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

“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 Doc?

“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.

Christmas was still in lead. Ugly was her co-leader. Nitro ran as a solo swing dog. Sky, Storm, Brownie and Tundra were in the team dog positions. Lakota and I ran the wheel.

We raced home. We were worried that Mike and Doc would be jostled in the sled basket. The mood of the team was somewhat somber. We needed Doc for the race since he was our leader, our friend, and our teammate. If Mike had a broken arm, he could not race and then we could not either. Bummer, as Christmas would say.

Mike helped Randy navigate the trails home. Randy was doing a great job running the team. We were racing very fast, faster than Randy had ever run with us. He was mushing well under pressure. I am sure he was as concerned about Mike and Doc as we were.

“Uncle Rivers.” It was Christmas. “Is Mike okay?” Christmas had become very devoted and very close to Mike, especially since the puppies were born. I know she was very concerned. While Christmas and the rest of the team were concerned about Doc, they were not saying much. Before I answered her, I got off a fast howl to Sandy, asking that both Doc and Mike would be okay.

“Mike is comfortable and talking to Randy, Christmas.” I said. “I think he will be okay. Doc is resting comfortably and his breathing sounds okay.”

“Thanks, Uncle Rivers.” Christmas sounded relieved.

When we got closer to home, Mike called Doctor Jim on the cell phone. I heard Mike tell Doctor Jim what had happened. Mike asked Doctor Jim to meet us at our home with his mobile vet office.

Randy asked Mike why he did not use the cell phone and call sooner. Mike replied that we were out of range. He had to wait until we were closer to our home for the cell phone to work.

Doctor Jim was at our home when we got there. Lakota told me Doctor Jim took Doc from Mike. “Are you okay, Uncle Doc?” It was Tundra.

“I will be okay Tunny, don’t worry.” Doc had given Tundra the nickname Tunny and every time Doc called her that, you knew she felt special.

“Mike, you need to get your arm checked by a doctor. I will take care of Doc,” Doctor Jim said. I could tell Mike did not want to go, but Mary insisted and took Mike to the hospital to check out his arm. Randy took care of our equipment and us. As he fed and watered us, Randy talked to us, letting us know he was worried about Mike and Doc. We all nuzzled him to let him know that we were proud of him and the great job he did getting us home. Nitro mentioned to me that he was very impressed and proud of Randy, since he did not cave under the pressure. For a young boy, Randy handled this accident with a lot of maturity.

Ugly told me he found a tennis ball in the yard and dropped it by Randy. “You want to play Catch and Fetch, Ugly?” Randy asked. With that, Randy picked up the ball and threw it in the yard for Ugly to fetch. But instead of just Ugly chasing after the ball, all the dogs, except Lakota and I went after it. I guess it must have looked very funny since Randy started to laugh. Lakota told me that all the dogs were chasing after the ball. They would tackle the dog who had it, making the dog drop the ball. Then the dogs would chase the dog who picked it up. Lakota told me that Nitro had the ball and both Sky and Stormy were chasing him to get it. Lakota told me that both pups ran right into Nitro and bounced off him because he is so big. However, before the pups realized it, Nitro dropped the ball and pretended that they knocked him down. I heard Stormy and Sky laugh as they wrestled for the ball.

I heard a truck drive up into the driveway and Lakota told me that it was our truck with Mike and Mary. Lakota said that Doc was with them. He was walking but Lakota said you could tell he was not well.

We all gathered around the gate as Mike and Doc came by. Brownie told me that Mike had a white thing on his arm just like what Sunny had on her leg. That is not a good sign.

“Mister Mike, are you and Doc okay?” Randy asked.

“Well, Doc is a bit shaken up and needs to rest for a few weeks. Fortunately, there is no internal damage from the bear falling on him. He has no broken bones, but he is sore and tender in the hips. Me, I have a broken arm, which means I cannot race the team in the Sourdough 120,” Mike said.

Oh no, I thought, we are not going to race. It was starting to set in that all of the training and preparation for the race was over, when Mike interrupted my thoughts with, “Randy, I cannot race, but you can.”

Before Randy could answer Mike added, “We will need another dog since Doc may not be able to race. I talked to my good friend GB Jones and he told me I could borrow Fin. Rivers and Fin have run together so that should help out some.”