Creature Comfort

My friend Adrienne stood in the middle of her driveway, her face frozen somewhere between panic and a grimace.

“I came as fast as I could,” I said as I jumped out of my small white pickup truck to join her on the driveway. “Tell me what happened,” I said, pulling her into a shadier spot under a tree whose leaves had already succumbed to their gorgeous fall splendor.

Wiping a tear from the corner of her eye she faced me and grabbed my hands. “You have to find him!”

“Find who?”

“Jasper. He’s gone.” She sniffed, then continued. “My dad took us on one last trip to the lake, you know, before it closed for the season, and Jasper took off barking and chasing something. We couldn’t find him before we had to head home.”

“You want me to try to find him?” I must have looked as incredulous as I sounded.

“If anyone can do it, it’s you. I mean you trap strays all the time in your animal rescue work, don’t you?”

“True,” I said, “but the strays aren’t usually lost in a recreation area with close access to a national forest. It’s one thing to lure a dog from behind a dumpster, but Jasper could be anywhere by now. I mean, how long has he been gone at this point?”

“About sixteen hours,” she replied. Her desperate grip on my hands tightened. “Judy, please! You know all the tricks. And you can take Gracie with you. Jasper loves other dogs, so maybe it would attract him.” She paused a beat and then said, “I’ll pay you for your trouble.”

I squeezed her hands gently then extricated them from her grip. “You don’t need to pay me. Of course, I’ll help you find Jasper.”

Adrienne grabbed me in a sturdy hug, and seconds later was shooing me back to my truck. “That’s great!” she said, opening the driver side door for me. “Next time I see your truck pull up, I just know I’ll see Jasper hanging out the window beside you!”

I was flattered that she had so much confidence in me, but a pit of anxiety had formed in my stomach. As I backed out of her driveway and headed home to pick up Gracie and a humane dog trap, I felt anything but optimistic. The odds weren’t in my favor.

***

As I approached the lake, I wanted to check in with Adrienne, but cell service was always spotty around here and right now I had zero bars. I stuck my useless phone in the glove compartment and let Gracie out of the truck. It was off-season, so I’d had to purchase a seasonal day use pass. But could I really find Jasper in a single day? I didn’t even have a solid plan, other than using Gracie and some chopped up steak bits as bait. Since Jasper had been chasing something, he could be well into the vast surrounding forest by now.

I walked through the campground where Jasper had last been seen, holding out hope that he had returned to wait for his family. “Jasper,” I called over and over, but the fluttering breeze brought no dog sounds in return.

Gracie started pulling me toward a picnic table, and greedily hoovered up some food morsels from the ground before I could stop her. Gracie was a beautiful golden retriever with a mind like a sieve – retaining her own desires and letting all training pass through unlearned. She was originally destined to be a service dog for a veteran, but her willful ways landed her up for adoption. In two years, I’d had no better luck at training her. But her sweet and goofy personality captured my heart and now she was family. My only family.

I tugged at her collar and eventually she agreed to follow my lead toward the shore of the lake. With the lure of fish and birds, it was possible Jasper had wandered back there to find food.

Gracie lunged toward the water, but I grabbed her collar again. “We aren’t here to swim,” I told her as if she understood human words. But I did take a moment to stare into the water to think up my next move.

And that’s when I noticed something strange.

The surface of the water jiggled, then jiggled again. I thought of that scene from Jurassic Park when the people know a dinosaur is approaching from the water vibrating in a plastic cup. A chill ran up my spine and I looked around. Everything had gone quiet, just like a predator was approaching. No birds quacking or chirping. No voices carried on the breeze. I looked down at Gracie and her ears were perked up, listening, but her tail was down as if she was scared.

A distant bark cut through the silence, then I could feel the ground vibrate slightly under my feet, disturbing the water again. And then it just stopped. The birds resumed their calls and nature seemed at peace again.

But I wasn’t.

***

Wondering if we’d just had a minor earthquake, I focused on the obvious win: I had definitely heard a bark. I knew I needed to follow it, but I felt uneasy. As I entered the wooded surrounds, I wondered if Gracie would protect me. I didn’t even know from what. After all, not many people were out here in the off-season, and as for wild animals, the area had some black bears and bobcats but seeing deer was more likely.

But the hair on my arms had stood up just moments before, and I tended to trust my gut. I felt down to the fanny pack around my waist where I had stashed a single syringe filled with a tranquilizing sedative. It was meant for an unruly dog but better protection than nothing. I paused for a moment to take a deep, steadying breath but it came out quick and ragged.

I just wanted to find Jasper and get out of here, so I started to jog toward where I had heard the bark. Gracie loved running and she followed willingly as we made our way into the forest. The afternoon sun highlighted the brilliance of the gold and red trees, but I had my eyes level and focused as I strained to hear another canine clue.

I heard another bark, closer this time and continued on until an unbelievable sight stopped me in my tracks. Ahead of me, sitting on a downed tree was a large creature, covered completely in hair that could have once been white but appeared a dirty beige, and unmistakable giant feet. In its arms he cradled a beagle. Jasper!

Despite every cell in my body telling me this was impossible, I had to trust my gut – and my eyes - again. I was staring at Bigfoot. And the way he was holding Jasper was reminiscent of photos I’d seen on the internet of Koko the gorilla comforting her pet kitten. It almost seemed like the giant creature was comforting Jasper.

They were so consumed with each other that neither had yet noticed me until Gracie noticed Jasper and let out an excited yap.

Bigfoot looked up at us and let out a grunt that almost sounded like, “huh?” The creature’s surprise gave Jasper an opportunity to escape its grip, and the dog jumped to the ground, barking and running toward Gracie. As it stood up to its full height, Bigfoot’s demeaner changed from one of relaxation to agitation. It pointed at Jasper and then at itself, possibly signaling to me that it intended to keep the dog.

My hand was shaking as I reached into my bag. I had only one trick available to me: distract him with food and get close enough to use the sedative. If that didn’t work, I’d either have to abandon Jasper to the Bigfoot or stand my ground for a fight I couldn’t win. I removed the bag of chopped steak and threw a couple pieces at Bigfoot. He looked more annoyed than curious or hungry, but the dogs didn’t miss a beat and ran for the food.

“Damn,” I muttered, feeling helpless.

Bigfoot watched the dogs and then pointed at them and himself again. Apparently, he wanted both dogs to himself now. But there was no way I was abandoning Gracie to Bigfoot. I stood up tall and set myself in a wide stance, indicating my willingness to fight for my dog.

“Gracie!” I said. “Come!” Even in life or death, my dog ignored me.

Bigfoot growled, and stomped his foot, the earth shaking under its hulking weight. I might be about to die, I thought. But that’s when Gracie approached the beast with a pinecone in her mouth. She dropped the prize at Bigfoot’s feet, which made it hesitate. It turned its gaze to the ground and stooped to pick up Gracie’s offering. Then, just like a human, it tossed the pinecone and watched as Gracie ran to retrieve it.

I didn’t hesitate. While its head was turned, I ran up behind it, stuck the sedative needle into his bum and immediately hightailed it away. Bigfoot let out a tremendous growl and whipped around to find me. I was already running a wide circle around the area, enticing Bigfoot to chase me. The movement would make the sedative work faster.

Sure enough, in a few seconds its movements slowed, and then it sat and eventually slumped forward.

Truthfully, I hadn’t expected the creature to fall so easily but it was another win. I called the dogs to me, and for once in her life, Gracie came to me with Jasper chasing behind. I clipped leashes on both dogs and ran back to my truck. I stuck the dogs in the cab and grabbed my phone out of the glove compartment.

It occurred to me that of all the people that claim to have seen Bigfoot, no one had ever successfully captured a picture. With Bigfoot sedated, I could be that person. The photo would make me famous and probably earn me lots of money that I could put back into my dog rescue work. I didn’t know how long the sedative would work, so I knew it was a risk, but I decided to take it.

I jogged back to where my encounter with Bigfoot had occurred, but the creature was no longer where it had fallen. My spine tingled with fear. If it woke and found the dogs gone, it might have vengeance in its heart. I started to back away from the spot and my foot caught in something. Losing my balance, I fell. I looked to see what I’d tripped on and noticed an oversized footprint impression in the ground. It was still warm.

I rushed to stand, but the earth began to shake, like a herd of animals running at something, and I lost my balance again. Were there more Bigfoots? Were they coming for me? I didn’t want a picture that badly. Again, I rose and, with no courage to look back, ran faster than I’d ever run in my life.

I reached my truck in record time, fumbling with the keys in my shaking hands. I started to drive, and Jasper, facing the back window, started to bark. Was he warning me or was he saying goodbye to his friend?

I’d never know.