Cookie: A Dedication
- Paulsen starts by listing some incredible stats. He ran sled dogs for 22,000 miles over the course of 10 years. Sounds like he's something of a dog expert.
- This book isn't about sled dogs, though. He's written about those elsewhere.
- Paulsen says he's a dog person and proud of it. Kinda got that from the title, buddy.
- He says he always has five or six dogs, and he will until he dies. Okay, so he really is a dog person.
- This book is about his most special dogs. One of which was Cookie, the subject of this chapter.
- Cookie was Paulsen's lead dog when he ran dogs in Alaska. She was also a close friend.
- Cookie came into Paulsen's life as a sickly pooch. It turned out she just had worms, and she was fine after Paulsen took care of that.
- Paulsen got into dog racing by way of having work dogs. Sounds like he was into some pretty serious outdoorsy stuff.
- He was a beaver trapper, and his dogs were his helpers. In 1980, he was trapping alone—not the smartest idea.
- He explains why beaver trapping is so dangerous. Basically, the ice around them is very thin.
- In this particular memory, Paulsen pulls up to a beaver lodge and unpacks his gear. Cookie and the other dogs settle in for a nap.
- Paulsen falls through the thin ice near the beaver lodge. It's negative 50 degrees, and things aren't looking so good for our hero.
- Somehow, Paulsen grabs onto a rope on his way down into the water. He also yells (as you do).
- Cookie hears him and looks into his eyes right before he goes under the surface. This is super exciting. And scary.
- Paulsen reflects on how he should have died in this accident. He knows lots of people who died this way.
- As he panicked underwater, he felt the rope tighten. Cookie and her dog team pull Paulsen out of the freezing water.
- Paulsen strips down, tosses some fuel onto a tree (!), lights a match, and crawls into a sleeping bag. He warms himself by the flaming tree.
- He knows that Cookie saved his life. He gives her credit for everything that has happened in the 17 years since.
- He feels like he owes her everything, which is why he's dedicating this book to her. Awww.