A Dog And A Man He Loved
A man and his dog have a very special connection. That’s what my Dad (Jim) had with his dog Tundra. Tundra was a rescue from a reserve in Northern Ontario. Every spring, because of overpopulation, dogs are culled, which means many of them are killed. Northern Lights Rescue goes to reservations every spring, rescues dogs and facilitates their adoption.
Tundra is one of those amazing rescues! He is an 80 lb., white husky/lab mix, with the most compassionate disposition I’ve ever observed in a dog!
After my dad ‘s divorce, he wanted to go back to work. He secured a job at Dorian Bible camp in Dorian, Ontario, Canada, about an hour away from Thunder Bay. His job as site manager was to maintain all the facilities at camp, electrical equipment, water treatment, building upkeep and the like. Dorion Bible camp is located on a 200-acre swath of land on Lake Superior. It’s a beautiful, quiet, peaceful place, where Dad started to rebuild his life after his divorce. He used to say, all he wanted in life,” … was a cabin on a lake with a dog.” And he got his wish when he adopted Tundra. Tundra became his best buddy and never left his side! He was always with him when my Dad worked on the property.
Although, an 18-month-old puppy, Tundra was remarkably calm, loved other dogs, people and especially loved my Dad with complete devotion!
In December 2014, Dad was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a type of bone cancer. In January 2015, he started chemo treatments, and in February 2015, I traveled up to Dorian to help him through the first part of his treatment. Tundra never left his side throughout my dad ‘s initial treatment. In May 2015, my Dad traveled down to the Ottawa, Ontario area, where I live close by in Renfrew, for his treatments and stem cell transplant in Ottawa.
Tundra was placed in a kennel in Dorian during this time. The plan was to move him from the kennel as soon as Dad was done his treatments. Unfortunately, my Dad had complications and ended up in a rehabilitation hospital. He’d lost his ability to walk. That meant Tundra remained in the kennel.
Throughout my Dad’s stay at the rehab hospital, he was only concerned about Tundra...not himself. After six months, my Dad was fraught with guilt for not being there for his dog. Therefore, I decided to take Tundra, so my Dad could focus on his rehabilitation. I lived in a small apartment in Renfrew, and it was not the ideal situation for an 80-pound dog. By the grace of God, the kennel owner drove Tundra from Thunder Bay to Renfrew, … 1200 km! And, in November 2015, Tundra came into my life. Unfortunately, the kennel owner passed away a day after returning to Dorion.
I work at a radio station, Valley Heritage Radio, and my bosses were very gracious. They let me bring Tundra to work with me every day. Because he’s a husky, he didn’t mind the cold and spent his time outside the radio station, hanging out and greeting our guests. Everyone fell in love with him and realized what a very special dog he was. I often spoke of my Dad and Tundra during my afternoon show.
In May 2016, Dad was finally out of the hospital and ready to reunite with Tundra. So, I drove Tundra back up to Dorian. Once again, my Dad was with his dog. If he had Tundra, he was happy. However, his health was still not good, and the decision was made to move Dad and Tundra from Dorian to Renfrew. In November 2016, he and Tundra moved to an apartment near me. This also wasn’t the ideal situation because Dad was still dealing with a lot of mobility issues related to his cancer treatment. We started looking for a house that could accommodate the both of us and Tundra. In June 2017, we found a place in Renfrew. It had an apartment upstairs for my Dad, an apartment in the basement for me, and a yard for Tundra. This was the perfect situation, as I could be close by to help Dad with his medical issues. The weekend after we moved into the home, we discovered that the basement apartment was riddled with extreme water and mold damage. I had to stay upstairs with my Dad and Tundra, while we ripped apart my apartment in the basement to get rid of the mold and damage. It was a complete gut job and cost more than $30,000...which we didn’t have. During the four months of renovations, I lived in one of the bedrooms in my Dad’s unit. This was not the best situation as we often argued about the mounting renovation debt. And we fought about the normal things when a dad and adult daughter must share space. It was not a happy home to say the least. And, as soon as he moved in the house, he got sicker. I finally moved into my unfinished apartment 4 months later in the beginning of November 2017. We had run out of money, so I moved downstairs into an unfinished apartment. I had no doors, floors, molding, back splash in the kitchen and no trim. But it was a much more ideal situation for me to be living separate from my dad. We decided to sue the previous owner of the house for non-disclosure of damages. So besides the mounting debt from the renovations, and my dad‘s illness, we were now going through a lawsuit. During this whole time, Dad ‘s health was declining rapidly. We were convinced that his cancer had returned. Tundra never left my Dad’s side and was his source of strength.
On November 25, 2017, I found my Dad, dead, upstairs in his bathroom. Tundra was right there with him and wouldn’t leave his side. It was extremely saddening and terrifying. I thought I would have a lot more time with Dad. I bought the house for him and Tundra, and now I was left alone with his dog. I found out from his doctor that, the Monday after he died, he was to receive the news that his cancer had come back. So, it was really a blessing that my Dad passed away, and didn’t have to hear this Terrible news, and deal with his cancer’s return. Now I had to decide what to do with this wonderful animal, Tundra. I work all day, and I’m gone on the weekends, so Tundra was alone at home and then at the kennel weekends. Although he loved the kennel, with my financial strain, I couldn’t keep up, and decided to find Tundra another home. It broke my heart, as my Dad always said that when he was gone, I had to take care of Tundra! Making the decision to find him another home weighed very heavily on my mind. Friends of my father’s in Thunder Bay, Larry and Cathy Brigham, miraculously got in touch with me and said that they would happily take Tundra into their home. They had walked Tundra when my dad was sick in Dorion. So,plans were made to move Tundra to Thunder Bay. However, the cost of flying the dog would be upwards of $800, and an expense I simply could not afford. My mother got in touch before Christmas and told me about an organization, “Furry Hobos ‘N’ Hiway Heros.” She had seen a report on national news about this organization. It’s made up of truck drivers who take lost or stolen dogs and dogs that need a ride to another destination, across North America. The woman who runs the organization, Margaret Foster-Hyde from Thunder Bay, is a retired dispatcher and trucker, and runs the organization because of her love of dogs. She and the truckers that transport the dogs, do this absolutely free of charge! The dogs get to their “fur-ever” homes, and the truckers have a companion throughout their trip. It can be a logistical nightmare for Margaret, but she loves what she does!
I got touch with Margaret just before Christmas of 2017, and just after Christmas she returned my call. She was happy to organize Tundra’s trip to Thunder Bay! On January 8, 2018, I drove Tundra to Spencerville, Ontario (a 3-hour trip) to Hannah Wichmann’s farm. Hannah would foster Tundra until the driver, Greg Rumbolt, was able to transport him. Greg unfortunately was delayed on the East Coast because of weather and wasn’t able to pick Tundra up until January 19th.
Each day at 4:40pm on my feature “The Good News File” on Valley Heritage Radio, we documented Tundra’s journey, live on air. Each day I did interviews with Margaret, various drivers, and Hannah and Greg about “Furry Hobos ‘N Hiway Heros.” We also documented Tundra’s ordeal on Valley Heritage Radio’s Facebook page. And my listeners and readers fell in love with Tundra’s story! On January 21, Tundra rolled into Thunder Bay in Greg’s semi and met his new family, Larry and Cathy Brigham. They instantly fell in love with him. And Tundra finally had a permanent new home.
Tundra’s life has not been easy. He’s gone from his birth on a northern reserve, to being a rescue dog, adopted and living with my Dad, kept in a kennel for months, living with me, reuniting with my Dad, to my Dad’s death, and finally living in his new home. And he has taken all of this in stride. It’s almost like he knows that he will be taken care of, no matter what.
Furry Hobo’s ‘N Hiway Hero’s have been receiving a lot of press lately and was even featured in the May issue of Readers Digest. Margaret Foster-Hyde, and her drivers who participate in this amazing program, do it solely for the well-being of the dogs they transport. There are many stories like my Dad’s and Tundra’s and this organization needs to be promoted and praised! Margaret and her drivers take absolutely no money for what they do...just baked goods!
I’m truly, truly grateful for what Margaret, Greg and Hannah have done for me and Tundra. I have been dealing with so much… buying a home, the expense of unforeseen renovations, a lawsuit and my father ‘s death. But the stress of what to do with Tundra, weighed heaviest on my mind. It was a gift from God that Larry and Cathy Brigham decided to care for Tundra. And it was truly a blessing that Margaret was able to facilitate Tundra’s transportation up to Thunder Bay. I know my Dad’s number one concern was for his dog and that I take care of him, but this is the best possible situation for Tundra.
My Dad’s memorial was at Dorian Bible Fellowship Church in Dorian on May 6th. Larry and Cathy, Tundra, and Margaret were all there. And it was a fitting end to Tundra’s story as we said goodbye to the man who loved his dog so much.
Tundra
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