A Tale Of Dedication

• Thanh Nguyen, Grade 5D
• Short Story
• 2016

Joe was a total mess. His clothes were covered in mud and hanging off his back. He could not remember what had happened to him and had no recollection of falling down a deep gully while trying to find a suitable fishing spot along the river.

He was unconscious for many hours and on waking, discovered two dogs sitting by his side. At first, Joe thought that the dogs were savage. However, when one of the dogs started licking the blood from a cut on the back of his hand, Joe knew that the dogs were good-natured and concerned for his welfare.

It was turning dark and gloomy, and the dogs had led him to an old, abandoned shed containing a bench seat from a car. Joe fell asleep on this uncomfortable seat, while the dogs stayed by his side. Overnight Joe's condition worsened. He was not able to stand on his own two feet and felt delusional, but the dogs kept on staying with him. Next morning, one of the dogs disappeared while the other continued watching Joe.

The dog that left went immediately home to his owner who was a medical doctor. This doctor was anxious the whole night when his dogs were not able to be found. On seeing his owner, the dog barked in a distressful tone, alerting the doctor that his other dog may be in peril. Following the guide of his dog, the owner was taken directly to Joe, who was still being supported by his other dog.

The doctor could see that Joe was in a bad way and needed to have an emergency operation within minutes if his life was to be saved. There was no time to wait for an ambulance, so the doctor inserted a tube into Joe's lungs which helped Joe's respiratory system so that he could wait for an ambulance to come. Ultimately, the ambulance arrived and bolted Joe to the hospital.

On recovery, Joe desired to guerdon the dogs for assisting to save his life. Joe determined that because dogs saved his life, he was going to aid dogs that were homeless or in a necessity of help. He established an organization dedicated to all dogs living in his community. Locals from his community started to help Joe with his organization, not long after that, he started to get help from lots of people all over Australia.