“Rivers, I cannot give you your wish,” she said. “I can only help dogs and only those that I am a Guardian Angel Dog for, like you. I am sorry.”
Wow, was I disappointed. “There must be a way for that little blind girl to get a new home for Christmas,” I said.
“Rivers, it would take a miracle to get that little girl into a home by Christmas. Christmas is only a few days away. Rivers, Guardian Angel Dogs do have limits. I am very sorry, Rivers. I cannot do this for you. Maybe you should wish for something else.”
“No!” I said, “I have everything I want, I just want that little blind girl to be happy.”
“Tell you what,” Aurora said. “Let me do come checking on that and get back to you. No promises. I do not know when I will find the time. You know this is my busy season. However, I will try. I have to go.”
I said goodbye to Aurora and she was gone. Well, if I cannot get my wish for the little blind girl, then the best I can do is give her some extra TLC when I see her next.
When we got up the next morning, Mike told us it was Christmas Eve and we were going to deliver our gifts to the orphanage today. Mike told us we were going a day early since we have many guests visiting us on Christmas Day and it would be impossible to get away then.
After morning chow, Mike got the sled out and harnessed us up. Lakota told me that Mike had on his red Santa suit and packages wrapped in colorful paper filled our sled. I hoped there was something special for the little blind girl in the sled. She really deserved it.
I could not believe how fast the time went. It seemed like a very short time from when we left our home until we returned. “Santa Mike” gave out all of the presents. My buddies played with the kids and the little blind girl sat with me and talked and talked. She was hoping she would find a nice home with nice people to live with. She said she had been an orphan for as long as she could remember. Hmmm, was it me, or was the hug she gave me longer and tighter? I licked her face and it was wet with salty tears. Please do not cry little girl. There is a family out there for you. I know there is. I felt so sad for her.
Christmas morning came and Mike came out to feed us and spend some time with us before the guests arrived. He gave each of us a new tennis ball. Of all the things that Mike gave to us, he learned very quickly that tennis balls were our favorites. The team loves it when Mike plays catch and fetch with them. Mike taught me also and I can find a tennis ball on the second bounce. That is unless Lakota or Christmas catches it on the first bounce and holds it. Yes, we play a lot together.
The snow started to fall very gently, but I knew that it would turn into a bigger storm shortly. There would be no sled time today, especially with guests coming to the house. That is, if they make it through the snow. So, you can imagine how surprised we were when Mike came out of the warming shed with our sled, lines, and harnesses.
“Okay team,” Mike said. “We are going to the orphanage. The little blind girl is missing and the orphanage staff has asked us to help find her. We had better find her quickly. This may turn into one nasty storm.”
Oh no, I thought, not the little blind girl. The guys and I had talked about her after we came back from the orphanage. We all hoped she would be all right.
Mike harnessed us up and put us in our team positions. Doc and Christmas were the lead dogs while Brownie and I were in the swing position. Ugly ran as a solo team dog with Lakota and Nitro in the wheel.
“I guess you are wondering why I teamed you up this way,” Mike said. “I put Lakota in the wheel with Nitro because you guys are my most powerful dogs. If this storm drops a lot of snow on the trail, I need you two powerhouses back there to get us moving.”
Mike added, “I put Rivers up front with Brownie in the swing position. We may have to rely very heavily on Rivers’ keen hearing and sense of smell to find this little girl, especially if this storm turns into a blizzard.”
“And Ugly, you are in the middle running solo until I find another dog or two that we will need for the race.”
“Race!” Nitro exclaimed. “No one told me about a race.”
“Me neither,” Lakota added. In fact, this was the first any of us had heard about our running any race. I guess we were all lost in our thoughts as Mike finished harnessing us. I heard him pull the front snow hook and double-check all of our lines and snaps. After he got on the runners, Mike pulled the rear snow hook, told us to line up and said, “Okay team. Get ready. Go!”
We raced down the trail toward the orphanage. I was thinking how scared the little blind girl must be. I know the feeling. It happened to me when I first went blind and became lost in the kennel.
“Whoa, Team stop.” Mike's command roused me from my thoughts as we stopped in front of the orphanage. Brownie told me there was a lady in the doorway. I heard her talk to Mike, telling him that the little girl's name was Caitlyn and that she had been gone for about an hour. She became separated from the kids she was playing with and they returned to the orphanage without Caitlyn.
Mike asked the lady what Caitlyn was wearing. A lightweight winter jacket and regular clothes, the lady told Mike. She also told Mike that she called the State Troopers but they could not send up their helicopter due to the storm. The storm! Yes, I sensed it was getting closer. The last thing the lady said was that State Troopers were busy with a very nasty vehicle accident on the highway and that it would be hours before they could send anyone to help.
Brownie told me the snow was falling faster. I turned my head skyward and felt the snowfall on my face. Yes, a very nasty storm!
Mike asked the lady to get an article of Caitlyn's clothing. A hat or scarf that Caitlyn wore recently would do just fine, Mike said. By the time the lady returned, Mike had switched our team positions. I was now the lead dog with Doc. Nitro and Lakota were still in the wheel. Christmas and Brownie were in the swing position and Ugly again ran as the solo team dog.
Lakota told me that the lady gave Mike a stuffed toy. The lady told us that this was Caitlyn's teddy bear and that she slept with it. “That will work,” Mike said. “Now may I talk to the kids who saw Caitlyn last?”
After Mike talked with the kids and knew where they had last seen Caitlyn, I heard him walk over to me and kneel down in front of me. I smelled the teddy bear Mike was holding. He put his hands on both sides of my face and put his face close to mine. “Rivers,” Mike said. “We need to find the little blind girl that sat with you when we visited here. You are her only chance. This storm is getting worse and the team will not be able see her. You can smell her and you can hear her.” As he spoke, he held the teddy bear in front of me and I could smell Caitlyn's scent on it. Yes, I remembered her scent.
We started down a new trail that we had never been on before. Mike was driving the team very slowly. Every once in a while, he would call out, “Caitlyn, Caitlyn, where are you?” Mike stopped the sled and we all strained to hear her call back. Nothing.
Mile after mile we traveled, but all we heard was the noise of the wind getting louder. The temperature was dropping and the snow was building up on the trail. Doc said that the heavy snow would cover any tracks Caitlyn might have left on the trail.
“It may even cover the trail totally,” Ugly said.
“Are you saying we need to go back, Ugly, without the little girl?” It was Nitro.
“No, no Nitro”, Ugly replied. “All I meant was that if this snow gets any deeper, I won't be able to do my Ugly jig when we do find her!” We all chuckled. Yep, leave it to Ugly to get us to laugh in a bad situation.
Mike stopped the team to put booties on us. What is that? I thought I heard something. It was very hard to tell with all this wind noise. Wait, I heard it again. “Uncle Rivers, your ears are twitching. Do you hear something?” Christmas asked me.
“Rivey, do you hear something?” It was Mike. Yes, I heard something. I also heard Mike unzip the sled bag and listened to him walk back to me. I heard him snap on a leash, while unhooking my neck and tug lines.
�
�Okay Rivey, let's go,” Mike said. I started to walk slowly down the trail. I suddenly cut to my left, off the trail. I heard Mike following me. I would stop occasionally to listen and sniff the air. Yes, I did hear something, but I was not sure what it was. Could it be a moose or a bear? I could be leading Mike into some big trouble. I was getting scared. I heard a voice speak to me. It was Aurora. “I am here for you Rivers, you are doing fine. Find Caitlyn, you can do it. Trust and believe in yourself.”
I stopped again and, yes, the scent. It was coming from over there. I started to bark as I walked faster to where the scent was coming from. I stopped. Caitlyn had to be here. Her scent was so strong. “Rivers, there is nothing here, just mounds of snow,” Mike said.
She had to be here. I sniffed the ground. Yes, she was here. Then I heard it, a whimpering. I started to dig gently in the snow and suddenly felt the warmth of her face on my paw.
“Rivers, you found her!” Mike said. I heard him kneel down beside me and he dug with me in the snow. There was a lot of snow covering Caitlyn. She was alive. She was shivering. She was very cold and she was crying.
“Who are you?” Caitlyn asked.
“Hi Caitlyn, it is ‘Santa Mike’ and Rivers. We are here to take you home,” Mike said.
“Home to the orphanage?” she asked. “No, I do not want to go back there. Nobody wants me because I am blind. I will never be with a family. Nobody wants a blind kid. Just let me stay here, in the snow.”
“I can't do that, Caitlyn.” I heard Mike unzip his parka and put it around her. I moved closer to Caitlyn to cuddle with her. She put her arms around me and continued to cry, even harder than before.
“Caitlyn,” Mike said. ”Lets go to my home for a day or so and talk this over. Maybe what you need is a few days away from the orphanage to get your thinking straight. What do you say?”
“Does Rivers live with you?” Caitlyn asked.
“Yep, he sure does,” Mike answered. “Say, I could use some help since I have a race coming up. Maybe you could help me out?”
“What could I do? I am blind,” Caitlyn replied.
“Yep, you sure are and so is that dog you are sitting next to, and he is the one who found you. Oh, by the way, he is one of my racing dogs.” Mike said. “Just think, Caitlyn, if Rivers had given up because he was blind, maybe no one would have found you. Isn't it interesting that a blind dog found you, a blind girl, covered with snow in a blizzard?” Then Mike changed the tone in his voice and asked Caitlyn, “You are not telling me that my blind dog can do more than you can, are you?” Mike asked. “Think about it, Caitlyn.”
I heard Mike pick Caitlyn up and start to sing, “Jingle Bells” as he carried her back to the sled. I guess the blizzard affected my hearing because he sounded pretty good and we all know that Mike does not sing worth a hoot. I heard the team howl and bark. They were happy we had found Caitlyn. Nitro told me Mike unzipped the sled bag, got his sleeping bag out and wrapped Caitlyn in it. He then put her in the sled bag and zipped it up so that only her head showed. He put a musher's cap on her head to keep her head warm. I heard her giggle.
Next, I heard Mike walk back to me, and he hooked me into the team as the lead dog. Then Mike said, a lot louder than he really needed to, “Okay Rivers, lead us home.”
Now, any of the other dogs could have led us home. Nevertheless, Mike was proving a point to Caitlyn and you can bet your last dog biscuit that I was going to do my part.
We stopped at the orphanage to tell them we had found Caitlyn. After the lady talked to Caitlyn, we were off to our home.
When we got home, Mary met us in the yard and told Mike that the guests that were going to come could not get out of the city due to the storm. Mike told Mary that we had a very special guest who was going to stay with us for a few days.
“Oh?” she said, surprised. “Company?”
“Yep,” Mike replied as I heard him unzip the sled bag. “Caitlyn, meet Mary. Mary, this is Caitlyn. She is the little girl from the orphanage I told you about. She was lost in the woods and Rivers and the team found her. I talked to the lady at the orphanage and she said that Caitlyn could visit us for a few days.”
“Hi, Caitlyn and welcome to our home.” Lakota told me that Mary put a big hug on Caitlyn as she welcomed the little girl to our home. “Now let's get you inside, out of this storm, and find some warm clothing for you. I bet you are hungry. I have a big pot of stew cooking, and some homemade bread for you,” Mary said.
I heard Mike say, “As soon as I finish talking care of our canine heroes here, I will be in to join you”.
“Now Mike, do not take too long. Caitlyn looks very hungry and she just might eat your portion,” Mary said jokingly. We all laughed at that, including Caitlyn.
After Mike took care of us and they ate their chow, Mary and Mike came out to the yard and moved us into the warming shed. This is another Christmas treat. We can loaf in the nice warm straw. Caitlyn was with them and Mike led her to the straw pile and told her that the dogs were going to play in the straw and they would play with her too. Lakota told me that Ugly was doing his “Ugly Jig” while Brownie and Doc were nuzzling next to Caitlyn. I heard her giggle. Lakota told me she had a big smile on her face. Caitlyn was sure a different little girl now than the one we found in the snow today.
I was standing by Mike and Mary. I enjoy listening to them talk about things other than dogs and running the trails. Mike told Mary that he was thinking about adopting Caitlyn and wondered what Mary thought about his idea.
Wow, Mike does not mince his words, does he? Mary said that she had been thinking the same thing since Mike had told her about Caitlyn after last year's visit. “No kidding!” Mike was excited. “We can do this, you know. We can give her a good life and tutors to get her up to speed in school. I bet I could train some of the team to be her Seeing Eye dogs and….”
“Hold on, Mike,” Mary said. “Slow down. We need to know if Caitlyn wants to do that and if the orphanage will let us do it.”
“Hmmm,” Mike said. “The orphanage is really no problem. They are a private operation and will be glad to place Caitlyn with us since she is probably classified as hard to place. As for Caitlyn, well, let's ask her.”
Before Mary could utter a sound, Mike said. “Hey Caitlyn, I have a question for you.” I heard Mike walk over to the straw pile where Caitlyn was sitting with my buddies.
Mary grabbed my collar and walked me to the straw pile and whispered, “Rivers, you had better come also. You are a big part of this. You found her and saved her. Now if she is willing, we hope to give Caitlyn a good life filled with plenty of TLC.”
As we got near the straw pile Lakota told me that Mike was sitting next to Caitlyn, with his arm around her shoulders. All of my buddies were sitting in a circle around them watching.
“Caitlyn,” Mike said, “Mary and I want to know if you would like to live here with us permanently. That means never going back to the orphanage except to get your stuff. Going to school and being a part of our family. What do you say?”
Silence. Not a sound, no person or dog moved. Silence. Come on Caitlyn, I thought, say yes.
I heard Mary sit down next to Caitlyn and I sat directly in front of my little blind friend. Lakota moved next to me.
Lakota told me that Caitlyn turned towards Mike and put her hands on his face and said, “You have a beard, Santa Mike. What color is it?
Mike answered, “Gray and white.”
Then Caitlyn said, and I could hear the tears in her voice when she asked “Are you Santa Claus?”
“No honey, I am not. Why do you ask?” Mike replied as he chuckled.
“Because,” she cried, “every year at Christmas, I wrote to Santa asking him to give me a forever home and I never got it. This year, I did not write and you are asking me to stay here with you and Mary and your dogs. I thought that you might be Santa giving me my wish.”
“No Caitlyn,” Mike said, “I am not Santa and these are not just my dogs, these are my
buddies. They are part of our family and we are asking you to join us.”
Silence again. However, Mary broke the silence when she said, “Maybe Caitlyn needs some time to think about it, Mike. She has had a rough day.”
“No!” Caitlyn said. “Is Rivers here?”
“Yes,” Mike answered. “He is sitting right in front of you.”
“Is Rivers really blind?” She asked.
“Yes,” Mike answered.
“Can he do all of the things that you said he could do?” Caitlyn asked. “Yes,” Caitlyn, I would not lie to you,” Mike answered.
I moved closer to Caitlyn, licked the tears on her cheek and put my paw on her leg. She put her arms around me. As she hugged me, I heard her say, “Oh yes, please, I want to stay with all of you!”
Yippee.
Later after everything settled down and I was alone in the yard with my thoughts, I sensed a dog next to me. I knew it was Aurora, my Guardian Angel Dog. “Hi Aurora, thank you for making my Christmas wish come true.”
“Rivers,” Aurora replied, “I had nothing to do with that. My help stopped after you found Caitlyn in the snow. The magic of the season made your wish come true, Rivers. Good things happen to good dogs. Besides, I told you that Mike has some very good friends in some very high places. Well, I guess he had the same wish as you did.”
Aurora continued, “Well Rivers, I would really enjoy spending some time with you, but ‘tis the season for me to be busy. So I have to go.”
“Can I ask you a question?” I asked.
“Sure,” she said, “but make it quick and easy. There is a collie that will give birth to a litter tonight and she is going to need my help delivering those pups.”
“My question is this. What do you wish for at Christmas time?”
“Rivers, you think too much. I am in a rush, but the short answer is nothing, since Guardian Angel Dogs need nothing. However, I wish for everything for the dogs that deserve their wishes to come true.”
Alaska Dogs and Iditarod Mushers Page 63