Alaska Dogs and Iditarod Mushers
Page 60
After Mike finished talking to Sunny, he came to each one of us, told us that we were good guys and gave each one of us his famous ear rubs. You bet we enjoyed the big fuss he made over us. In addition, we knew that Christmas loved the attention he gave her. She had become very devoted to Mike, just as all of her uncles were.
When he finished giving us all of this praise and attention, he dried our paws with a towel he had in the sled bag. Mike then put some ointment on each one of our paws, especially between the toes. He made sure that our paws were okay, no torn pads, stones, or no ice balls. Next, he put fresh booties on our paws to protect them on the icy trail.
We were ready to roll! The frozen ground let the sled glide more easily. Mike stood on the runners, pulled the snow hook, and said, “Okay team. Get ready. Go!” We were going home and Mike was going to ride this time and not limp. We would make sure of that!
We all knew he was feeling better because he started to sing cowboy music on the way home. Now Mike cannot sing worth a hoot, and cowboy music with a New York City accent would certainly keep any wildlife on this trail out of our way, especially with these words:
“O mother, don't let your babies grow up to be mushers,
They'll spend every night with their doggies alone in the snow.
And when they finally get on that trail goin’ back home to ya
It will be a short time before they gonna get ready to roam.”
Sunny, not being used to this, started to laugh and then howl in tune as Mike sang. “Hey Sunny, you have a nice voice, mind if I join you?” It was Ugly.
“Why not,” she replied, and soon the two were howling with Mike.
Christmas started next to howl next and soon the entire team was howling as we trotted down the trail going home.
The Short Journey to See Ya
After the muddy trail run, it became very apparent that the snow season was over. I heard the geese flying overhead as they returned from their winter vacations. Soon there would be grass growing in the yard and the soft scents of Mary's flowers in the gardens. The warm season is generally a time of relaxation and easy training to keep in shape for the snow season.
It was a nice day. Sunny, Christmas and I were all loafing in the yard. Ugly was telling jokes, while Brownie and Nitro were swapping trail stories. I overheard Lakota and Doc having a very deep discussion about Husky heritage and we all knew that Sandy was waiting for the carrots to grow, so she could dig them out of the veggie garden. Yes, it was a very nice and peaceful day.
I guess I heard the truck first. I recognized it to be Doctor Jim's mobile vet office. I heard Mike tell Mary that Doctor Jim had returned from the villages and would come by soon to pick up Sunny. I guess we all knew that today would come eventually. Sunny would have to go home, but I know we did not think about it too much. Sunny was a part of our team and we would miss her, especially Christmas. The two of them were great friends, especially after the muddy trail run. What a pair of great leaders they proved to be!
Doctor Jim lives down the trail from us, so we would see Sunny when he brought her by to visit. However, he is so busy helping sick animals in the villages that he is gone a lot. Doctor Jim takes Sunny with him on these adventures. She told me she loves to fly with him and give encouragement to the sick animals he treats at the remote locations they visit.
I heard Mike come out of the house to greet Doctor Jim. They talked about all kinds of stuff as they walked over to the yard where we were. Lakota came up next to me and told me that as soon as Sunny saw her Doctor Jim, she went charging over to him, jumped up in his arms, and started to lick his face. She was so happy to see him. We were all glad that she was so happy.
When Doctor Jim put her on the ground, Lakota said that the expression on Sunny's face changed from joy to sadness as she looked around at us, watching her.
“I am so confused,” she said. ”I am so happy to see my Doctor Jim, but so sad to leave all of you. You have all been so good to me, treating me like your family.”
I heard Christmas standing behind me, crying softly. I guess the reality that Sunny would have to go home really hit Christmas hard. I heard all of her uncles move closer to her, offering comfort. Sunny walked over to Christmas and said, “Oh Honey, I am so sorry that I have to go. But you know I must. I live just down the trail from you and I bet that Mike will bring you over to visit. I know that my Doctor Jim will bring me by often. I truly believe that we will run the trails together again, Christmas.” Then she said, “I want you to know that you are like a sister to me.”
Lakota told me that they nuzzled each other and a slight smile returned to Christmas's face. Then Sunny walked over to me and asked. “Do you know where I am Rivers?”
“Yes,” I replied, “you are right in front of me, about 6 inches from my nose.”
Then she said very softly, so that only I could her, “You don't know how much confidence you gave me to run these trails with you and our teammates. I was very scared and doubted I could do it. I was afraid to fail, but you made me realize that I could do anything I set my mind on doing. You made me understand and be proud of my true Husky heritage. I am a better dog for it. Thank you, Rivers.”
I was barkless, but did manage to say, “Sunny, it was always within you to be a true champion and you are. If you did not have the desire, we would not be standing here barking today.” I continued. “Since I know deep down inside that our paths will cross again, I won't say goodbye, but rather ‘See ya’.”
Sunny said, “In your mind's eye I suppose?”
I answered, as I laughed with her, “And that too.” .
“What is happening here Mike?” It was Doctor Jim. “I have never seen dogs act like this. It looks like they are sad and saying their good-byes.”
“I think you hit the nail on the head, Doctor Jim,” Mike answered. “They have been working together as a team and living together as a family.” Mike continued. “I am sure that they developed bonds probably stronger than we give them credit for.”
“Interesting,” Doctor Jim said. “I have never thought of it that way, maybe you got something there. I would love to spend some time discussing it, but there is a sick poodle at the Jones’ place that I need to check on before I go back home.”
I heard Doctor Jim snap a leash on Sunny while asking, “Mike, where did Sunny get this new green collar with her name in gold letters from?”
Mike answered. “Well Doctor Jim, it is a gift from the team and me. We also had a harness made for her in our team's colors. We did not think you would mind and we hope that Sunny can run with us when we get some snow on the ground.”
Doctor Jim was laughing as he said, “Looks like my girl got adopted and well taken cared of by your team. And from what you were telling me about how well Sunny ran, it would be a crime not to let her run with your team.” He added, “Yes, let's count on it! And maybe Christmas can come to my clinic and visit us.
All right Doctor Jim! Sunny joins our team and Christmas can visit her at Doctor Jim's clinic. Super! I know that made us all happy, especially Christmas.
That's What Friends Are For
The warm weather came and with it, the snow vanished. After the snow melts, the trails become too muddy to run. Mike takes us for walks and he spends a lot of time in our yard with us. He plays the tugging game with us. This is a game played with a piece of rope. Mike grabs one end of the rope and one of us dogs will grab the other and we each pull, and the last one to drop the rope wins.
Sometimes Mike will swing us around as we hold on to the rope. Other times he will shake it a lot. It sure is a lot of fun. Normally Nitro, who is the biggest and strongest dog, will go first. However, today Nitro said he wanted to go last. I know he had something planned.
Poor Doc, who is the gentlest dog and the smallest of us, went first. Lakota told me that Doc did not make it past the first good hard pull. Mike went over to Doc and made a big fuss over him. Although he did not win, I know Doc felt good for trying hard and
getting all of the praise Mike gave him.
Lakota told me that Mike stood there with the rope in his hand and Christmas walked up to it and grabbed it. She held it good and tight. Christmas pulled the rope. Mike pulled harder and shook the rope, but Christmas would not let go. Christmas pulled and shook the rope, but Mike would not let go. The guys were all standing by me watching Christmas and Mike in the tugging game. Mike would pull harder, and then Christmas would pull harder. Neither would give up, until the rope broke! Lakota told me that Christmas fell backward, saying she won.
Mike ended up sitting on his butt, laughing. Doc told me that Mike got up and walked over to Christmas and just rubbed her a lot, making a big fuss over her. Nope, we were not going to tell her the rope broke. Let her believe she won. It would not hurt to make her feel good. She had been so down since Sunny left.
Mike got another piece of rope. Ugly said it was his turn. Now Ugly, who is a clown, said he was going to have some fun. He just grabbed the rope and sat down. When Mike pulled the rope, Ugly just sat there and let the rope go. When the rope fell to the ground, Ugly would jump up on his hind paws and do his “Ugly Jig,” which always makes us laugh. Mike just grabbed Ugly and gave him a big tummy rub.
Well that left Nitro, Brownie, Lakota, and me. Nitro told us that he was going next. He told us that after he grabbed the rope, all of us should grab it also. When we were pulling very hard, he would give us a signal to let the rope go. Mike would fall backward into the straw pile and then we would all pile on him and wrestle.
Now that sounded like a fun plan. Doc told me that Nitro walked over to the rope. Mike had a good grip on one end and Nitro grabbed the other. Nitro began to pull and so did Mike. Brownie told us they pulled so hard that the rope stretched very tight. That is when we all jumped in and grabbed on. Doc, Ugly, and Christmas joined us. There were seven dogs pulling on the rope that Mike held. We pulled and he pulled. As Mike pulled harder on the rope, Nitro told us to let go and we all did at the same time.
Christmas started to giggle as she told me that Mike fell backwards into the straw pile just as Nitro had said he would. We all ran over to Mike and jumped on him, licking his face and sitting on him. He pushed us away or grabbed one of us and rolled us in the straw. Doc said that Ugly actually jumped on Mike's back trying to do his “Ugly Jig” until Mike shook him off.
The bell rang. Mike has a little box that he can talk into and it rings when someone wants to talk to him. Doc said it was called a cell phone. Once it started to ring, Mike stood up and started to talk.
“What do you mean, Doctor Jim, someone took Sunny out of your yard?” Mike asked. “You saw them head down the trail towards us?” Mike said, “We are on our way.”
Sunny stolen! Then I heard her howl. It was a very painful howl.
I turned to the guys and said, “Sunny is in trouble. I heard her. She needs our help. Follow me!” I started to race out the open gate. I heard the guys and Christmas follow me.
“Stop!” It was Mike, but this time we must disobey him. He needed to follow us.
We headed down the trail. I was running as fast as I could. I had never run this fast before, but I had to get to Sunny. She kept howling and I knew exactly where she was from her howls.
Brownie was behind me. He is normally the fastest dog, but this time he could not keep up with me. “Jump, Rivers, a log!” and I jumped as he told me to do.
Sunny,s howls were getting louder, but there was another animal near her, a wolf!
I could hear Brownie's footsteps fading to my rear. I was on my own until the gang caught up.
I found Sunny. “Rivers, I am caught in a snare and I think my leg is broken. The wolf attacked me and I am bleeding,” she said.
“What is this? A dog coming to stop me? A blind dog no less,” the wolf said. “What a joke.”
I needed to buy some time. I was no match for this wolf. “Yes Wolf, a blind dog.” I said defiantly, as I got between Sunny and the wolf. “A blind dog with friends.” I added, “You better move on while you still can.”
Then I heard Brownie. “Hey Wolfie you don't want to deal with a sled dog with attitude, do ya?” Brownie was starting to sound like Mike.
I heard Nitro and Lakota race off the trail next, snarling and barking at the wolf. However, the loudest and nastiest barking came from Christmas as she cleared the trail and got up front with the wolf.
“Mister Wolf,” she started, but before she could continue, we heard Mike on the four-wheeler yelling, “Down, down!” We laid down and I heard two shots ring out from Mike's gun. Doc told me Mike missed the wolf, probably on purpose, and the wolf ran off into the woods.
“Sunny,” Mike said. “It is okay girl. Let me help you.” Lakota was next to me and told me that Mike cut off the snare that was around Sunny's rear leg. Yes, Sunny's leg was broken.
Mike gently laid Sunny down and put his fingers into the bloody fur on her neck. “Puncture wound.” Mike said. Lakota told me that Mike took a tube of something out of his pocket and squeezed the contents into the wound. Then Mike took a kerchief out of another pocket and tied it around her neck to help stop the blood flow. He then took two small tree limbs and tied one on each side of Sunny's broken rear leg using the snare wire. This way, the leg could not move and cause any more damage to the broken bone.
Doc said Sunny did not look well at all. Doc told me that Mike took the cell phone out of his pocket and started talking into it.
“Doctor Jim,” Mike said. “I found Sunny. Broken rear leg and a puncture wound on her neck from a wolf.” Mike continued. “I have the leg splinted but I don't know if I stopped the bleeding. I got the wound loaded up with antibiotics and covered. I am about 2 miles from my home. “Can you meet us there?”
Brownie told me that the four-wheeler had a little trailer behind it. Mike wrapped Sunny in his coat and gently laid her in the trailer. He then grabbed my collar and told me that I needed to get in the trailer and cuddle up to Sunny to keep her warm. He told Lakota to do the same. I heard Christmas jump in also.
Mike told the rest of the team, “Home” and Lakota told me that they followed us up the trail to the house.
When we got to the yard, Doctor Jim was already there. “Let's use your warming shed,” Doctor Jim said as Mike lifted Sunny out of the trailer. I jumped out and Lakota led me into the warming shed with the rest of the team.
“You did a good job with her leg splint, Mike,” Doctor Jim said. “We can deal with that later. The neck wound is bad and she has lost a lot of blood.” Doc told me that Doctor Jim was talking to Mike as he cleaned and then examined Sunny's neck wound.
Christmas was standing next to me and asked me if Sunny would be okay. I said, “You bet Little One, Doctor Jim is the best.” I hope I sounded convincing for both our sakes.
“Mike we need to do a dog to dog blood transfusion,” Doctor Jim said.
Mike answered, “We have eight donors here, Doctor Jim.”
“It is not that simple,” he said. “First it would be very unwise to transfuse blood from 8 different dogs into one injured dog.” Doctor Jim explained, “That would greatly increase the chances of a severe, possibly fatal transfusion reaction like a bad penicillin or bee sting allergic reaction in people.” Doctor Jim continued, “But there are other reasons not to use a dog as a donor. For example, the donor dog should be at least 44 pounds. That leaves out Doc, Christmas, Ugly and Brownie who weigh less than 44 pounds.”
“Dogs should be between 1 and 6. So, that leaves out Sandy since she is 13. He said
“Also the donor dog should be the same blood type. Type ‘A’ is universal canine donor and Rivers, Nitro and Lakota are all type A. Remember, we did blood work on all of your dogs last year.”
Mike asked, “Okay so who should we go with?”
“My first choice would be Nitro since he is the biggest and has the most blood.” Doctor Jim answered. “After Nitro, I would use Lakota and Rivers.”
Doctor Jim continued. “However, b
efore we do the blood trans-fusion, I will need to repair the artery that the wolf nicked. That nick is causing the blood loss. If I can get it to stop, then we can go ahead with the blood transfusion.”
“We are going to give blood to Sunny.” It was Nitro.
“Yeah,” Lakota said. “And you are going to be first, Nitro.”
“Guys,” I said, “I have to be the first to do this.”
Lakota asked, “Why be first Rivers, we may all get to donate blood to Sunny.”
I replied, “That may be true, but I need to be sure that I do this. It is for Doctor Jim.” I went on, “He made me pain free and this would be my way of thanking him, helping to save his beloved Sunny.”
“This could be dangerous for you Rivers, you are barely 50 pounds.” Nitro said in a very calm voice. He continued, “And Doctor Jim said the bigger the dog the better for these transfusions. Lakota and I have 20 pounds on you.”
“I am willing to take that chance,” I replied. “Besides, if it were not for Doctor Jim, I would never have been able to enjoy racing or running the trails again. Sometimes I feel that I have been selected to do something special and this may be it. Please guys,” I begged. “Let me be first.”
I had to do this and the guys knew it had to be me. They agreed and the plan was that every time Doctor Jim or Mike went to pick up Nitro, I would get in the way and Lakota would block them. We hoped they would get the idea that I must be first. Nitro would be second and Lakota third. The other dogs agreed to help by blocking Nitro.
I heard Doctor Jim tell Mike he was ready for Nitro. When Mike went to get Nitro, five dogs blocked Mike. I was in front. “Team, I have to get Nitro.” However, the team sat there shielding Nitro. When I heard Mike try again, I jumped up and put my front paws on his chest.