My Hairy Hero

I’ll never forget the first day I met my best friend. It was a freezing cold winter night. Momma entered the house with a large cardboard box. I could hear faint cries and tiny paws scurrying around inside the box. Momma strolled over to me and lowered the box for me to see. It was like love at first sight when the pup and I made eye contact. He was a baby pit bull with a gold Cuban link chain around his neck. I immediately named him Scooby because of my love for the cartoon, and the sub-species.

Scooby and I did everything together. He would walk with me to school to ensure a safe arrival, then walk back home and await my return. Once I got back, we’d play frisbee, fetch, freeze tag, and countless other games. Fridays were the best days! This day was dedicated to swimming, long runs, learning new tricks, racing, et cetera. I was at a spot in my life where happiness would overpower every emotion. Everything was going perfect, but one day, everything changed.

I’ll never forget the day I lost my best friend. It was a hot, sunny Friday. The weather was perfect, and it felt like nothing could go wrong. I walked Scooby along the beach, and he splashed everywhere. My leash was in one hand, and a huge burger in the next. Momma watched us from the sand a few feet away. The crystal-clear seas enticed me to take a swim, so I did just that. After walking Scooby back to my mom, I quickly swallowed down the rest of the burger and started to take off my clothes.

“You should wait a few minutes son,” Momma said. “Let your food digest first. You don’t want to catch a cramp.”

I chuckled as I tossed my shirt onto her lap.

“I’ll be fine,” I responded with a chuckle.

I dashed to the water and dove below the surface. A school of fish slowly passed my feet and tickled it. I dove beneath again and swam out to the deep with the fish. I felt so alive. Scooby laid in the sand and watched me while Momma laid back and got a tan. The water felt good, but who knew that it would be bad, too?

As I continued to follow the fish below the surface, the unthinkable happened. My right hamstring began to tighten up. Before I could elevate to the top, my right leg locked up. I let out a loud scream, but it was completely muffled by the sea water. Gallons of water escaped into my mouth and down my throat. I was nowhere in sight, but somehow Scooby’s intuition told him that something was wrong. He began to cry softly as he scanned the seas for my head to break the water’s surface. In no time, his cry became louder. He was tied to the fence and began to pull with all his might. Finally, the leash popped, and he bolted into the water to find me. Momma leaned up and looked, still unaware of my dire need of oxygen.

Scooby swam into the deep in search of me, but I was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, the urge to live overcame me and I fought my way to the top, a few feet from Scooby. He cried as he swam toward me. Still panicking, I splashed and screamed. That was enough to get Momma’s attention. She looked out to sea and saw the situation. In no time, her former lifeguard experience kicked in. She rose from the sand, tanned and all, and dashed to help save me.

Scooby reached me and it calmed me just a bit, but I was still sinking. He bit my and tried to pull me, but it didn’t work. Then he turned around – it was almost like he wanted me to jump on his back… so I did. Scooby began to swim toward a fast-swimming Momma. Once she reached us, she relieved Scooby of his duties and took me from him. She swam with me back to shore and I gradually became calmer. Scooby swam behind us, and his cries softened, too. Or did it?

When I looked back, my heart dropped. I can feel my heart breaking as I watched Scooby struggle to stay afloat. He drove himself to exhaustion trying to save my life. Without a second thought, I jumped out of Momma’s hands and tried to swim to Scooby, but I started to drown again. Momma grabbed me and pulled me to shore as I watched Scooby disappear beneath the water.

“Come on son,” Momma screamed. “It’s you or him!”

Scooby came back up again and tried to doggy paddle to shore, but to no avail. We locked eyes one last time and he disappeared from my sights forever.

I sobbed uncontrollably as we approached the shore. It was almost like I forgot I had a huge cramp in my leg. All I kept thinking about was the look in Scooby’s eyes as he struggled. I’ve never had an animal care about me so much that he’d die for me. Since that day, I haven’t bonded with another animal. There’ll always be an empty void in my heart with Scooby’s name on it. He will always be my hero; I just wish that wasn’t our last memory.