The Dog, the Squirrel, the Mom and the Mountain

 

Dogs don’t climb mountains; we are more intelligent than that. But dogs are also reactive. And that is how a dog named Blue climbed Everest.

He lived in Nepal, in the shadow of the great mountain, when he saw a squirrel in his garden. The little pest had been laying waste to the flowers that Blue’s mom had struggled to make bloom, and Blue had sworn revenge.

Blue was sitting on his deck, with a fence surrounding it, so he could not escape, which he usually wouldn’t have done until this became a song of revenge.

Blue recognized the squirrel and gave chase. The tiny rodent climbed to the top of the fence and ran off; Blue surprised himself by jumping over it. His horrified mother, who doted on her special boy, saw Blue jump the wall, called his name, and ran outside in time to see him running down the road. She got in her car and followed.

The squirrel could have run up a tree and escaped, but after seeing Blue clear the fence, he feared the dog would follow him and enjoy a mid-branch squirrel munch.

But there was one place no dog would go, and it was less than a half mile away: Everest! The squirrel had lost pursuers there before.

But, Blue was determined, and when he reached the mountain base and saw the squirrel climb, he was not deterred and followed, as did his frantic mom.

The squirrel could not believe the dog wouldn’t stop, so he reached down into his gut and found needed reserve, as did Blue and his trailing mom.

They passed other climbers and their base camps until the trio realized they had nearly scaled the mountain. They sat next to each other. The pursuit had ended; now, they needed to survive.

The mother picked up the squirrel and put it in her too-thin jacket so at least it would be warm. She called Blue to follow, but he was looking at the peak and smiling. Then he took off running to the top. His mother called for him and then followed.

She didn’t stop until she saw Blue looking back at her, and she understood. She put the squirrel on the ground, and the three of them summited at the same time and rejoiced,  The mom took a selfie with China in the background, and then the happy trio walked down the mountain holding hands and paws.

Now they are back home. The squirrel lives happily in the garden, where he is welcome, and Blue had promised never to jump the fence again or climb a mountain.  

To make sure his mother had installed a ten-foot fence.