Scott had now blacked out. Diving under the surface, Patches again found the man’s hair. Latching onto it with his solid jaw, the canine rotated and headed back toward the surface. Breaking out of the water, he regained his bearings and began to paddle toward shore. Again Patches stopped at the dock until he saw Scott reach up and grab onto the side. The dog then swam to shore, pulled himself of the water, ran out onto the pier, leaped down to the dock, and slid over to the man. The now nearly frozen furniture owner was shocked when Patches leaned forward, grabbed the back of the man’s coat collar, dug his claws into the ice, and yanked. It took several minutes for Patches to get Scott out of the water. Not satisfied to simply pull up on the deck, this time the dog kept tugging until he had the man in the middle of the floating wooden structure.
Exhausted and unable to walk, Scott rolled over onto his back and screamed for help. On a normal night at least a dozen people would have heard him and come down to investigate. But because of the cold all the windows were latched tight. After a few minutes with no response, the man took a deep breath and gave up. Among all the thoughts racing through his mind was that no one would ever realize what Patches had done that night.
The man might have given in, but the dog hadn’t. After a short rest, Patches got up and called on his malamute breeding and his collie problem solving. Grabbing Scott’s collar, the dog yanked him a foot forward. Jarred awake by the canine’s efforts, the man rolled over and used his elbows to move a foot on his own. That small movement took almost all the man’s energy. As he rested the dog yanked Scott off the dock and onto the shore. The dog was simply not going to give up until the man was safely home.
Beyond the pain from his horrific injuries, the numbing cold was starting to play with the man’s mind. It was demanding he give up. Again and again a voice inside his brain yelled at him to just let things be. After all, he was out of the water, his body would be easy to find and no one would have to risk their lives looking for him. But each moment he was about to close his eyes and check out, Patches sank his teeth into the heavy coat collar and dragged him a few more feet.
There was no path from the lake to his house. The rocks made going straight up the hill difficult even in the best of times. Tonight the large stones would have been almost impossible to manage for both a healthy man and rested beast. But somehow Patches’s stubborn spirit drove him on. Foot by foot he dragged the man higher up the steep hill. When he grew too weary to move, he laid down beside Scott to warm him. Once he’d rested a bit, he got up, faced the wind, and went back to work. Inspired by his efforts, Scott found new strength and grabbed onto the rocks to help. Together the duo slowly moved up the hill.
Back in the house, Mrs. Scott walked over to the kitchen window and glanced down toward the dock. The patrol boat was still there but there was no sign of her husband. A tinge of concern raced through her body, but she figured he had likely gone next door to see if the friendly neighbors could help him secure the craft. Besides, if anything had happened, Patches would have come home. The fact the mutt was not scratching at the door must mean that everything was all right, she thought.
Scott looked up and saw his wife at the window. He cried out to her, but the wind carried his voice away. She never heard him. And because he was dressed in dark clothes he was sure she couldn’t have seen him either. But he was now too close to give up.
Knowing that home was now within reach provided Scott and Patches with a second wind. As the man grabbed onto the rocks with more vigor, the dog now pulled more and rested less. Patches was completely exhausted when he finally made it to the grass in the family’s backyard. After grabbing the man’s coat collar a final time and managing to bring Scott another six inches closer to home, the weary canine collapsed.
The cold had numbed the pain to the point where Scott was once again drifting into unconsciousness. But he had to at least live long enough to tell the story of Patches’s courage and fortitude. Using the last bit of reasoning power he could muster, he grabbed a rock and heaved it toward the back of the house. The pebble hit the kitchen window just as his wife walked by. This time, when she looked outside, she spotted Scott in the yard. A few moments later she was by his side. After dragging him out of the cold, she called an ambulance. Worried about her husband, unable to comprehend his injuries, she ignored the dog that had literally saved the man’s life three times in the past hour. She had no idea the only reason Scott was alive was because the wet, smelly canine now resting in the living room had brought him home.
At Tacoma General Hospital, Marvin Scott’s injuries were assessed. His legs were in horrible shape. The doctors didn’t even know if he would ever be able to walk again. But for the moment that was the least of the problems. Scott was suffering from hypothermia and frostbite. Because of the water he had ingested during his period in the lake, his lungs were damaged as well. Within hours the doctors’ worst fears were realized as he developed pneumonia.
With infections raging through his body and medications masking his excruciating pain, Scott was out of his head for days. Hovering on the edge between life and death he would spend Christmas and New Year’s in the hospital. Meanwhile, back at home, Patches, unaware of what had happened to his master, anxiously waited for him to come home. And finally, after several major surgeries and twenty-seven days in the hospital, Scott did come home. It was only then that family and friends were made fully aware of Patches’s life-saving efforts.
The dog stayed by the man’s side as he recovered, but it would be six months before Scott was able to use two canes and walk back to the dock. Beside him each step of the way was the dog that wouldn’t let him die.
In the annals of canine history there have been thousands of dogs that have saved people’s lives. Some of the famous names lionized in dog lore include Balto, Tang, Duke, Ringo, and Bear. Still, for many dog lovers, there is one dog that, due to his incredible determination, devotion, and fortitude, stands head and shoulders above the rest. At a time when America’s fiber was being rocked by insecurity and changed, when faith and hope were rare, in one hour, with no hesitation or concern for his own welfare, Patches proved his heroic nature three times. If there was a canine Medal of Honor, this dog’s image should be on it and if there was a dog that defined the essence of the American spirit and will to survive even the toughest times, it was this collie/malamute mutt. When the country needed a hero, Patches answered the call.
3. Determination
determination
exceeding every expectation
The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man’s determination.
—Tommy Lasorda
It would be World War II before the United States military began to train dogs for active duty. During that era dogs drafted into service were almost always German shepherds. Reflecting the qualities of canine movie heroes Strongheart and Rin Tin Tin, the large, powerful, athletic, singular-minded, and determined breed was the poster boy of dog heroism. The connection with the military was so strong that in 1942 when Uncle Sam said, “I want you,” he was usually pointing to a German shepherd.
Yet, in World War I, long before the army or marines had even considered using dogs in combat, a fifteen-pound, stubby-tailed, black, brindle, and seal-colored Boston terrier charmed his way into the hearts of new recruits. He was nothing like the dogs used in later wars, but this fiery little mutt proved that it was not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog that mattered in life and in the army. He was an unlikely hero, but in military annals this diminutive mutt has no rivals.
Nothing is known of Stubby’s first months of life, but there is little doubt that he was lost or abandoned when still a very small pup. Pugnacious, cute, but in a very ugly sort of way, in his build and appearance he was very likely a purebred Boston terrier. As the breed was very popular on the east coast in the first few