The Adventures at the Russian River

Dedicated to Fairest, a wonderful dog that I consider myself lucky to have known.

I looked around me and saw my dog jumping wildly at my window. Wow how is Fairest jumping up to my second story window? Then I watched her begin to fall and right as she started her descent I woke up with a sweat that had broken out over my body and looked at the foot of my bed. It was dark so I turned on my Ipod alarm clock for a little light. The clock cast an eerie light across my beautiful brown bedspread and I looked at the ground and there on her bed was my dog. She was almost thirteen years old which is amazing for a guide dog. I began to think about the next day since I had woken up. I remembered that we were leaving for the Russian River Resorts tomorrow and excitedly went back to sleep so I would be well rested for the next day.

            The playing of my favorite song (Better Half) woke me up in the morning at nine O’clock I slowly reached over to turn it off and then lay in bed for a little while trying to decide what I was going to wear in the car ride there. We lived in Berkeley and the drive was supposed to be about two hours but I knew the traffic would be horrible. I slowly got out of bed wishing I hadn’t woken up in the middle of the night so it would have been a better nights rest. I moved my legs over to the side of the bed and stood up. “Wow the floor is cold this morning why do we have to have wooden floors.”

            I walked out of my room and into the breakfast nook to eat with my family. My mom and dad said in harmony,

“Good morning Isabel”

            “‘Morning mom, morning pop, how did you all sleep?”

            “I slept very well” they replied at separate times.

            “Well that’s good to hear.”  “Morning Victor how did you sleep?”

            Victor is a tall and strong fellow who just got out of college and is excited to go on a trip with us again. He is my brother and I was always really close to him, I had a hard time accepting the day he went to college. “I slept very well” said Victor with a big smile on his face.

            I looked at the cherry wood table to see what was for breakfast; I saw banana nut pancakes, bacon, and a fresh squeezed glass of orange juice in front of my seat. My mouth began to water as I thought about eating the wonderful smelling and looking food. I took my seat and my favorite part of the newspaper and we all began eating. I couldn’t even read the paper because I couldn’t help but think about the day to come. I said “Is anyone else excited about today?” Right as I said this I saw Fairest walk into the room and she was wagging her tail profusely as if to say that she was also excited about going.

            “Yes we’ve all been looking forward to if for quite some time” answered her mom for all of them.

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             We were all in the car and ready to go. We had all of our things packed and on top of the van. Fairest jumped into the back and off we went. The drive was very smooth for a while and then we hit traffic. We were supposed to get there in about two and a half hours with traffic but we hit a huge bottle neck on the highway and it took us over four hours to get there. When we finally arrived at the house we were renting. I had fallen asleep in the car on the way and had another weird dream. This time it also had Fairest in it. I was out in the river fishing with pop and Fairest jumped in to be with me. When she decided she was done with the river she couldn’t get out of it and we had to help her onto the bank.

            The house was beautiful, four bedrooms, two kitchens, two bathrooms, two living rooms, and last and maybe most important of all a hot tub. I put my bags in my room and decided to take a look around the house and outside. The inside of the house was beautiful. It had hard wood floors in most rooms and vaulted ceilings. I went outside and Fairest was eager to come with me. We went down into the woods and started to walk to the river. Being towards the end of the summer it was a wonderful California day. The sun was out and shinning while the birds were chirping, we finally made it down to the river and it was emerald green where it was shallow and royal blue where it was deep. The fish were jumping out of the water trying to catch the bugs hovering above. I watched in amazement. I was mesmerized as a blue crane swooped down into the water and grabbed a fish. I heard a huge splash and my concentration was lost.

            I looked at the water wondering what kind of fish could have made a noise that loud and realized that Fairest had decided to go for a swim. I didn’t realize she was going to do this because when I had began staring at the river she was sniffing around contently. I watched wondering how in the world a thirteen-year-old dog could still jump into the river and swim. I then began to think about why she could. She was guide dog for the blind breeder. She had gone through extensive training (and so had I and my family to get her) before she was allowed to be a guide dog breeder. That makes sense, she has always been in wonderful shape. She swam around for almost half an hour and then came back to the bank and began trying to get out of the water. I watched for a little bit and then she began to whimper, she couldn’t get out. Usually Victor would have just taken his shoes off and gone in and picked her up but he was in the house helping with dinner. I began to take my shoes off and when I finished I stepped into the water. It was very cold at first and then I realize that she couldn’t get up the bank because its very loose dirt and was extremely hard to climb. I picked her up and tried to walk up the bank but I couldn’t do it. I put her down for a second and then realized that the current was pretty strong. The Russian River runs out to the ocean so it has a swift tug at my legs. I see a low spot in the bank and I decide to go over to it. I call to Fairest and we began to make our way over to the low spot. The current gets stronger all the time and I slip and fall on a moss covered stone. I go under water. Oh my god what do I do now?! I haven’t closed my eyes and I see that Fairest has been taken under with me I began to fight the current and I turned and all I saw was a huge log directly in front of me. Blackness.

*          *          *         *          *

            I regained consciousness and began to look around me. I realize that I’ve been stranded on an island off the coast a little ways and that there was absolutely no way off. Upon further inspection I realize that Fairest isn’t with me. I begin to search the island for my beloved companion.

            “Faaaiirrrreeessstt, FAIREST”     

            “Come ‘ere Fairest!”

            Where could she be?What if something happened to her I don’t know what I would do without her.

            “FAIREST, COME GIRL” ouch

            I now realize that I’ve been walking around the island barefoot as I lost my shoes in the current. I look down at my feet and realize that I’ve stepped on a large thorn that sticks into my foot. I then notice that I have cuts, scrapes, scratches, bruises, and lacerations all over my legs and arms. Of course it hurts a lot more now that I’ve noticed them. Tears begin to well up in my eyes but I’m not sure whether its because my whole body hurts or if its because I can’t find Fairest.

            “FAIREST”

            With this call I hear a slight whimper. I wonder where its coming from I then see my greatest companion laying on the ground about fifteen feet ahead of me dragging herself inland. I run to her side and begin to check her body for any injuries. She whimpers again as I touch her back legs. Upon further examination I realize that they are probably broken and she most likely can’t walk. So I’m going to have to get Fairest and myself off of this island. I pick her up and begin to forage inland and find a large piece of flint.

            I gather up the things I need to make a fire and pull my Swiss Army Knife out which I never leave my house without and pull out the piece of iron it has built in I begin to strike the flint with the iron until I get the fire started and then I begin to smother the fire with my shirt. I lift my shirt after about five seconds and send up a large puff of smoke into the sky. I don’t know anything about smoke signals but I’ve most certainly seen this technique in movies many times. I do this for about twenty minutes until someone finds me and I tell them my situation. They help me get off of the island and back home. My family is very relived to know that Fairest and I are safe. We all get into the car and I go to the doctor. They say that in time I’ll be okay but that I need to get a tetanus shot just to be on the safe side.

            We take Fairest to the veterinary clinic on the way home. Since she was a guide dog breeder she gets all of her care for free. We take her to the doctor that has always taken care of her and he says that her legs appear to be okay and if she had been injured, it had probably just been a muscle contusion.  He then goes on to say that they should do further testing to make sure that she doesn’t have any internal damages, due to the tossing and turning in the water. We all agree that this is an appropriate precaution to take after what we had both been through.

                                                            Hours pass by without a word and then he walks out

            “I’ve got some bad news for you” he says

            my mom immediately asks, “What is it?”

            “I’m afraid it appears that Fairest has cancer.” He walks over to us and shows us something in a bag, he explains that this is part of the cancerous mass that is in her body. I look down into the bag and there it is, a huge brown mass. My life comes to a halting crash as I realize what an important part of my life Fairest is. I break down into tears as I wonder what is to come next.