abyss.
Panting on the deck, Patches watched his master plunge back into the water. Totally exhausted, the dog surely realized that he had done all he could do. Yet for reasons no human has ever understood, the dog, fully aware it likely meant he was going to die, pulled himself off the dock and leaped back into the icy lake.
Scott had now blacked out. Diving under the surface, Patches again found the man’s hair. Latching onto it with his solid jaw, the canine rotated and headed back toward the surface. Breaking out of the water, he regained his bearings and began to paddle toward shore. Again Patches stopped at the dock until he saw Scott reach up and grab onto the side. The dog then swam to shore, pulled himself of the water, ran out onto the pier, leaped down to the dock, and slid over to the man. The now nearly frozen furniture owner was shocked when Patches leaned forward, grabbed the back of the man’s coat collar, dug his claws into the ice, and yanked. It took several minutes for Patches to get Scott out of the water. Not satisfied to simply pull up on the deck, this time the dog kept tugging until he had the man in the middle of the floating wooden structure.
Exhausted and unable to walk, Scott rolled over onto his back and screamed for help. On a normal night at least a dozen people would have heard him and come down to investigate. But because of the cold all the windows were latched tight. After a few minutes with no response, the man took a deep breath and gave up. Among all the thoughts racing through his mind was that no one would ever realize what Patches had done that night.
The man might have given in, but the dog hadn’t. After a short rest, Patches got up and called on his malamute breeding and his collie problem solving. Grabbing Scott’s collar, the dog yanked him a foot forward. Jarred awake by the canine’s efforts, the man rolled over and used his elbows to move a foot on his own. That small movement took almost all the man’s energy. As he rested the dog yanked Scott off the dock and onto the shore. The dog was simply not going to give up until the man was safely home.
Beyond the pain from his horrific injuries, the numbing cold was starting to play with the man’s mind. It was demanding he give up. Again and again a voice inside his brain yelled at him to just let things be. After all, he was out of the water, his body would be easy to find and no one would have to risk their lives looking for him. But each moment he was about to close his eyes and check out, Patches sank his teeth into the heavy coat collar and dragged him a few more feet.
There was no path from the lake to his house. The rocks made going straight up the hill difficult even in the best of times. Tonight the large stones would have been almost impossible to manage for both a healthy man and rested beast. But somehow Patches’s stubborn spirit drove him on. Foot by foot he dragged the man higher up the steep hill. When he grew too weary to move, he laid down beside Scott to warm him. Once he’d rested a bit, he got up, faced the wind, and went back to work. Inspired by his efforts, Scott found new strength and grabbed onto the rocks to help. Together the duo slowly moved up the hill.
Back in the house, Mrs. Scott walked over to the kitchen window and glanced down toward the dock. The patrol boat was still there but there was no sign of her husband. A tinge of concern raced through her body, but she figured he had likely gone next door to see if the friendly neighbors could help him secure the craft. Besides, if anything had happened, Patches would have come home. The fact the mutt was not scratching at the door must mean that everything was all right, she thought.
Scott looked up and saw his wife at the window. He cried out to her, but the wind carried his voice away. She never heard him. And because he was dressed in dark clothes he was sure she couldn’t have seen him either. But he was now too close to give up.
Knowing that home was now within reach provided Scott and Pat
ches with a second wind. As the man grabbed onto the rocks with more vigor, the dog now pulled more and rested less. Patches was completely exhausted when he finally made it to the grass in the family’s backyard. After grabbing the man’s coat collar a final time and managing to bring Scott another six inches closer to home, the weary canine collapsed.
The cold had numbed the pain to the point where Scott was once again drifting into unconsciousness. But he had to at least live long enough to tell the story of Patches’s courage and fortitude. Using the last bit of reasoning power he could muster, he grabbed a rock and heaved it toward the back of the house. The pebble hit the kitchen window just as his wife walked by. This time, when she looked outside, she spotted Scott in the yard. A few moments later she was by his side. After dragging him out of the cold, she called an ambulance. Worried about her husband, unable to comprehend his injuries, she ignored the dog that had literally saved the man’s life three times in the past hour. She had no idea the only reason Scott was alive was because the wet, smelly canine now resting in the living room had brought him home.
At Tacoma General Hospital, Marvin Scott’s injuries were assessed. His legs were in horrible shape. The doctors didn’t even know if he would ever be able to walk again. But for the moment that was the least of the problems. Scott was suffering from hypothermia and frostbite. Because of the water he had ingested during his period in the lake, his lungs were damaged as well. Within hours the doctors’ worst fears were realized as he developed pneumonia.
With infections raging through his body and medications masking his excruciating pain, Scott was out of his head for days. Hovering on the edge between life and death he would spend Christmas and New Year’s in the hospital. Meanwhile, back at home, Patches, unaware of what had happened to his master, anxiously waited for him to come home. And finally, after several major surgeries and twenty-seven days in the hospital, Scott did come home. It was only then that family and friends were made fully aware of Patches’s life-saving efforts.
The dog stayed by the man’s side as he recovered, but it would be six months before Scott was able to use two canes and walk back to the dock. Beside him each step of the way was the dog that wouldn’t let him die.
In the annals of canine history there have been thousands of dogs that have saved people’s lives. Some of the famous names lionized in dog lore include Balto, Tang, Duke, Ringo, and Bear. Still, for many dog lovers, there is one dog that, due to his incredible determination, devotion, and fortitude, stands head and shoulders above the rest. At a time when America’s fiber was being rocked by insecurity and changed, when faith and hope were rare, in one hour, with no hesitation or concern for his own welfare, Patches proved his heroic nature three times. If there was a canine Medal of Honor, this dog’s image should be on it and if there was a dog that defined the essence of the American spirit and will to survive even the toughest times, it was this collie/malamute mutt. When the country needed a hero, Patches answered the call.
About Kings Valley Collies
Kings Valley Service Dog candidates are drawn primarily from the Kings Valley Collies breeding program, which for the past four decades has selected for pronounced working ability and physical and emotional stamina. Puppies and adolescents are exposed to a variety of performance events, conformation events, and temperament tests and, along with the adults, participate in family activities. Some candidate dogs are also carefully screened and brought in from other breeders’ programs.
Collies are endowed with an intrinsic richness of character and a highly developed sense of appropriateness. Our training process builds on these inherent qualities, which Collies unfailingly bring to their work as service dogs. Throughout their early schooling, they are rewarded with praise, touch, or treats for every affectionate gesture toward people. As they mature, we use every opportunity to reward initiative and good judgment.
As training progresses, the dogs’ repertoire of skills broadens. Almost imperceptibly, they assume a new, “professional” demeanor. They are now in full swing of integrating all the newly honed skills with a growing awareness of human diversity and needs. They are ready and eager to bond with their new partners.
The changes that take place when our Collies become working service dogs reflect a maturing process—the transition from learning skills to a lifestyle that integrates their education into daily life. They have learned to use their skills in different contexts, and they are motivated by the love and respect for their new partners to apply their knowledge, experience, and intuitive wisdom. Repeatedly, we see our Collies undergo a graceful transformation from Trainees to working Service Dogs.
Leslie Rappaport
Kings Valley Collies
Service Tails Page 15