Update on Monkey

No, this update is not what you might be expecting about a 15-yr-old dog, though that may be next week’s post. This story is much more exciting than a simple demise. I was in bed trying to go to sleep about 10:00 last night. Monkey hadn’t been on his bed when I went in for the night, but that’s normal for him lately. It’s too hard for him to get up and down the steps so sometimes he just sleeps under the trees. I heard a far away bark as I drifted off to sleep and gradually realized that that was my Monkey barking. It wasn’t an excited bark but more of a moaning bark. At first I thought he had treed another porcupine and was letting me know we’d be heading to the vet in the morning to get the quills out of his mouth like last time.

I got up, got dressed, grabbed a flashlight and headed out into the woods. The light is one-dimensional  with a flashlight so I had plenty of opportunities to hit logs with my shins and fall off mossy rocks. I went the direction I thought the barks were coming from but  soon realized I was heading in the wrong direction. I needed to be nearer the lake. Visual cues were worthless. Every downed birch tree looks like a big white dog in the woods at night. But finally I found him, or his head at least. His body was wedged, tail down, in a hole between a bunch of rocks. One rear leg was up by his head, as in a breech birth. It appeared he had lost his balance while climbing over a rock and just happened to fall in a hole. The more he struggled to right himself, the father down he went. Monkey doesn’t wear his collar while at the cabin, so there was nothing for me to pull on except his head and his two front feet. Knowing how arthritic and sore his shoulders are, I didn’t want to tug too hard. My empathy quickly disappeared as I made no progress and I began to pull with all my might. But–nothing. Not a budge. Imagine my shock when my sweet loving mellow dog snapped at me as I yanked In vain to pull him out. Time for reinforcements!

i stumbled back to the cabin and called my neighbors Gary and Nancy. It seems they are always at the head of the call list when I need help. They said they would be right over, though it was pitch dark and drizzling lightly. Soon I could see the light from their pontoon bobbing across the waves. They were leery of bumping into rocks near the shore, but pulled up to our little dock without incident.  Gary and Nancy were accompanied by their nephew Charles and his daughter Simone. As I led them back through the woods with just a few flashlights to light our way and my brain fogged from already taking my night time sleep medicine, it reminded me distinctly of the disaster we had at Camp WOW the night of our midnight paddle two years ago.

As the Dog Rescuers began our trek,  I was confident I could find the right place. But when I got to the cedar tree near the mossy rock, Monkey was nowhere to be seen. Only the empty hole remained. Yay! He must have gotten himself out of his predicament! Then I heard a muffled whine. I peered down into the hole, and there, two feet below the surface, was his big white head. His two front feet were just barely visible beside his ears. We were all taken aback. How in the world had he found this hole and managed to work himself to the very bottom? After a little discussion and lots of exclamations, Charles and Gary each took a foot and began to pull. Monkey didn’t budge at all but he viciously snapped at the hands hurting him. Nancy stripped off her shirt and we tried to cover Monkey’s head with it to prevent bites. Eventually I wrapped it around his head and into his mouth like a gag. It didn’t work as well as we had hoped however, as both Charles and I got chomped. No wonder, as we had six hands, two paws, and a large head all taking up space in the small hole. Finally I reached into the hole, got my hands firmly entrenched in Monkey’s muddy neck  fur, and with all three of us pulling, he finally slid up and out. Looking back into the hole, we saw water in the bottom. Monkey’s rear end had been in water, which was at least 3 ft below the surface. I begin to lead Monkey back to the cabin while the others filled in the hole with sticks and stones. Charles and I got some emergency medical attention from Doctor Nancy, and they headed back to their Island, an hour after they had left it. I could tell Monkey was ashamed that he had drawn blood from a human for the first time in his life. This morning he is still alive, though still wet and muddy. I think we will all forgive him.