“See Ya.”
And she was gone.
A Surprise Visit
I will make no bones about it. I truly miss Sandy. I guess humans call it grief when someone you care for leaves you. Dogs grieve also. However, we would rather remember the good times we had with our buddy, and not pay so much attention to the loss. We know that our buddy has gone to a much better place.
I was doing just that, sitting in my favorite corner of the yard, just after the sun settled down for the night. The guys were resting and they were not paying too much attention to what I was doing.
I guess I was laughing aloud at some of my fond memories of Sandy, when I heard a voice say, “So what is so funny, Rivers?”
Then a second voice said, “Yes, Rivers, what is so funny?
I recognized Aurora's voice and I guess I looked puzzled because the second voice said, “Rivers, you don't remember me?”
“I am sorry,” I said, “Your voice does sound familiar, but I just can't place it.”
“Gee Aurora,” the voice said, “live with some bozos, clean the extra biscuits out of their coops and as soon as you are gone, poof, they forget all about you.”
“Sandy!” I said.
“Yes it sure is,” Sandy said.
“But, but…” I tried to speak.
“You know Rivers, you sound like a motor boat, going ‘but but.’”
I heard both of them laughing. I could not be dreaming, I mean, I was sitting here. It could not be Sandy. She crossed the Bridge after she fought the wolf when she protected Christmas and her puppies. I was confused.
“Rivers, Aurora said, remember a while back when I told you we had a shortage of Guardian Angel Dogs?”
“Yes,” I replied.
“Do you remember I told you that special dogs are chosen to be Guardian Angel Dogs?” I nodded.
“Well,” Aurora said, “Sandy was chosen.”
“Sandy, a Guardian Angel Dog?” Yes, I was impressed and very happy for Sandy.
Aurora continued, “Sandy gave up her life to save Christmas and her babies from the wolf. She proved herself unselfish. She definitely earned the right to be a Guardian Angel Dog.”
Aurora said to Sandy, “Seems Rivers is barkless with the news that you are a Guardian Angel Dog, Sandy.”
“Yes, you sure are on a roll here, Aurora, with surprises for Rivers. You may as well tell him the rest of the news,” Sandy replied, chuckling.
“Well Sandy, if you insist. Rivers, Sandy has been assigned as your Guardian Angel Dog.” Before I could utter a sound, Aurora said, “She is also the Guardian Angel Dog for Christmas and her pups, plus all of your teammates.”
I am not used to being barkless, but that sure was the case tonight. Wow, Sandy is our Guardian Angel Dog. The team and especially Christmas would be very surprised when I told them about that.
“Sorry Rivers, you cannot tell them.” It was Sandy. I forgot, Guardian Angel Dogs could read our thoughts. “All of your buddies, including Christmas and her babies, will be visited by us tonight. Our visit with them will be real, but they may think it is a dream. They will need to decide if they want to believe in their Guardian Angel Dog. Just like you did, when you called upon Aurora for help.”
Aurora added. “It is called faith, believing in something you cannot see and your senses tell you does not exists. Your teammates need to make their own decisions, if they want to believe or not.”
Barkless and confused. Yes, I believe in my Guardian Angel Dog and I want my teammates to believe also. It is so comforting to know that when you have that uphill climb and the trail gets tough, you have some extra dog power to help you crest the hill.
“Rivers.” It was Sandy. “You cannot do this for your teammates, they must do this on their own. Understand?”
“Yes,” I said weakly. “But I really want my teammates to believe.”
Aurora said. “That is up to them. We will do our part, but they have to decide. Some already do believe, others do not, and some never will. You are a dog of your bark. Will you give us your bark that you will not tell them?” I nodded yes and then Aurora added, “Good. Come Sandy, we have to get to work.”
“Wait!” I said. “What about Sunny, is Sandy her Guardian Angel Dog?” I asked.
Sandy answered. ”Any dog that joins Mike's team, or lives in Mike's home, or stays in your yard is included. That means Sunny, the puppies, and the new dog, who will come to live with you shortly. However, they must decide to believe in their Guardian Angel Dog. Otherwise, we can do nothing special to help them, except to watch over them.”
When Sandy finished, I knew they left to visit my teammates. As I wandered back to my doghouse, I had many mixed feelings, and had no one I could bark to about them. I was very happy that Sandy was our Guardian Angel Dog. However, I was sad because some of my teammates might decide not to believe. I could not help them. I gave my bark and if I went back on my bark, I would have no honor and would disgrace my Husky heritage. I guess this is like choosing between right and wrong. I stopped walking and howled a prayer into the night that all of them would make the right decision.
After morning chow, Christmas and her three puppies, Tundra, Stormy, and Sky, visited with me. Christmas told the pups that since my teammates and I were Christmas’ uncles, we were also the pups’ uncles as well. We would help teach the pups, just as we taught and looked after Christmas.
Uncle Nitro teaches them to be brave and to protect each other. Uncle Brownie teaches them to be honest and to better themselves. Uncle Ugly teaches them to laugh at themselves and not take themselves too seriously. Uncle Doc teaches them to be great lead dogs, and the academic things dogs needs to know. Uncle Lakota teaches them to be respectful towards others, as well as to themselves, and to think before they act. And me? Well, I guess I teach them about life.
“Hi,” I said, as I heard them come near me.
“Uncle Rivers.” It was Christmas and I knew she had something on her mind. “I had this dream that Aunt Sandy and another dog named Aurora were talking to me about Guardian Angel Dogs. They told me that Aunt Sandy was my Guardian Angel Dog. Then this morning, my babies told me they had the same dream. Isn't that strange?” Christmas asked.
I heard them sit down around me, waiting for my answer. “I don't know. Do you think it is strange?” I asked.
Before Christmas could answer, Tundra said. “Mama, it was no dream. I saw tears in Aunt Sandy eyes, as she nuzzled me just like she did before she…”
Tundra's voice trembled, filled with emotions. Sandy played with them as if they were her own babies. I heard that the pups saw the wolf and …
Sky's words interrupted my thoughts. “Tundra is right, Mama. It was no dream. I felt Aunt Sandy also, and Aurora touched me with her paw as she talked to me. They were real. I believe that Aunt Sandy is right here watching over me.”
“Me too,” said Stormy. “I know that Aunt Sandy will be there protecting me just like she did with the wolf. I believe that Aunt Sandy will always look after us.”
I knew I had not answered Christmas’ questions but her babies were doing a good job telling her about their beliefs. “Christmas,” I said. “I cannot answer your question. However, I do know that things happen in our lives that we can never explain. Who knows, maybe you were being watched over and guided the night we found you.”
“Sometimes, Christmas, it is better to think with your heart and not with your head.” I said. “Sometimes our heads do not let us see the purity of the issue that our hearts know is there.”
In a very soft and gentle voice, Christmas asked me, “Do you believe that you have a Guardian Angel Dog?”
I answered, “What I believe should not matter to you. What I believe should not affect whether you believe the dream was a dream or real, as your babies say it is. However, I will tell you that I believe Sandy is in a place where if I am in trouble she will help me.”
When I stopped talking, Christmas started to speak. Her voice was relax
ed and she sounded relieved. I bet she had made her decision. “Uncle Rivers, you make a lot of sense. Thank you.” Then I heard her turn to her pups and say, “Time to go and clean up the doghouses.”
As I heard them scamper off, I smiled to myself as I remembered that Sandy used to say the same words to Christmas when she was a puppy!
The Sourdough 120
Mike is not a racer. He mushes us for fun. Nevertheless, he knows that since we are all retired racers, and experienced the thrill of racing, we never lost the desire to race. So, we hoped that when racing season came around, Mike would consider racing us. Nitro reminded us that Mike had said he was getting another dog or two to fill out the team for the racing season. Yes, the summer was a long season of anticipation for snow and the race season.
I bet you can imagine how excited we were when Mike told us he was going to race us in the Sourdough 120. Well, I was excited. Nitro was ecstatic! While this race is not as long as we were used to, it is a race and that was all that counted.
The Sourdough 120 was a race done in two segments: 60 miles one way, an overnight stop at the checkpoint and then the 60 miles back to the start. It was a novice or beginners’ race since there was a lot of supervision on the trail. It was an open class race, which meant that there was no age limit. You only needed at least ten dogs, a sled, some gear, and the desire to have some fun.
Some experienced racers used the Sourdough as a tune-up for bigger races. Others used it to check out their dogs. Some mushers used the race to decide if they really wanted to be racers. And then there were mushers like Mike, who would do this race for their dogs. Yep, Mike was giving us what might be our final chance to compete, and the only time he might race with us. Wow, this was going to be special.
Wait a minute. We only had seven dogs: my five teammates, Christmas, and me. So you can bet that I was relieved when Mike told us that he planned to run Sky, Tundra and Storm. Sure, the pups were young, but they had six very experienced uncles who would not only train them but also take care of them on the trail. While Christmas had never raced, she had proved herself on the trails. Yes, this was going to be a fun run, a family fun run. While only the pups and Christmas were related, we considered ourselves a family. Besides, you know what they say, “The family that runs the trails together has fun together!”
So now we had our team, the ten dogs we needed to enter the Sourdough. We had our sled, the new one that Mark at the Grateful Sled had hand made for us. In addition, Mike owned all of the equipment we needed to run this race.
I must admit that I was surprised to see how determined Mike was to get us ready for this race. Each day we ran farther and farther on the trail until we were doing very long runs. Then Mike took us to train on the actual race trail. We all took our turn running lead and became familiar with the race trail. Sometimes we did overnight trips to get used to being out and getting our break-camp routine down pat.
The pups, Tundra, Storm and Sky were doing very well. Lakota told me that you could see the pride in Christmas’ face. She knew her babies were growing up to be fine sled dogs.
Doc told me that the pups looked exceptionally strong and ran very well. Yes, they made us proud. Too bad they were a bit too young to realize that they were a true credit to their Husky heritage.
And my buddies, Nitro, Doc, Lakota, Brownie and Ugly, were running like young dogs, excited to race and compete, listening for and obeying Mike's commands, perfectly. Yes, I was proud of my buddies. We were a team! A good team. A team that would not let Mike down.
Many times Randy came with us. Mike would run the team out and Randy would run us back home. Mike did this so that we would not become solely dependent on him, but rather on each other, thus functioning better as a team.
Randy was young and becoming a very good musher. He loved to mush and took very good care of us on the trail. Randy gained more and more confidence with each run. Moreover, that confidence was not just limited to his mushing, but also affected his schoolwork and writing. His stories improved with each one he wrote. Many times when we camped out, he would read his stories to us. Randy was becoming very much like Mike when it came to us. He talked to us and gave us great ear rubs. He cared for us and he was our buddy. We all liked him. We hoped that someday Mike would let Randy race us. As it turned out, that day came sooner than we would ever have imagined.
The day was perfect for training. We were in our team positions with Doc and Christmas in lead. Sky and Stormy were in the swing position. Lakota and I were in the wheel position. Nitro, Brownie, Ugly, and Tundra were team dogs. Mike loaded the sled with all of the equipment and food needed for an overnight trip. He told us we were going far up the trail, past the planned race checkpoint. We would camp overnight, and then head on back. This would be a good tune-up for the race, which was only a few weeks away.
Mike was on the runners and Randy was in the basket. We were comfortable in our stride. We were working together as one, an extension of Mike running the team. Lakota was telling me all about the trail. He said that the trail was becoming narrower.
I smelled it just as Mike yelled, “Team Stop!” We stopped as Mike said, “Randy, get out of the basket and stand behind the sled.” Then I heard Mike unzip the sled bag.
Bear is what I smelled. Lakota told me that a huge bear was blocking the trail. It was eating and we had disturbed it. Nitro added that the bear was very upset that we were in its territory, especially when it was eating. Nitro also mentioned that there was no way to get around the bear, and he was approaching us.
Lakota told me that Mike had his gun and was in front of the lead dogs. I heard him fire one shot. Lakota told that the shot hit the ground between the bear's legs. A warning shot. It did not work. Doc said that it only served to aggravate the bear. It kept on coming towards us.
“Randy,” Mike said. “Cut the dogs loose and head them back down the trail.”
“But Mister Mike.”
“No buts, Randy. Just do it.”
I heard Randy cut the main gang line and call Doc, Christmas and the pups to him, I felt the gang line pull taut as the dogs made a U turn and headed back down the trail.
“I'm not going. It was Nitro. “Me too.” That was Brownie. Doc and Ugly joined in and so did Lakota. I would stand with Mike also.
“Team. Go.” Mike said. No, we stayed. Lakota told me that Randy was confused but cut the gang line again by Doc and moved Christmas with her pups behind the sled.
The bear kept coming down the trail toward us. We started to bark, but it kept on coming. Then I heard Mike's gun. Bam, Bam. But the bear kept coming. Bam. Bam. Lakota told me that Mike shot the bear four times but the bear kept coming and was almost on top of Mike. Bam, another shot. I heard the bear fall down.
Ugly said that the bear clobbered Mike and knocked him down before Mike got off the last shot.
“Mister Mike?” It was Randy. “Are you okay?”
“Randy, where are my glasses? I cannot see without them.”
“I found them Mister Mike, but they are shattered.”
Lakota told me that Mike tried to get up, but we heard him groan and clutch his right arm. “Randy, I think the bear broke my arm when he hit me. You are going to have to splint it and get us home.”
“Mister Mike, what do I need to do? I was surprised at the calmness in Randy's voice.
“I would suggest that we get the dogs secured first. After that get the first aid kit out of the sled and I will try to help you splint my arm. Then we have to unload the sled and move it back down the trail, then reload it. It is starting to get dark, so I hope you feel comfortable mushing at night. It will be a first for you. Nothing like learning under fire,” Mike said.
After Randy got Mike's arm splinted, he started to retie the gang line and hook us up.
“Where is Doc?” Randy asked. I heard the dogs look around but they told me they could not see him. Wait, I heard a groan coming from the bear. It cannot still be alive. Oh no, that is not the bear. Is it D
oc?
“Doc, where are you?” I asked.
“I am under the bear, it fell on me. I am hurt. I need help,” Doc said.
I started to bark and pull towards the bear.
“Randy, check by the bear and see if it fell on Doc. Rivers is barking. Maybe he hears something,” Mike said.
Lakota told me that Randy ran to the side of the bear that fell towards the team.
“Yes, Mister Mike. Doc is under the bear. I cannot get him out, the bear too heavy,” Randy said.
“Okay Randy. Brownie told me that Mike got up and rushed over to where Randy was. From what Mike said, Doc was just under the bear's chest. Mike told Randy that they would use the dogs to pull the bear off Doc. He told Randy to tie a rope to the bear's forepaw and then move us down the trail in the direction the bear came from. We then would pull the bear back down the trail, and away from our sled and off of Doc.
After Randy repositioned the team and hitched us to the bear, he gave us the “Hike, Hike” command and we pulled. Brownie told me this was a big bear, but it seemed very light to pull… or was it that we were very anxious to get it off our teammate Doc?
Once Randy saw that we had the bear off Doc, he told us to stop. Then I heard him race back to where Mike was, to help with Doc.
Lakota told me that they were both on the ground near Doc.
“Is he going to be okay, Mister Mike?” Randy asked. You could tell he was very concerned.
“I don't know,” Mike said. “Doc is breathing okay, but he is very tender around his hips. I think the snow acted as a pillow so that the bear did not squash Doc. However, he is hurt. I am not sure if he has any internal damage. We need to get him back home very quickly.”
After Randy repositioned the sled and hooked the team to it, Mike got into the basket and cradled Doc in his lap. They wrapped Doc in a sleeping bag. I tried to talk to him. He was in pain. I told him we would get him home and he would be okay.
Randy got on the runners. Lakota told me that both Mike and Randy wore their headlamps. We headed back down the trail towards home.
Alaska Dogs and Iditarod Mushers Page 64