Sako

The following took place in British Columbia, Canada

Joseph Garcia owes his life to a dog called Sako. It’s a debt that he can never repay, and he will almost certainly outlive his saviour, but while Sako lives, the two will enjoy a relationship that few will experience.

There were 4 adults and a dog in the vehicle; in one of those quirks of fate, destiny would dictate that only one adult and the dog would survive the trip.

On the return journey from a day out that included fishing and picking potatoes, Joseph was in the car when it left the road and rolled down an embankment. Sadly, Joseph’s aunt, cousin and a family friend didn’t survive the accident, and for Joseph it was the start of a 40-hour nightmare. Having cheated death once, he was to face death a second time, and if the first one wasn’t bad enough, the second one was truly horrifying.

Joseph was asleep at the time, and as the car rolled, he woke and then remembered blacking out; when he woke up again, he discovered that both he and Sako had been thrown clear and had survived. Unfortunately, Joseph found that he had sustained a compound fracture of the tibia and a broken collarbone. So, with one leg and one arm incapacitated, this was definitely not a good end to the day.

A reason to hold on

The requirements for survival in a hostile environment are water, food, shelter and fire.  For someone who is in shock, heat is critical to survival, and a dog the size of a very large Shepherd with a fur coat will provide an enormous amount of heat. Cuddled up to Sako enabled Joseph to survive that first night

With a broken leg and collarbone, building a shelter was an impossibility, as was foraging for food.

This left water. Now, fortunately, there was a stream nearby, and Joseph was able to painfully drag himself with Sako’s assistance to get a drink, but the threat to his life was not far away. With nightfall approaching, the sound of a coyote’s howl again filled the night, and out of the blackness that howl became many, and it was obvious that there wasn’t just one coyote; there was a pack of them. For a teenager, badly injured with no way of escaping his situation, this would have been a terrifying ordeal. Had he been alone, it’s not hard to predict the likely outcome. This was the moment that Seko sprang into action. Despite being heavily outnumbered, he engaged the pack of coyotes. In the darkness, Joseph could hear the fight going on. One can only imagine what he must have felt knowing that his life depended on the ability of Seko to keep the coyotes at bay. The one advantage that Sako had was his sheer size; by comparison, the coyote was significantly smaller. Finally, Sako returned. Even though he had been outnumbered, he had managed to keep Joseph safe; his only injury was a bite on his neck, which, considering the numbers he faced, meant he had got away lightly.

Running out of time

Having survived two nights, by the third day Joseph came to realise that his chances of surviving were now getting shorter and accepted that the chance of being discovered was minimal. Despite the huge rescue efforts that included members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, he had not been found. For an eighteen-year-old, this must have been so hard, but he accepted his fate with stoicism.

Joseph and Sako were eventually discovered; Joseph was taken immediately to hospital and Sako to a veterinary surgeon.

For Joseph, his recovery would be a long and painful one.

For Sako, he would be inducted into the Canadian Purina Animal Hall of Fame, joining an elite group of animals that have received the honour.

For Joseph and Sako together, they would share an unbreakable bond, only known to those individuals whose lives have been saved by an animal.