Kind of long story - Pull up a seat ( and a glass of wine...) This past Sunday I took my four dogs out hiking, just like I do every morning at the end of my shift. I get off work at 6am. Recently a farmer had given me permission to walk his harvested fields so off we went. I picked a cornfield that was bracketed on one side by Wahoo Creek. My dogs LOVE to swim! Now this creek has some very high banks - more like cliffs, that are easily 15 feet straight down to the water. The water itself, this time of year, is not that deep. This creek twists and turns like nobodys business! And in some of those pretzel contortions, the walls have caved in. Actually, the base has been so eaten away by the current, the entire bank just settles down in on itself creating a bizarre kind of grassy step if you will. In some places, those steps have settled and slid almost down to the water. Its in these places that my dogs are able to get into the water and play. Last Sunday, I got to a bend in the creek and discovered the biggest gnarly old cottonwood tree I have ever seen. It was so huge and so imposing - all I could do is stare at it in reverent awe! A full THIRD of that tree had very recently snapped off. The crown of dying leaves was in the water far below while the trunk was still high up on the bank. Looking closer, you could see the entire inner trunk of the tree was all ate away and hollow. Knowing this could be unstable, I moved away, calling my dogs after me. We didnt get 20 feet farther down the path when all hell broke loose! The barking and snarling was coming from right below me, one of those steps , that I had tried to describe. My dogs had stirred up something. I slid down the grass just in time to see three of my dogs ganging up on a yearling raccoon. A baby! He was so tiny! He was holding his own, though - trying desperately to break away he was taking on all of them. As I slid into the fracas screaming and cursing, my dogs fell back momentarily. I watched as the raccoon slid the last ten feet or so into the water. I was all set to heave a sigh of relief when my black Lab dove into the water in chase. Which, of course, got my other three dogs to follow. I watched in horror as the Lab overtook the raccoon and attacked it with a viciousness that left me nauseous. The current took the battle to the far side of the creek. My screaming at them to stop was totally worthless. I watched my weimaraner grab that baby and shake it senseless - and my heart broke. I think my mind mustve snapped at the same time because the next thing I knew, I was IN the water wading over to the battle and screaming like a banshee. My vocal antics didnt work. Now I was pissed! I grabbed a two foot long stick - thank GOD it had some weight to it - and I started swinging. I caught my Lab across his back and literally beat him off that raccoon. My three-legged dog was the only one with enough brains to scatter when I started swinging. I caught the weimaraner square upside his jaw and sent him tumbling backwards. Jackson, my oldest dog, who also happens to be the deadliest - I nailed him upside his ribcage beating him so violently, I finally forced him off to the side. I stood there hunched over my knees, gasping for breath about 12 inches away from an all out face-to-face with this baby raccoon. He had turned to face me in total astonishment. The question in his eyes was pretty easy to see - Was I going to attack him, too? As my breathing finally leveled off, the raccoon floated backwards with the gentle current, never taking his eyes off me. Over and over my dogs tried to resume the fight and equally as many times I swung at them with a meanness I didnt know I possessed. They were NOT killing this baby right before my eyes! The raccoon finally floated into the leading edge of that downed tree canopy I had mentioned earlier. If it could just bury itself into the heart of all that brush, it might have a chance. It really struggled to make it over the first of the floating flotsam, a large rotted log. I could see a bit of blood on his mouth. Watching it struggle, I wondered if it would succumb to shock once it got to safety. A moment later, I saw a small tremor in the weeds slightly uphill right next to the tree. The raccoon had made it to shore still buried from sight! I stood there for another 20 minutes threatening my dogs with death if they came any closer. I was going to give that baby a fighting chance to collect its wits and recover before I exited the water. Some where within this 20 minute grace period, reality finally started to sink in. It was 33 degrees outside. The water wasnt much warmer. In a weird, fuzzy kind of way, I realized - I couldnt even FEEL my feet, or my legs from the knees down, for that matter. All my keys, including the electronic key to my car and the electronic fob that controls my home security system were in the pocket of my jeans. I could kiss them both goodbye. They had to be soaked by now. My hands, from wielding that stick like a club, were filthy and half- frozen. Not caring about the dirt, I tried shoving them into my pockets for warmth. So here I am, hands in my pockets, almost up to my crotch in ice cold water, keeping my club between my knees until I knew for sure my dogs were going to call off the assault. Here I am - and at this exact moment two things wiggled their way into my frost fried brain simultaneously. Number one - my left hand was wrapped around my keys in my jean pocket - and they were DRY! Excitedly, I realized the wet hadnt yet made it all the way up to my front pants pocket. I moved the keys into the breast pocket of my coat. Hopefully I would be long gone before the water managed to wick its way all the way up to my chest! Now if I could just keep from slipping and landing on my butt in this mud! But then came realization number two - I was trapped! Warily I scanned the creek bank. In front of me, for as far as I could see, was a five foot wall of steep, slimy mud, followed by another ten feet or so of slightly-less-steep, grassy slope. This was NOT going to be pretty! That first five feet was going to be hell! I wont bore you with how many times I tried to take even one step up that muddy bank, only to see myself slide right back down. Time after time I attempted that first step. And time after time I ended up exactly where I had started, crotch deep in that icy creek. Finally, is desperation, I took my club, drove it into the muddy embankment about shoulder high, got down on my hands and knees and used that stick to pull myself out of the water. It sort of worked! But I stepped wrong and once again slid into the water. Verbatim, this is was came out of my mouth next , Cmon God! I rescued one of your creatures! I could use a little rescuing myself, here. I need some help here!. A very small voice directed me to a place much closer to that fallen tree. I was more than a little concerned for my sanity at this point. Thrashing around that close to that downed tree was a good way to have the whole damn thing come down on top of me! But the voice persisted. Waaay back at the beginning of the year, one of my New Years resolutions was to learn to listen better. I had prayed for it, fasted for it and begged God to identify himself to me so I would be a better acolyte and do his bidding. Reason said, Hell No! . Stay away from that tree. The voice persisted. I had a 2 mile walk back to my car in sub freezing temperatures and that was AFTER I made it out of the creek. If I didnt do something pretty quick, the cold would sap what was left of me and I would lose the strength to do anything at all! Stepping closer to the tree, trying like crazy to avoid touching it at all, one more time I drove my stick into the mud just as deep as I could. On my hands and knees, I used the stick to pull myself up. Quickly, I yanked the stick out. Reaching up higher, I repeated the process, stabbing deeply into the dirt with all my strength, still on my knees. That second step got me free of the mud and into the grass -finally! Now I just had to figure out how to make it the rest of the way up without sliding back down to the water! I guess I shouldnt be surprised at what happened next. Buried underneath all that overgrown grass was a path of sorts! Probably used by the local four legged residents to get down to the water. It wasnt even visible from where I had been standing in the water. Thanks to that path, I was back on top of the crest in less than 90 seconds. And I was muttering, Hail Mary, and Thank you Jesus all the way up! I slogged back to the car alone. My dogs had never seen me so pissed. Wisely they kept their distance. The attack on that baby raccoon was as vicious and as senseless as they come. Yeah, I know - dogs will be dogs. But what pissed me off the most was their refusal to mind me. Even as I stood in the water beating them senseless - they still tried to circumvent that tree and sneak in from behind. Heat of battle, you say? Im going to show them some heat! Just as soon as I get their mangy butts back home! Yes, I know. A full grown raccoon is dangerous and can drowned a dog. But this was a baby! And to watch all four of my dogs going after that tiny little thing just sickened me. Its been two days now and I still cant bring myself to touch those dogs. I feed them, I let them into the backyard for a couple of hours every day, but taking them out on another hike has lost all appeal to me. They were so out of control - I have no desire to inflict them on yet another hapless member of the wildlife community. I though about trying to walk them in pairs on leashes but right now Im still pretty upset. I have even considered surrendering them to the local no-kill shelter. I seriously doubt Id do that. But in the depth of my anger, I seriously considered it. For now - I can only pray for a peaceful resolution to my very troubled heart.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Oct 2013 14:45:35 +0000
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