My Best Friend And Hero

My Best Friend and Hero

         I swear, Sasha will always be my absolute best friend and hero after that day.  There is nothing that anyone else could do to replace her.  Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot the introductions.  My name is Katrina Starr, Katie for short, and Sasha is my five year old Bernese mountain dog.  I know what you must be thinking. ‘How can a dog be your hero and best friend?’ Well, I will tell you.
         It had been a typical September that year, not cold enough to be winter yet, but not hot enough to still be summer.  After begging and pleading with my supervisor at the gas station I slaved away at, he finally let me have a weekend off.  I desperately needed some time to myself, as I had not had a vacation in almost five years.  Once I got home that night, after greeting Sasha and letting her out to do her business, I called my cousin Jason to see if I could use his lakeside cabin for my retreat.  He agreed, so I packed a duffel bag with the necessities, clothes, toothbrush and toothpaste, et cetera. 
         I shoved the bag into the back of my Ford Windstar, got Sasha settled in the back seat, and started the two and a half hour drive to the lake.  Even though the trip took forever, I rather enjoyed the scenery.  Beautiful, tall, pines and oaks as far as the eye could see.  An occasional deer could be seen standing at the edge of the road.  Sasha seemed to be having fun also.  I glanced over at her, her head sticking out the window, ears blowing in the wind and tongue hanging out.  As I got closer to the lake, I could see the reflection of the hills in the still water.  Finally, as I rounded a bend at the southeast corner of the lake, the cabin came into view.
         It was your typical log cabin looking structure, several trees cut and stacked together in a precise pattern.  There were cutouts here and there for windows.  Moss was growing in patches around the whole house.  It had been so long since I had come up here, I had almost forgotten how tranquil this area truly was. 
         I pulled the minivan up to the front of the cabin, and let Sasha out.  She immediately ran to the nearest tree to relieve herself after the long drive, and then started to explore the grounds.  I walked up to the planter to the left of the door, and felt around in the dirt.  Finding the key Jason left, I unlocked the door and went in.  The old familiar smell of the wood building wafted up my nostrils and memories of the many summers I spent up here with my parents flooded my mind. 
         After setting my bag on the bed, I went back outside to check on Sasha.  I called for her to come, and a few seconds later, saw her chasing a rabbit along the shoreline.  I called her again, and she stopped dead in her tracks, turned, and calmly strolled to my side on the porch.
         We sat on the porch swing and watched the sun set over the hills in the distance.  The brilliant colors danced across both sky and water.  Once it got dark, we went into the house where I lit a fire in the fireplace, and sat down with a glass of chardonnay.  Sasha curled up at my feet and fell asleep.  Soon after, I joined her in the dream realm.
         The next morning, I awoke to the sounds of nature.  The gentle swooshing of waves in the lake coming ashore, birds singing in seemingly immaculate chorus, the rustling of the leaves in the trees as the breeze softly drifted through them.  I wrapped my blanket around me, got out of bed, and found Sasha waiting by the door to be let out.  I opened the door, and the soft light of the early morning sunrise played across the cabin floor.  Stepping out onto the porch, I took in all the beauty. 
         Suddenly, I heard Sasha start barking.  I called out to her to come to me, but, she kept barking.  Warily, I started off in the direction she had headed.  A few hundred yards away I spotted her.  She was standing in an aggressive style stance, the hair on her back raised up.  She stared off to my right, so I looked to see what had her all ruffled.  What I saw was the biggest mountain lion in existence staring right back at her, growling menacingly.  I called Sasha again, trying to get her away from the cat, but to no avail.  Then I noticed the cat was now looking at me.  I froze in terror, staring at its eyes, as they glowed with sheer evil, as Sasha started advancing slowly toward the beast.  I yelled for Sasha to come with me and started to run back to the cabin.  I was praying that I’d make it to the door, but suddenly I was knocked to the ground.  The mountain lion had leapt onto my back, and was now digging its claws into me.  The pain was unbearable as the cat tore my back to shreds.  I could feel the giant felines teeth sink into my neck, and I tried to scream to scare it, but couldn’t make any sound.  Seconds felt like hours as it continued its relentless assault.  Then, just as I was coming to the realization that I was going to die, the pressure on my back released, and the biting and clawing stopped.
         I lay there for a few seconds, sure that I was dead.  But I could still hear the growling and barking from Sasha and my assailant.  I painfully turned my head to see that Sasha had knocked the cat off of me, and was now squared off with it.  I tried to call for her, but, as I found out later, my throat had been pierced and crushed by the cat’s powerful jaws, and I was unable to speak.  Breathing was also very difficult, and I was beginning to feel faint.  I watched in horror as the cat pounced toward Sasha.  They both fell to the ground with the impact, but Sasha never backed down.  As the mountain lion tried to subdue Sasha, she managed to get one of the cat’s legs into her mouth.  When the cat jumped back a little with surprise and pain, Sasha went after it.  She lunged and grabbed the cat by its throat.  The cat in return swiped one of its paws at her, clawing her face and cutting her right eye.  With a swift jerk, Sasha leapt backward, tearing and removing the cat’s throat. 
         The feline dropped to the ground in a lifeless lump, and Sasha cautiously approached and sniffed at the carcass.  Satisfied that it was no longer a threat, she came to my side, limping and bleeding.  I reached up for her, and she nuzzled my hand.  I tried to crawl toward the cabin to call for help, but couldn’t move my legs.  Sensing my distress, Sasha stood up and grabbed a hold of the blanket, still wrapped around me somehow, and started to drag me toward the house.  I helped as much as I could, grabbing at the ground and pulling.  The pain in my back and neck was agonizing, and I couldn’t feel my legs at all.  It was so hard to breathe, my field of vision had started to go black, and I was ready to die.  But Sasha wouldn’t give up, giving me a faint glimmer of hope, so I continued to fight for my life.  After an eternity of pulling and dragging, we reached the porch steps. 
         Together, we struggled and fought to get up the steps.  We finally made it into the house, next to the couch where the house phone sat on the end table.  I strained my eyes to see the buttons, and managed to dial 911.  The emergency operator answered with the standard “911, what is your emergency?” response.  I struggled to say anything, but only managed a stifled groan.  Then, the world faded to black as the shock set in, and I fell into unconsciousness.
         I awoke several days later lying in a hospital bed.  I had undergone surgery to repair my trachea, punctured lung, pierced liver, dislocated spinal cord, crushed esophagus and multiple lacerations.  One of the nurses walked by the door to the room, and noticed I was awake.  She called for the on duty doctor, and he came into the room.  He explained that when the 911 operator couldn’t get a response from me, she had dispatched a police officer to my location.  He arrived and found me unconscious on the floor, covered in blood.  Sasha was lying by my side, whimpering.  I was brought to the hospital, and Sasha had been taken to a veterinarian for her wounds. 
         A few weeks later, I had recovered enough that I was released.  I called the vet office that Sasha had been taken to, and was informed that after she recovered, she was moved to the local animal shelter, where she was waiting for me to pick her up.  I went to the shelter, and explained what had happened.  One of the staff members took me to the back, where Sasha was in a four foot by four foot cage.  Once she saw me, she started barking and wagging her tail feverishly.  The assistant opened the cage door, and I embraced Sasha in a loving hug.  I completed the necessary paperwork and we went home.  The next day, I received a phone call from one of the local newspapers, who wanted to do an article about my experience.  A couple of days later, a reporter arrived and listened to my story, taking notes.  Then, he snapped a picture of Sasha and I, and left.  The next day, our story was on the front page, with the picture.  That was two years ago, and I still have a copy of that paper, framed and hanging above my entertainment center for everyone to see.  As long as I live, I will never forget that day, or how my best friend saved my life. 


         I love you Sasha.