Mountain Dog Read Online Free PDF Page B

be trusted
    to stay at base camp.
    This time, the subject of the search
    is a sad old man
    who drove uphill,
    far away from his room
    in a nursing home.
    He parked at a wilderness trailhead
    and started walking away from his life.
    A couple of Italian thru-hikers saw him
    when he got out of his car,
    so the driver’s-side seat
    is the place last seen.
    Gabe is on a long leash, working
    as a trailing dog. He sniffs the dusty
    upholstery, inhaling the old man’s
    hospital scent, a mixture
    of skin, soap, and medicine,
    along with invisible clues
    that only a dog’s nose can detect—
    adrenaline from excitement or fear,
    and probably all sorts
    of mysterious chemicals
    produced by loneliness
    and confusion.
    Gabe matches the smell on the seat
    to the only footprints
    on this rugged trail
    that were made by soft
    bedroom slippers
    instead of steel-toed
    hiking boots.
    I’ve learned to wait.
    Hiding in the woods has made me
    patient. Visiting Mom has helped me
    want to help others—the people who
    are willing to be helped.
    I know I can be useful to Tío
    by obeying his command to stay
    at base camp, which, as usual,
    is a sheriff’s van and a table where B.B.
    is in charge of deciding which
    dog teams, horse teams, ATVs,
    and ground pounders
    will search the areas
    not covered by Gabe.
    Gracie chatters, but I hardly listen,
    because I’m trying so hard
    to imagine what it must be like
    for Tío
    out there
    in the forest
    where the old man
    is lost.
    Where does he find
    his Rescue Beast courage?
    When I’m his age, will I know
    how to search?
    I wait for hours.
    By the time Gabe finds the old man,
    he’s hungry, dehydrated, weak,
    and grateful.
    He thought he wanted to die
    alone in the woods, but now he’s glad
    to be alive and surrounded
    by people who care.
    I’m happy for him, but I’m also
    happy for myself. In a small, quiet,
    satisfying way, by hiding out in the woods
    during training, I helped teach SAR dogs
    how to save lives.
    I also proved that I’m trustworthy.
    Tío ruffles my hair with his hand,
    and I grin when I imagine
    that if Gabe could praise me,
    he would probably shout,
    Good human!
    Instead, he rewards me
    with a ball-chasing game
    and the warm, brown
    roundness
    of his wise, happy
    dog eyes.

 
    16
    GABE THE DOG
    SNIFFING SCHOOL
    I search for the sad-scented old man.
    I find him.
    I win!
    Now Tony wants to learn all my search games, so I show him how my Leo teaches agility—
    crawl through tunnels
    climb up ladders
    leap onto a seesaw

    while

    it

    moves
    balance on a long, narrow beam      don’t fall but
    if you do tumble    don’t  be  afraid    to  try  again
    and     again     and     again.
    I can teach obedience, too:
    Come! Sit! Stay! Down! Heel (always on the left).
    I also share what I know about NO.
    NO chasing squirrels.
    NO chasing rabbits.
    NO chasing deer.
    NO chewing boots.
    Finally, I teach Tony to see how I get along
    with other dogs, and I’m not afraid to jump
    right into a roaring, whirling HELO, the helicopter
    that takes me to other mountains
    for faraway search games …
    and when I’m through teaching
    all that I know
    about work-play
    it’s time to show the boy
    how we can both
    lie down and curl up
    and rest.

 
    17
    TONY THE BOY
    INSECT MATH
    There are so many ways
    to get lost. Each search is a surprise.
    One day, an experienced outdoorsman
    goes hiking alone, and when he doesn’t
    come home, his wife calls 911,
    and the sheriff calls Tío.
    By the time Gabe finds him,
    he’s feverish, his legs broken
    and infected from a fall.
    The next week, a teenage girl
    separates from her friends,
    promising to meet them
    at the far edge
    of a rocky slope.
    She’s hiking with flip-flops
    instead of boots.
    A tank top and shorts.
    No jacket, no warmth.
    She suffers hours