-- The story of a dog and the family that saved him --

A Dog's Best Friend

If you enjoy heart-warming stories about dogs that pull children out of the paths of onrushing trains, awaken families from slumber and certain death just before their burning home fills with smoke, or warn entire villages at the last possible moment to escape a flood just after the dam has broken, you won't find any here. It has never been my belief that a dog is a man's best friend. None of my best friends are dogs.

But I do believe this -- man is dog's best friend. Take for example the matter of a yellow lab retriever named Auggie. As a pup, Auggie was donated to a Ducks Unlimited auction in Fargo. One sportsman who couldn't make it to the auction asked his best friend (a man, not a dog) to be on the lookout for a hunting dog and to get it for him if the opportunity presented itself. So the friend went to the auction, saw Auggie, started bidding and eventually bought the dog.

He presented the dog to his friend -- the guy who asked him to buy one. The guy was pleased and took the dog home, but his wife said, "No way," that dog was not welcome in her home. So Auggie was shuttled back to the friend who did the bidding at the auction. He said he was happy to keep it. But when he took it home, his wife said the same thing the other guy's wife had said, "No way." and out the dog went.

Things did not look good for Auggie -- the homeless dog -- the dog men liked but women rejected. The dog was sent back to a kennel, which is nothing but an orphanage for dogs too ugly to get adopted.

Then along came John -- warmhearted John. John had an equally warmhearted wife named Ruth and two smart, eager boys who practiced their music, did their homework and loved the outdoors. John's family met Auggie and they all said, "Yes, yes, we'll take that dog." And they did.

That was 11 years ago. Auggie has been the family pet for these last 11 years. The dog never rescued any kids from onrushing trains, but he did turn out to be an excellent hunting dog and a family friend that charmed John, Ruth and their two sons.

But at about the age of nine, Auggie developed arthritis  and got stiff in the hindquarters. That was the end of fetching ducks out of the frigid, autumn waters. But Auggie could still hunt grouse and loved the hunt. This past season, John and his family got a new hunting puppy to hunt grouse with Auggie. The weather was warm on the opening weekend and the hard-working dogs got hot. The hunters came to some open water and the pup jumped in to have a drink. Auggie followed. They both drank, then came for shore. The pup got out, but Auggie and his arthritis slipped on the greasy bank. Then Auggie struggled and flopped over backwards, mouth open and swallowed more water. Auggie kicked a few times, then his head went under the water and he died right there.

John was about 20 yards away on the bank, and seeing what was happening, dashed to the water (disregarding all concern for life, limb and his own safety) and jumped into the cold water. Grouse hunters don't wear waders, you know. He lifted the 85-pound Auggie out of the water and up on the bank. Then he struggled to get up the slippery bank himself.

This is a true story, but at this point, two versions of what happened next emerge. One is that John, thinking of his beloved companion, of his two studious sons, his warmhearted wife, Ruth, and himself, applied mouth to muzzle resuscitation and breathed the breath of life back into the late Auggie. And Auggie lived.

The other version, more modest (and tasteful) is that John lifted Auggie up and whacked him again and again between the shoulder blades, then put him on the ground. Still dead. So he repeated the procedure, and this time, on the ground Auggie coughed, spat up buckets of slough water and lived again. In either case Auggie staggered around coughing up blood for four or five days and eventually recovered as well as an 11-year-old arthritic lab can recover. The dog that helped raise two sons and please an entire family is with them still.

A heroic dog? No, a heroic owner. What more proof could you ask that man is truly dog's best friend?