This story is dedicated to Walter.
The Snow Dog
Shortly after I moved into my cabin on Eagle Lake in Northwestern Ontario, I was offered a puppy. The puppy was swimming in Lac La Croix through some rough water and some fishermen thought it was best to scoop him up to safety. They brought their prize catch back to the lodge and a friend of mine who worked there thought it would make a good pet for me and brought it home.
Well, after meeting the puppy I could not resist as he was the cutest thing on four legs, all white with icy blue eyes. I brought him to the local vet to get him checked out. The Veterinarian identified the puppy as a Siberian Husky and recommended that he be nurtured to help calm him down and keep him from roaming. I agreed and left the animal there for the procedure. The next day the Veterinarian called back and said he would need to do emergency surgery on the dog as his kidney was very swollen. When I arrived at the animal hospital to pick up the puppy the vet offered me a jar to take home. Inside, pickled in formaldehyde was a round worm about twenty inches long that he had removed from the dog’s kidney. He thought that because the puppy was living in the wild maybe he got the roundworm as a result of eating fresh water crustaceans such as cray fish. I kindly declined the jar and gladly headed for home with my new friend.
The little dog would follow you around like a shadow and nip at your ankles. This was very annoying. Apparently, Siberian Huskies were a breed used to herd reindeer and nipping at the lower legs was a normal behaviour. “Shadow” learned to stop nipping at people’s ankles but still liked to run circles around people, trying to move them along.
I bought a chain link dog run which was approximately five and a half feet tall. A couple of inches of the chain link was buried under ground. We added a doghouse and he seemed very happy with his new space. While we were working , the puppy would spend his day in the kennel and come into the house at night.
I came home from work one day and my neighbour was there to meet me. “ You need to keep that dog locked up. It is illegal to have a dog running wild”, he said. Sure enough, Shadow was out of the dog run and running free. There were no holes under the fence that he was able to crawl through so I stretched a large tarp across the top of the kennel and fastened it down tight all along the top using the grommets. “ He won’t get out of that”, I said to my self. About a week later, when I arrived home after work the dog was gone.
Usually, Shadow was not far away and would come flying into the yard, bouncing on all fours and wanting to play. He was a free spirit and when outside and not contained in anyway, he was his own boss. Inside the house the dog was eager to please. He would offer up a paw, wanting you to rub between his toes and then offer up the other front paw. Of course, Shadow would end up getting rubbed between all his toes, both front and back. He would cuddle up on the couch with you and watch television. The dog was extremely smart and learned to perform many tricks on command. However, he always had one eye on the door and took advantage of any opportunity to escape to the freedom of the outdoors.
Upon answering the knock at my door, I heard “You better go catch your dog! My neighbour is screaming at him at the top of her lungs and chasing him with a broom.” Turns out the neighbour was feeding a family of wild ducks in front of her camp and Shadow was hiding in the Cattails along the shoreline. When he figured they were close enough, Shadow pounced into the water in hopes of catching lunch. Needless to say I got a tongue lashing. However, I did point out to my seasonal neighbour that feeding wildlife was harmful, if not illegal.
One sunny Saturday in the fall, we put Shadow out in the run to enjoy the fresh air and heat of the day. Company arrived in the early afternoon and he was eager to visit. I happened to look out of the window towards the dog run and spotted the puppy’s head squeezing its way from under the tarp. He had managed to get his back paws on the chain link on either side and was pushing himself up in the corner and out under the tarp. I could not believe my eyes as it was a very tight fit or so I thought. Obviously, we would need to extend the height of the run and hope for the best.
With winter approaching we bought a large “Shredded Wheat” shaped bail of straw. We put some straw in the dog house to help insulate it from the cold. Until we could figure out the best use for the rest of the straw we just left it in the corner of the run. We put the puppy in the run so he could try out his new mattress. After checking things out he became very frisky and started pawing at the straw and pushing it around with his nose. Shadow eventually managed to make himself the perfect doggie nest in the center of the big bail of straw. He looked extremely comfortable and I could swear he was smiling.
The dog loved to hunt especially in the snow. Often, while at the end of his lead, all you could see was his hind legs sticking out of a snowbank with the tail wagging like crazy. He would dive head first into the snow in an attempt to capture voles. Shadow would often drop a vole on the ground by my wife’s boots as a gift.
One very cold winter day, Houdini managed to escape early in the evening. He would not come in the house for “love nor money.” The dog just laid down in the snow outside the kitchen window waiting for someone to come out and play. My wife was worried he was going to freeze the pads of his feet so she decided extreme measures were required. She said, “I’ll get him in here”. She threw a couple of frozen moose steaks in a frying pan with a bit of water and when they started to simmer, she opened the kitchen window. Well, after a minute or so he decided the jig was up and willingly came inside and was awarded with half of a tasty moose steak. I ate the other half, only mine was browned a bit on both sides and sprinkled with salt and pepper.
One weekend, I went to visit a friend in Ignace. He had just recently dog proofed his back yard. His dog was similar in size to mine so he figured they would be safe to run free and play. Sure enough, the dogs enjoyed each others company for most of the day without any attempts to escape. The next morning we left the dogs to play in the yard and went to the range to sight in our rifles and to do some target practice. When we returned, we were presented with what looked like the worlds largest game of “Pick Up Sticks” “This is unbelievable” said my friend. He had spent most of the evenings the previous week cleaning up “blow downs” in his yard and cutting and stacking all the kindling size branches in several piles along the back fence. The two dogs took every stick from those piles and spread them all over the back yard. I swear there was not one foot of space between each stick.
For most of his life our Siberian Husky was a high energy animal that always wanted to play. When he did managed to escape, Shadow was the most stubborn animal on the planet and could prove very difficult to catch. One day, my friend mentioned above, along with another buddy walked into a small trout lake to do some ice fishing. We decided to take the dogs along and everyone enjoyed the day. On the hike back out to the vehicles our dogs found the bones of an animal that was no doubt shot and boned out during field dressing. My dog without warning, turned, and as quick as a shot, backed out of his collar. He grabbed one of those bones and took off towards the trucks. Shadow would not come near the truck but instead laid down in the snow fifteen yards away and proceeded to chew on his treasure. Our friend who did not own a dog decided enough was enough and made a plan to end the “Stand Off.”Luckily for us, the dog was exhausted after playing in the fresh air all day and when left alone for ten minutes started to doze off. My buddy said, “he’s asleep! Get ready with that collar, l am going to run and jump on top of him.” He quietly opened the truck door and started towards the dog quickly picking up speed. Suddenly, he was gliding through the air and tackled the animal. My buddy, rolled over with with both hands firmly gripping the dog. I made a bee line to the scene and quickly put the collar on one very surprised pooch.
Shadow’s collar was replaced with a harness. “Let’s see him back out to that,” I thought to myself. The new harness proved to be the cat’s ass. He loved our ice fishing adventures. He easily pulled the sled filled with our gear across the snow covered bay front of our house. Once we reached the fishing holes Shadow would looked up at me, somewhat disappointed. He wanted to work and was eager to please.
Our furry friend did not bark. Once in a blue moon, Shadow would let a howl out of him especially if he felt threatened. One occasion in particular comes to mind. He was sunning himself on the straw pile in the dog run and all of a sudden a series of deep guttural howls filled the air. Fearing the worst, we both headed for the kennel to find him up on all fours with his neck hackles stiffened. Shadow was staring out on the ice where three big timber wolves were making their way out to an island in the bay. Immediately, he was brought inside the house, not only for his safety but we did not want timber wolves roaming around the property.
With a little coaxing, Shadow learned to sing like a wolf. He would follow my lead, starting off with short whimpers and slowly build up to the blood curdling howls of a lone wolf baying at a full moon. This was one of his favourite acts when my wife brought him to visit my students.
When we moved to Kenora, Shadow quickly became a favourite with the kids in the neighbourhood. During our walks he loved to stop and visit. He soon became known as “The Snow Dog”
Although we both loved our dog, he and my wife developed a very special bond. She was his person. Our beloved dog developed brain cancer and passed away in 2010. He will always be loved and remembered with fondness. Telling his story always brings laughter and happiness to our hearts.
Henry Maitland
