Thora's Outing

By Karolina Gehres

It was my last weekend before school started and my friend Geneviève's wedding was on Saturday. It was a great day. On Sunday morning, Thora and I were driving to Fundy to meet up with Cindy, Lee and their 2 dogs for a night of camping. I made it on site at 1:30 pm, unpacked my car, pitched the tent, had a sandwich and got ready to go for a hike. We had many choices for hikes (there are over 100K of trails in Fundy) and Cindy and Lee chose Matthews Head but starting off at Herring Cove Beach (Approximately 3k). We drove down to our starting point and contemplated the beach. Had the tide been completely out (it was on its way) we could have walked around the bend. We turned back and went up the stairs to our trail.

We kept the dogs off leash, mostly because it's rough enough terrain that it would be dangerous for both human and dog to try and keep them there all the time. When we met people, we tied them up. We met 5-6 people, and Thora couldn't handle it - she was SO excited to be there! Jack and Ed had already hiked 10k that morning, so the novelty had somewhat worn off...

We got to the cliff’s edge, where we needed to turn right. Lee took a moment to look out while Cindy, and lagging me, caught up. The dogs poked their noses under the fence. Lee called out their names, but it was too late. We heard the thump of Thora falling 30 feet.

Needless to say, all of our hearts were in our throats. Lee edged over on the other side of the fence, and we called out Thora's name. Then we saw her. She was walking on seaweed covered boulders, wondering what just happened to her. We still think that "woo-hoo that was fun" was going through her mind... until she realized that she couldn't get back to us.

Cindy, Jack, Ed and I headed back down the trail. Lee stayed back to make sure Thora didn't try anything crazier than what just happened. Soon Lee ran past me on the trail, back towards the beach we just came from. On the beach was now a family of four plus their chocolate lab. We all ran out to that point we had earlier said we could have walked around if the tide was out. Out or not, Lee started wading through the water, over the rocks to reach Thora. He knew where she was (he grew up near the park). The father from the family followed him in, as moral support, and to help carry Thora, need be.

Those 10 minutes would have been the worst ones I've ever had. Then I saw the guys get back, Thora in tow. She was limping, falling in the water because of the wet sand, but her tongue was still flapping in the wind. I went towards her. But of course, she walked past me to go greet the chocolate lab that she hadn't met before...

Except for a few surface scrapes on 3 legs and her chest, she seemed to be ok. Lee thinks it was from trying to get out of her spot, slipping on barnacles.

When we got home, we made plans to go to the vet the next day just to be sure everything is ok, although Lee, Cindy and I had probably poked and prodded her more than the vet would. She was alert, sleeping a normal amount and would some trouble with the stairs for a few days, but things turned out OK. We still can't believe it. She should not have made it through that.

Apparently cats aren't the only ones with nine lives.

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