Rivers Read online

  Mud

  The next day Mike started to train Sunny in earnest. At first, we did two short runs per day. Sunny would run in all positions: wheel, team, and swing. She ran on the left side or the right. No matter what position she ran she did great.

  Sunny ran with each one of us as a running mate. It made no difference which of us Sunny teamed with, she ran as if she had been running with that teammate forever. Lakota and the guys were talking about how Sunny brought out their best when they were on the trails. Sunny, like Christmas, became a regular member of our team. We were all dreading the day she would go back home.

  Moreover, we all knew that Christmas would have the worst time when Sunny had to leave. They had become real buddies. Sunny was a positive role model for Christmas and it seemed that Christmas’ boundless energy and eagerness to learn motivated Sunny. Many times when an uncle was teasing Christmas, Sunny would be right there also. As I said, Sunny and Christmas were good for each other.

  Both lady dogs were fast learners and when teamed together, they functioned as one dog. Christmas had been running in the lead position at one time or another with all of her uncles. Sunny also had run lead with most of us. However, the day that Mike teamed Christmas and Sunny as co-leaders was the day that Sunny really lived up to her Husky heritage.

  This was to be our longest trail run with Sunny. Mike had packed extra gear in case this became an overnight trip, so the sled was heavier than usual. Nevertheless, with eight dogs pulling there would not be a problem. This probably would be our last run of the season since the temperatures were getting warmer and the snow was disappearing on the trails.

  Mike harnessed us up and put us in our positions. Christmas and Sunny were the lead dogs, with Doc and Ugly in the swing position. Next came Lakota teamed with me as the team dogs, and Nitro teamed with Brownie to run in the wheel position.

  We were waiting for Mike to give us the commands when we heard Christmas say, “Okay team, the trail is probably really messy, so we are not going to go too fast. We will use the first few miles to get our stride and if we get some good trail, we will speed up the pace a bit. If not,” Christmas continued, “we will just lope along and have a nice fun run.”

  “Christmas,” It was Ugly. “You sound just like Doc when he gives us his trail overview.”

  “No she doesn't.” It was Doc. “I don't have a puppy dog's voice like Christmas.”

  We started to chuckle until Christmas said very sternly, “Uncle Doc, I am not a puppy dog any more. I am a lady dog like Sunny and Aunt Sandy, and I am your lead dog on this run.”

  I turned to Lakota and said, “Our little pup is growing up.”

  Lakota told me. “Yep, and we all better start realizing that she is not the little puppy we saved on that Christmas Eve awhile back.” Deep down inside, we were all proud of her, even Doc. Yes Doc, you taught her well.

  I heard Mike get on the runners, pull the rear snow hook, and say, “Okay team. Get ready. Go!”

  We leaned into our harnesses and got the sled moving. Sunny and Christmas pulled the lines tight and I heard our footsteps in the snow. Soon we were gliding down the trail. Well at first, we were, but soon our smooth trail turned into a rutted nightmare with ice and little, or no snow.

  As we moved on, the trail just got worse. Mike stopped the team and decided to put booties on us for extra protection.

  Lakota told me that Mike was limping. “Must be his bad knee acting up again,” I said.

  Lakota replied, “And you know this nasty trail is not helping that knee either.”

  We started pulling again, and started down a hill but then stopped when Mike said, “Stop! Mud! That's it, we are turning back.” You could hear the frustration and disappointment in Mike's voice

  Going home was okay with us. Besides the mud, the temperature was getting warmer. Lakota told me that the trail was very narrow here and it would be very tricky turning the team and sled around.

  “Okay gang.” It was Mike. ”This is what we are going to do.” Mike told us that he was going to unpack the sled, then unhitch the team. Next, he would lift the sled on end and turn it around. Once the sled was turned, Mike would pull it to a spot on the trail a few yards back that was wider than where we were. After the sled was repositioned, he would move the team, hitch us up, and then repack the sled. Then we would be on our way back home.

  Good plan, until it started to rain. Of course, it would not be one of those nice misty spring rains. Nope, let us talk deluge! As it rained on us, Ugly's jovial voice rang out with, “Hey, where is Sandy? She is a Labrador retriever, a water dog, and they like this kind of wet weather!” Leave it to Ugly to get us to laugh.

  “Hey Sunny.” It was Brownie. “How are you doing? You still want to be a sled dog?”

  Now you would figure that this lady dog, who does not have a lot of trail time, would be a little frazzled by all of this. Not Sunny. Her voice was clear and calm. You could actually hear the excitement in it. “I'm having great time. Nothing like a little spring rain storm to bring out the best in us lady dogs, right Christmas?”

  “You betcha, Sunny,” Christmas joined in. “Gee Uncle Brownie, your fur sure looks funny in this rain storm! You having a bad fur day?”

  We all laughed at that one. “Where did Christmas learn to tell jokes like Ugly does?” I said to Lakota and he said to me, “Where did she learn to talk like Mike? ‘You betcha’ is one of his phrases.”

  “It seems like our youngster is growing up very fast,” I told Lakota.

  “Have you noticed that neither of them has whined or complained about anything during this entire trip?” Lakota said, “Real champion lead dog material.”

  “I cannot wait till we get some snow and they run lead with us again,” I said.

  Nitro must have overhead our conversation. He said, “You know with those two as part of our team, we could be some serious competition in eight dog races.”

  “Hey Nitro.” It was Doc. “Can we get out of the mud first, before we think of crossing finish lines?”

  “Okay Doc,” Nitro replied, “just a thought, maybe something to keep us motivated during the summer time.”

  Lakota told me that Mike had the sled repositioned and repacked. Mike moved to the front of the team and grabbed the neckline between Christmas and Sunny. Mike told Sunny and Christmas to go “Haw.” He then told us to go “Gee Straight.” What this did was to move the front two dogs to the left and move the rest of the team to the right to make room for the turn. It worked fine.

  It was still raining as he hitched us up. Mike got on the runners and said, “Okay team. Get ready. Go!” We barely got the sled moving. It kept sinking in the mud.

  “This is not going to work,” Mike said. I heard him limp to the front of the sled. Lakota told me he knelt in the mud, and held Christmas and Sunny's faces near his and told them that they must lead the team home. Mike told us that he must help us push the sled and he could not steer it.

  What a challenge for these lady dogs! Lead the team home in this kind of weather and on this bad trail. An experienced lead dog would have difficulty doing this. Yet, Mike was asking his two most inexperienced leaders to do it.

  I heard Mike limp to the back of the sled, but he did not get on the runners. Instead, he stood between the runners, locked up the drag, started to push, and said, “Go!” We all started to pull at the same time and the sled moved. Not fast, but steady.

  We were making progress, but we were going uphill. The rain had stopped and it was getting colder. Maybe we would get some frozen tundra to run on. Not the greatest, very bad on the paws, but the sled would slide better.

  We crested the hill and the trail started to level out. I could feel the ground get crunchy under my paws. This stuff could really tear up a dog's paw pads. Pulling our sled in the mud, even with Mike's help, was tough work. Actually, it was harder than pulling a fully loaded sled and musher on a snow packed trail. The guys were all commenting how tired they were getting.
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br />   Lakota asked Sunny how she was doing. “Fine,” she said, but you could hear the tiredness in her voice. This had to be very tough on her. She was not used to pulling sleds as we were. Remember that she was still recuperating and might not have all of her strength back. Nevertheless, she held her own and did a great job leading us. Christmas was doing fine also. Yep, her uncles were sure proud of her.

  “Team, stop,” was the command that Mike gave. We stopped and wondered what he wanted us to do. Lakota told me that Mike set the snow hook and started to walk to the front of the team. Lakota said he was still limping, worse than before. I knew we were all concerned about him. Just as I knew we would get him home, I knew he would also do his part to get us there. Yes, we were a team.

  The trail was beginning to freeze. It was not as wet as the muddy part we just left down the hill. As Mike took off our dirty wet booties he said, “Okay Team, lets take a break and get those paws of yours aired out a bit.” Next, he set out some water bowls for us and gave us nice treats to go with our drinks.

  I heard Mike sit on the sled basket and I heard a zipper unzip. Lakota told me that Mike was rolling up the pants leg to get a look at his knee. Lakota told me that it looked somewhat swollen but there was no blood. Well that was a good sign, I thought.

  I heard Christmas turn around and asked what Mike was doing. However, before I could answer, I heard Mike say to her, “Hey my Christmas Girl, you look so sad. Are you Okay? Oh, you are worried about my knee. It is all right, my Christmas Girl. You are doing a great job getting us home.”

  Lakota told me that Mike rolled his pants leg back down and zipped up his overalls. He got up and limped to the front of the team. “You are all doing great. I could not be any more proud of you than I am right now. That was some nasty trail back there and you got us through it.” He then limped to Sunny, put his nose to hers and rubbed the side of her face, “You too, sweetheart. You are a true champion. I know you are not 100 percent yet, but you did not give up. Doctor Jim will be very proud of you when I tell him.” Mike continued, “You can run with my team anytime you want.” We all knew that made Sunny feel ten feet tall.

  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.