Besslers earn kudos for act of kindness

I read the story of Chris and Sandy Bessler’s heartwarming rescue of the beautiful Husky in the March 21 Bee, and was very moved — but not at all surprised. It took me back to the mid-’80s when Chris was editor of the Bee and I was a reporter there. I lived in a big log house up off Wrenco Loop Road on Smith Creek, and Chris, then unmarried, was renting a little cabin I had on the property.

One day my two dogs came home from an unsupervised run, and I saw deep trouble. Missy , a Doberman mix, was so embedded with porcupine quills she was nearly in shock. Her face was completely covered with them deep in the flesh and around the eyes, up her nose, around her ears and in her mouth — which hung open, tongue filled with quills and more in the roof of her mouth and even between her teeth! There was nothing to be done — nowhere to begin — and I knew I’d have to have her put to sleep. My heart sank but I had to face up to it. I called Chris though, asking him to come over and give me moral support — and he was there almost immediately. He was stunned at the extent of the damage but when I asked him to help me get her into my car to take to the vet in Sandpoint, he said “wait, let me try.” I truly thought it was pointless, but he was serious, so I agreed.

Missy was not a people dog; she was my protector and very open about it, but she knew Chris was trying to help. She sat motionless for him as he worked with pliers — removing those hundreds of quills — one by one; some were broken nearly to the flesh, nearly impossible for him to grip, but he kept at it. He worked for well over an hour, until he and the dog were both exhausted. I made him stop long enough for me to get a dishpan of cool water and Missy pulled herself to it and simply laid her poor head into it so it could get into her mouth. Then, after a few moments, she took her head away, straightened herself up, turned back to Chris and offered him her open mouth.

It probably took about three hours before every shred was found and removed. Blood was pouring out of Missy’s mouth onto Chris’s hands. But he had done it!

There are many exceptional people in our little town — but Chris will always stand at the top of my list for his kindness, compassion, and genuine caring. He couldn’t have married a better companion in Sandy — they are the way good people should be: no question when something bad happens — just take care of it. Thank you both, kids, for giving us all a glimpse of how things should be.

VALLE NOVAK

Sandpoint