Rivers

by Mike Dillingham

  “Smarter about what?” I asked. Lakota had no answer. I told him that he was wrong for thinking that. He should not be angry with himself, but instead should be angry with the ones who hurt him. “You did not ask to be beat, or to be made fun of, or forced to be alone,” I said. “Actually, anger just adds to the problem. You really need to focus your energy on repairing the damage done and not allow it to stop you from enjoying your life.” I paused before saying, “I guess talking about it helps you deal with it in a positive way.”

  “You know, Rivers, you make a lot of sense. How did you get so smart?” Lakota asked.

  “I'm not that smart,” I replied, “Blind dogs just see things differently.”

  Hello Sunny

  When Mike told us we would be having a visitor for a few months, we were not surprised. We often have dog guests who need special attention. Some are recuperating from medical problems, while others just need some handson individualized training and TLC.

  We enjoy having these visitors to our kennel, because we believe in sharing our good fortune, our experiences, and our knowledge with others. We work together as a team to make our visitor feel welcome, enjoy their stay with us, and learn a lot. That is the important thing.

  Therefore, we were eagerly waiting for the arrival of our new guest. All we knew was that she was a lady dog who had some medical problems and needed sled dog training.

  We were all in our yard. Lakota was standing next to me. He was describing how Ugly and Christmas were playing their chasing game. Lakota also mentioned that Brownie and Nitro were using a piece of rope to play the tugging game that Sandy taught us. I know Doc was standing with us just laughing as Brownie was trying to pull the rope from Nitro. As you know, Nitro is the biggest and strongest dog on our team and no one can beat him at the tugging game. However, sometimes Nitro lets us win so that we will play it again with him.

  Doc was laughing and telling me that Nitro let the rope go as Brownie was pulling it very hard. Brownie just flopped across the yard, laughing. As Nitro went over to Brownie to make sure he was okay, we heard Mike's truck enter the driveway. We knew he had our visitor with him.

  I heard the guys move closer to the gate and Lakota walked with me. He was telling me that Christmas was scampering all around. She was very excited.

  I heard the gate open and I was surprised to hear the guys gasp. What is wrong, I thought. Lakota told me that our visitor was one of the most beautiful dogs he had ever seen. Lakota said that she looked at each one of us and just smiled the most radiant smile he had ever seen. He said she had the kind of smile that just made you want to be her friend.

  As I heard Mike lead her into our yard, Christmas was the first to talk to her. “Hi,” Christmas said, “my name is Christmas and welcome to our home. You sure are very beautiful.”

  “Hello Christmas, you are very pretty yourself,” the lady dog replied. “Your eyes are so blue and beautiful.” We all heard Christmas giggle at the compliment.

  When I heard this lady dog speak, I could not believe my ears. Her voice was as soft as fresh snow beneath my paws. She had a voice that you would never get tired of listening to. Moreover, while I know she was talking to all of us, her voice had that quality that made you feel that she was talking only to you.

  Christmas asked, “What is your name?”

  The lady dog answered, “I have a native name that is very hard to pronounce.” She continued, “It translates to ‘Beautiful dog with the sunshine smile.’ So my friends call me Sunny.”

  “Awesome!” Christmas said. “That is so cool. I am called Christmas because my uncles, all the dogs here, saved me on Christmas Eve.” With that, Christmas introduced each one of her uncles to Sunny.

  She saved me for last and then said. “This is my Uncle Rivers. He is blind, but he is the one who found me, and saved me from the eagle, and saved the team from the ice and….”

  “Christmas,” I said softly. “Enough talk, you are embarrassing me, Little One.”

  “Please let her continue, Rivers,” Sunny said. “If I am to be a good lead dog, I need to learn all the good things that you and the other guys did. Besides,” she continued, “my Doctor Jim says many nice things about you and your teammates.”

  Before I could answer, Doc said, “Sunny, you must be very tired from your trip. May we show you to your doghouse?” He added, “Would you like some water and biscuits?”

  “That would be very kind of you,” Sunny replied softly. “Maybe after that, we could all relax and talk. I really want to hear all about each of you.”

  “Me too?” Christmas asked. ”Yes, Christmas, you too.” Sunny chuckled. “You know, I am not too much older than you are. I am only two and a half years old.”

  “Awesome!” Christmas said. “I am just over a year old. You could be like my big sister. I have an Aunt Sandy, but she is very old and…”

  It was Lakota who said, “Christmas, Aunt Sandy is not that old. Be respectful, young lady.”

  “Yes Uncle Lakota,” Christmas said meekly. I smiled inside as I wondered if Christmas would be luckier to have six older brothers instead of her six uncles.

  Lakota told me that Doc led Sunny over to her doghouse, which was between Christmas’ doghouse and mine. I smiled as I pictured it in my mind, Christmas just bending Sunny's ear, asking questions and so on. I cannot really blame Christmas for being excited. She does not get much chance to talk to lady dogs her own age. Sandy is twelve years old, so I do not believe they have too many things in common. Moreover, having six very protective uncles really does not help Christmas with coping with lady dog issues. I chuckled. I hoped Sunny would get some rest.

  Evening chow was just great and after it, we all gathered in the yard to talk and share experiences. Since Sunny was new to our home, Brownie asked her to tell us about herself. While I could not see her, I knew exactly where she was by listening to her beautiful voice. I just sat down and enjoyed listening to her.

  Sunny's story is very sad. She is Doctor Jim's dog. Doctor Jim is the eye vet who made me pain free and takes good care of all of us. As Christmas would say, he is just awesome!

  Sunny was very sick and her owners did not want her because she was a burden. They were ready to send her across the Rainbow Bridge, but Doctor Jim saved her. He raised Sunny and nursed her back to health. It was a long process and Sunny may never fully recover. It seems that every time Sunny made progress, another medical obstacle developed, which she struggled to overcome. As I said, no one knows if she will ever be 100 percent healthy. Nevertheless, Doctor Jim asked Mike to see if Sunny could learn to enjoy her Husky heritage and run the trails.

  As I listened to her, I was inspired by Sunny's courage. It is the strong silent type of courage. It shows in her determination to overcome these challenges and never give up. As she told us what she had gone through, it became very apparent that Sunny met her challenges head-on and never felt sorry for herself, even when her health failed her. It was very clear that Sunny loved life to its fullest and made the most of every second.

  The more I listened to her, the more I admired her. If any dog needed a chance to succeed, it was Sunny and I bet the guys were thinking the same thing. We would do everything we could to help her.

  As Mike said, it is not the ribbons around your neck, or medals you win, or even the trophies you get that make you a champion. It is what is inside of you. As we listened to Sunny, it was amazing that she had gone through so much yet still had the desire to live up to her Husky heritage. My instincts told me Sunny has the stuff to be a true champion.

  While I could not see their facial expressions, I sensed that every dog in our yard would watch over Sunny and help her to do her best. Sunny may never realize it, but she was now “family” with seven friends who would look after her while she stayed with us.

  After Sunny finished her story, there was not a sound in the yard except for the gentle breezes blowing through the trees, and that of Christmas crying.

  “Why are y
ou crying, Christmas?” Sunny asked.

  “Because you had a very hard life and it hurts to know that you lived with all of that bad stuff.” Christmas said.

  “No Christmas, please do not feel sorry for me,” Sunny said. “I actually consider myself blessed.” She explained, “Doctor Jim has been a very loving companion and I have friends like you and your Uncles Doc, Nitro, Brownie, Ugly, Lakota and Rivers.” Sunny continued, “I can feel the warmth and understanding from all of you and I know that I am very welcome here.” She added, “Not too many dogs or people have that. I know you will take good care of me, just like your Mike takes good care of all of you.”

  Christmas stopped crying and said, “I am glad you came and I bet we will become great friends. My uncles take good care of me, and I know that they will take good care of you too.” You could hear the pride in her voice.

  Christmas told Sunny about her uncles. “My Uncle Brownie is the fastest dog on our team and the first to defend his friends.”

  She continued. “Uncle Doc is the smartest and the gentlest. He is a great lead dog and taught us to be good leaders also.”

  “My Uncle Nitro is the biggest and bravest dog on our team and lets no harm come to any of us.”

  “My Uncle Ugly is not ugly at all. As you can see, he is very handsome and loves to tell jokes. He will make you laugh when you are sad,” Christmas added.

  “My Uncle Lakota is very shy, but very, very smart. He is a thinker. Uncle Lakota is a very gentle dog and a great listener. He watches over me and reminds me to be respectful, not only of my elders, but especially of myself.”

  “My Uncle Rivers is my hero. He saved my life more than once. He saved our team from the ice floats. My Uncle Rivers is blind, but that has never stopped him racing the trails or caring for his teammates.”

  “When I grow up,” Christmas said, “I hope I am like all of my uncles.” I was embarrassed and I bet the other guys were also, but I know we were very proud of our little pup. She is becoming quite a lady dog.

  “And I bet your Uncles are very proud of you also, Christmas,” Sunny said. “But you know what? It is getting late and you know we lady dogs need our rest so that we can look great in the morning.”

  I know Christmas smiled as she said, “That is so cool. You want to come over to my house and girl talk for a while?”

  “Sure, but only for a short while, I am kind of tired,” Sunny said, as I heard them walk off towards Christmas’ doghouse.

  “Ladies.” It was Lakota. “Now get some rest, we have work to do tomorrow.”

  “Yes Uncle Lakota,” Both Sunny and Christmas said chuckling.

  I knew Lakota was laughing to himself when Nitro said, “Geez Lakota, ease up. This is not boot camp. Let the ladies have some fun. Life is just too short not to have a good time. Besides,” Nitro added, “it sounds like Sunny deserves some good times.”

  “Yeah, Nitro, you are right.” Lakota said, “Did you hear the joke about the….”

  “Wait a minute, Lakota.” It was Ugly. “I am the joke teller around here.”

  We all started to laugh and went to our doghouses to get some rest.

  I was dreaming of leading my team across the finish line when I heard Sunny's beautiful voice saying, “Rivers, wake up, I need to talk to you.” What a dream this is, I thought. I am leading my team to victory and Sunny is speaking to me at the same time. It cannot get much better than that.

  “Rivers, please wake up, I must talk to you.” Again the voice, however this time I realized this was no dream. The urgency in Sunny's voice woke me right up.

  “What is the matter, Sunny?” I asked.

  “Can we talk, Rivers?” She asked.

  “Of course Sunny, something bothering you?” I asked.

  “Yes Rivers, I am scared,” she said

  “Scared?” I said, leaping out of my doghouse. “Something in the yard?” I asked. “No, no Rivers,” she said. “I am scared of tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow?” I asked. “What could you possible be scared of?” We both started to walk over to the far corner of the yard so that our voices would not wake the rest of the team. I could tell from her voice that something was troubling Sunny and it would be best to give her some privacy to talk about it.

  As we walked, she told me that she had never run in a team before. She was afraid that she would fail, and the guys and Christmas, or Mike or her beloved Doctor Jim would think badly of her.

  “Why are you telling me all of this?” I asked her.

  “Because you have faced so many challenges in your life and you overcame them. You would know the answer,” she said.

  I told her that I have no single answer. I face each day as it comes and then deal with its challenges. If I succeed, great. If I fail, so what? I know that I gave it my best shot, and that is all that counts in life.

  I also told her that Mike and the team would not think badly of me if I failed. Mike especially. He would just scoop me up, give me a big body hug, and tell me I did great, even if I failed. He would know, as well as my teammates, that I tried and did the best I could. As I said, that is really all that really counts in life.

  “But my Doctor Jim wants me to run the trails like you guys and live up to my Husky heritage.” She added, “I do not know if I can do that.”

  “I know your Doctor Jim very well and I will tell you that he just wants you to be happy. Furthermore,” I said, “Doctor Jim would be proud of you whether you became the best lead dog in the world, or never ran a race and just curled up in his lap.” I continued. “Doctor Jim is giving you a chance to find your destiny. I can assure you that whether your destiny is to be great lead dog or a house dog, Doctor Jim won't care.” I added, “He only wants you to be happy. Doctor Jim is very much like Mike; he will like you no matter what you are. Unfortunately, some humans don't feel that way,” I said. “But we are lucky. Mike and Doctor Jim do.”

  “Rivers,” she asked, “will you be my friend?”

  “I am your friend.” I replied.

  “No Rivers,” she said. “I want you to be my good friend, my special friend.”

  I told her I would always be there for her, and I would always be her friend. As I spoke those words to her, I realized that I was becoming very fond of this lady dog. I wanted to protect her from all of the uncertainty she was dealing with, yet I knew she had to experience it herself so she would find her true happiness and destiny.

  This was very confusing for a simple trail running dog like me. I was thinking too much. I asked Sunny if she felt better. She said she did and we walked back to her doghouse. I told her not too worry. Things always happen for the best and just to believe in herself. She would do fine.

  “You are so courageous, Rivers.” She said as we reached her doghouse.

  “No,” I said. “You are the courageous one. Your life spirit could have given up when you were sick so often. It did not and I know it will not give up on you now. You will be a success at whatever you do. Now get some rest. I know we will have a fun day tomorrow.”

  “Thank you Rivers, my special bud,” she said

  “Goodnight Sunny.”

  Sunny On the Trails

  I got up before my teammates and went to the corner of the yard where I know the morning sun will shine on me. Mike tells me that I am looking east towards the sunrise. Sometimes he stands by my side and tells me what he sees. I can picture it all in my mind, as he talks to me and rubs my ears. It is so nice and comforting to be there and feel the warmth of the early morning sun. It makes me feel thankful for all the things given to me.

  I heard her footsteps in the fresh snow behind me, but I did not turn around. “Mornin’ Sunny, how are you?” I asked.

  “How did you know it was me, Rivers?” She asked.

  “I heard your footsteps in the snow,” I answered.

  She said nothing as she sat down beside me. After a moment of two, she asked me what I was doing. I told her I was looking at the sunrise. “But you can't see,�
�� she said, “you are blind!’

  “True,” I replied, “but I can see it in my mind.”

  “Can you see me, in your mind?” She asked. I told her yes I could. “What do I look like to you, in your mind?” She asked this in a very soft, almost cautious manner. However, before I could answer, we heard the sound of Mike hitting the food bucket with the big spoon and singing, “Hey you sleepy heads, get your fannies out of bed. Chow time!” There is nothing like Mike singing in the morning to get your heart pumping and your legs moving. If the food were not great, Mike would be one lonely critter after singing his morning wake up song!

  As we ambled over to the chow, Sunny said, “You didn't answer my question Rivers. What do I look like in your mind's eye?”

  I chuckled as I said jokingly, “Well, that is for me to know and for you to figure out.”

  “Rivers you are so frustrating,” she sighed.

  “Yes I know but that is what friends are for, right?” I said laughingly. “You better get over to your food bowl and eat that great chow before Sandy gets out here from the house. She likes cleaning up,” I added.

  I heard Mike scoop out my chow and put it into my bowl. As I stuck my head in it to eat, I could hear my buddies eating and enjoying their kibble.

  “Hey Lakota.” It was Ugly with his morning joke. “Did you hear the one about…”? I missed the rest of it as an airplane flew overhead. I could tell from the sound that it was Doctor Jim's. I bet he was on his way up north to help the village dogs. Sunny told us that she often went with Doctor Jim on these trips.

  After chow, we played in the yard for a while and then Mike came out to harness us up. “Okay gang, this is what we are going to do,” He said. “We will make two runs today. The first one will be a short run with only five dogs. Rivers and Lakota will be in the wheel position. Christmas and Doc will be the leaders and Sunny will run as a solo team dog. This way, Sunny can get used to running with the team. We will not be going very far, a few miles or so and it will be a nice gentle pace so that we do not tire Sunny out. She is recuperating and we do not want her to get hurt.”