Mike Dillingham - Alaska Dogs and Iditarod Mushers - The Adventures of Balto, Back of the Pack, Honor Bound, Rivers

Because he was so big, and most of the other dogs were smaller, they never played with him. Some other dogs would make fun of him, call him names, and gang up on him. They said he was chicken, stupid, clumsy or an oaf. So Lakota kept to himself. He had no friends. He was alone and very sad.

Now the human would hook Lakota up to the sled but did not train him how to run with the team. When Lakota did not quickly figure out what he should do, he got beat. The other dogs would make fun of him because he did not know how to be a team dog.

Lakota had the smarts to be a great lead dog, but no one would train him. And you know, if you are beat or made fun of when you have a hard time doing something, you are not going to want to do it. It was the same with Lakota. Because the humans made fun of him or hit him, Lakota really hated to run. The humans forced Lakota to run, even when his paws were hurt.

One day Lakota had enough of this abuse and ran away. He figured that he would rather die on the trail then continue to live that kind of life. Now that is ironic. Lakota believed that he was a disgrace to his Husky tradition, yet he wanted to die on the trail. The very essence of being a Husky is to live and die on the very trails we love to run on, especially with a musher that we are devoted to. The fact is that Lakota almost did die on the trail. However, before that happened, Lakota was found and eventually met Mike and me.

When Lakota was finished telling me all of this, he was very exhausted and laid down on the fresh straw. I stretched out next to him and put my head on his shoulder, telling him he was very brave to talk about it. He was still trembling.

“You know, Lakota,” I said, “did you ever think that maybe your shyness is due to the fact that you were so alone for so long? No need to answer,” I said, “just think about it.”

I told Lakota that Mike says Lakota pulls back when he tries to pet him. “I wonder if you do that without realizing it because you think you are going to get hit again?”

“Yes, it must be; it makes sense,” Lakota said. “I don’t mean to do that. It just happens. I know Mike will not hit me or allow anyone to hurt me. I guess Mike gets a little frustrated when I do.” Lakota added, “That is when he puts me in that body hug you told me about, Rivers, and I have to admit it feels so good when he gives me all of that attention.”

I replied. “It takes awhile to get comfortable with all of the affection, especially when you never had any before.”

“Yes,” Lakota said. “I really like it when Mike rolls me over and rubs my tummy. I hear him laugh when he scratches that certain spot that makes my leg move.”

I told Lakota he did the same to me. We laughed together.

“Lakota,” I said, let me ask you a question. “Do you like running now?”

“Yes,” he replied, “I really enjoy it, especially since Mike took special care of me so that my paws healed.” He continued, “Yes, Mike does take very good care of me. The chow is great and the team members are my friends and respect me. It is so different from where I was born.” Then in a softer voice, he added, “I never believed I would be trained or allowed to run lead.”

We relaxed for a while longer. I sensed that Lakota was deep in thought. “Rivers,” Lakota asked, “Do you think some human kids are abused like I was?”

“No doubt in my mind,” I answered. I knew this to be true. I told Lakota that Mike reads the e-mail we receive from the kids to me. Some of those kids tell us how bad it is at home for them. I bet some of the kids at the orphanage were abused also.

“That is terrible!” Lakota said.

“Yes it is, but it gets worse,” I replied. I told him that I had heard that some humans abuse each other. Some of the strong ones abuse the weak ones. I heard that kids sometimes abuse each other where the big ones pick on the smaller ones.

“That is really stupid.” Lakota said, “I thought humans were supposed to be smart.”

I told Lakota that most are, but the dumb ones just do not get it. They believe that the only way to succeed is to hurt others and force them to do what the stupid ones want them to do.

“Abusers,” I said, “make you think you are the dumb one, like they did to you, Lakota.” I asked, “Didn’t they make you feel dumb because you were so big and did not know how to run? Didn’t they make you feel that you were at fault, and that you were the problem? Didn’t they make you feel like you were a disgrace to the point where you wanted to die?”

I could sense the anger in Lakota’s voice when he said, “Yes, to all of those, Rivers.”

“So Lakota,” I asked, “who are you angry with?” Remember that Lakota is a thinker and I knew he was thinking about his anger.

“Me,” he said. “I should have been smarter.”

“Smarter about what?” I asked. Lakota had no answer. I told him that he was wrong for thinking that. He should not be angry with himself, but instead should be angry with the ones who hurt him. “You did not ask to be beat, or to be made fun of, or forced to be alone,” I said. “Actually, anger just adds to the problem. You really need to focus your energy on repairing the damage done and not allow it to stop you from enjoying your life.” I paused before saying, “I guess talking about it helps you deal with it in a positive way.”

“You know, Rivers, you make a lot of sense. How did you get so smart?” Lakota asked.

“I’m not that smart,” I replied, “Blind dogs just see things differently.”

When Mike told us we would be having a visitor for a few months, we were not surprised. We often have dog guests who need special attention. Some are recuperating from medical problems, while others just need some handson individualized training and TLC.

We enjoy having these visitors to our kennel, because we believe in sharing our good fortune, our experiences, and our knowledge with others. We work together as a team to make our visitor feel welcome, enjoy their stay with us, and learn a lot. That is the important thing.

Therefore, we were eagerly waiting for the arrival of our new guest. All we knew was that she was a lady dog who had some medical problems and needed sled dog training.

We were all in our yard. Lakota was standing next to me. He was describing how Ugly and Christmas were playing their chasing game. Lakota also mentioned that Brownie and Nitro were using a piece of rope to play the tugging game that Sandy taught us. I know Doc was standing with us just laughing as Brownie was trying to pull the rope from Nitro. As you know, Nitro is the biggest and strongest dog on our team and no one can beat him at the tugging game. However, sometimes Nitro lets us win so that we will play it again with him.

Doc was laughing and telling me that Nitro let the rope go as Brownie was pulling it very hard. Brownie just flopped across the yard, laughing. As Nitro went over to Brownie to make sure he was okay, we heard Mike’s truck enter the driveway. We knew he had our visitor with him.

I heard the guys move closer to the gate and Lakota walked with me. He was telling me that Christmas was scampering all around. She was very excited.

I heard the gate open and I was surprised to hear the guys gasp. What is wrong, I thought. Lakota told me that our visitor was one of the most beautiful dogs he had ever seen. Lakota said that she looked at each one of us and just smiled the most radiant smile he had ever seen. He said she had the kind of smile that just made you want to be her friend.

As I heard Mike lead her into our yard, Christmas was the first to talk to her. “Hi,” Christmas said, “my name is Christmas and welcome to our home. You sure are very beautiful.”