NOTE BY AUTHOR: BEFORE YOU READ THIS FANFIC, I want to clarify something. I have done almost no historical research on Nome, or Chester, Montana before writing this fanfic. So if there is anything about those two places that is incorrect in this writing, tell me and I will fix it to the best of my ability. Otherwise, it will stay the way it is. Plus, I did a little research on transportation in the late 20’s. That I can fix as well if there are any mistakes.

Also, I have done no research on dogs and how they can pick up scents. Unfortunately, I don’t think I can fix any mistakes on that note.

I have borrowed a few ideas from movie The Vow and the animated classic Anastasia. Mostly the idea of amnesia, and trying to live without your memories. But in no way did I intend on making this a copy of either movies.  If you feel that I borrowed too much from either movies, tell me, and I can still try to make the story work.

Any other references to any other animated or live action movie (past or future) are merely coincidental and the ideas were not intentionally borrowed. Thank you to anyone who reads this note, and I hope you enjoy reading this wonderful story I prepared just for you guys! 

Balto 5: A Forgotten Past

Sometimes, all you need to look at are the eyes. And suddenly everything clicks, like seatbelts. They say the eyes are the gateway to the soul. It’s like people remain a mystery until you see their irises for the first time. And its like you can delve into their entire history and you can just…connect. Like two magnets. For me, my eyes are incredibly unique, kind of like my story. Everyone always told me the only way they would even recognize me was by them looking at my eyes. It seemed like that was the only thing that set me apart from the rest of them. The others.  I never wanted to be like everybody else, not like any other teen at the time. No, I wanted to be something greater, someone important. I wanted to stand out, be a leader. Of course, growing up in a dinky little town wasn’t going to help me that much. Still, what I have here is great, and I still regret ever taking that for granted. My family is the one thing that keeps me going. They supported me even when I betrayed them. They never gave up on me, and eventually I learned a valuable lesson from it. I always wished I could have supported them more, but I felt I really wasn’t worthy. They think otherwise, though.


What I really couldn’t believe was…I didn’t know who I really was for so many years. I was blind, and the funny thing was I didn’t know I was blind until someone pointed it out to me. I was blind to the truth about myself, a truth that was the most shocking and confusing thing, but turned out to be the greatest experience of my life. It taught me so much on how to live life in a way that makes it enjoyable. And that’s what life is really about, for me anyway. It’s there for you to enjoy and have fun. To be someone you always wanted to be, even if the road has obstacles and can make you go in different directions. But change is a good thing too. I changed both unintentionally and intentionally. Yet I’m still the same guy. I will always be the same guy.

Dingo.

Prologue: Spring 1926

Balto was watching from the home of his boat under the massive brightness of the sun and the cloudless sky. The weather here has never been better in the summer. He was watching his children play on the beach right next to his home. It’s been two weeks since adoption day, and Balto’s fears of never seeing his children again are now long gone, and you could tell by his smile he was relieved by this.

Balto looked out further in the direction of town, because on the corner of his eye he saw the silhouette of someone walking towards the beach. It wasn’t Jenna or Boris. It was another dog. Balto jumped down from the boat, curious to see who this stranger was, and what the guy wanted with him or his kids. The dog went from walking to running when he saw Balto, a big smile on his face.

“Champ!” The dog shouted. And at that moment, Balto remembered. This guy was not some stranger. He was Yago, a retired sled dog who worked with Balto to help improve his performance since the serum run. Apparently, raw talent was not enough to Yago. But Balto did improve with sledding.

“Yago!” Balto’s smile was bigger than ever. Since the pups were born, they stopped training together. They haven’t seen each other in months. Both dogs collided in a hug and started laughing.

“What are you doing here?” Balto asked, curious.

Yago, the small wrinkles by his eyes rising with his smile, chuckled. “I wanted to see your pups. I’m sorry I haven’t gotten the chance to see them earlier this year, but ever since I became the new sled dog coach, things have been busy.”

“How is that going by the way?”

“Great! We have a wonderful addition to the Nome team this year.” He sighed. “If only there was someone else to, you know, give us a little more speed.” He nudged Balto with his hip.

Balto laughed. “Oh c’mon, Yago. You know what I did was mostly a one time thing.”

“I’m just saying you’ve got real talent! I mean, look at you! You’ve become the most famous dog in the world practically overnight.”

“I…don’t like to brag too much about that.” Balto lowered his head, blushing a bit.

“Oh, you’re always so modest.”

“Well, it’s who I am, Yago. Take it or leave it.”

Yago laughed. “I guess I have no choice but to take it.” He then looked out onto the beach where the kids were playing.

“Ahh, there are the little ones.” He said softly.

“C’mon, I’ll take you to them.”

Balto and Yago sat quietly by the beach, watching Balto’s children play and run around in the sand.

After a few minutes, one pup, Nannik, spoke out to his siblings. “Hey! Who wants to race?”

Three other puppies shouted, “Me! Me! Me!” They were Dingo, Aleu, and Kodi. The two others, Rayoni and Saba, stayed behind and watched by the water.

Nannik counted down until he screamed, “GO!” And off shot the pups.

Kodi was quickly dragging behind as the three others lunged foreword. After another few seconds, Nannik was starting to fall back, but Aleu tried to keep her pace steady. Dingo, however, was inching foreword more and more, picking up his speed. The distance between Dingo and Aleu became greater and greater until you could fit a whole full grown dog in between them.

Yago’s ears perked up at the sight of this. His smile was getting wider as he saw Dingo cross the finish line, 5 seconds before the others did.

“Wow…” he breathed. “That little pup has some speed! What is his name?”

“Dingo.”

“Well, that pup runs like an engine as far as I’m concerned. I mean, wow! True untapped talent!”

“Wow…um, thank you Yago. Yes, Dingo is the fastest of his siblings, as I found out recently.”

“You should consider putting him through some training. He could make an excellent sled dog. No, more than excellent. Spectacular! Astounding! Brilliant!”

“Really?”

“Of course! With a little training he could become the fastest sled dog in Nome. Maybe even Alaska!”

Balto stopped him. “Woah, hey. Don’t you think you’re rushing things a bit? I mean, we have plenty of time for Dingo to decide what he wants to do with his life.”

“It’s never too early to start training, Balto. I only want what’s best for Dingo. And with that talent he could be soaring through the stars...Metaphorically of course.”

“Well, I’ll think about it.”

“Alright.” He smiled. “I have to get back before I’m late for practice. See you, champ! Tell Dingo I look forward to having him on my team someday!”

Balto waved back to his friend as Jenna was approaching.

“Who was that, Balto?” She asked.

“Oh, hi Jenna! That was Yago. He came by to see the kids.”

“Well that was nice of him.” Jenna said with almost no expression in her tone.

“Yeah. We both watched some of the puppies race earlier and he was really impressed with Dingo.”

“Uh-oh.” Jenna’s eyebrows lifted in worry. “He didn’t force any offers on Dingo did he? You know how Yago gets carried away with those things.”

“No, but he did tell me that Dingo has untapped talent and I should consider putting him through sled dog training.”

“Are you going to?”

“I told him I’d think about it. But you know…maybe I should. Jenna, have you seen Dingo run, he’s incredible! The fastest little pup I’ve ever seen!”

“I know that, but I want to make sure it’s what he wants.”

“I’ll go and ask him then.” Balto said as he jogged to the water where Dingo was chasing a butterfly.

“Dingo, can you come here for a minute?” He called.

Dingo turned around and sprinted to his dad. Balto smiled again at his speed.

“Yes dad?”

“I watched you race before, and you were really fast! My friend Yago said you have real talent!”

“Really?”

Balto nodded. “Hey, you told me your owner’s father trains sled dogs, right?”

“Right. But he doesn’t really keep any of them. Not like me.”

“Well, he said with some training you could become an even greater sled dog than I am!”

“He said that?” Dingo’s eyes were wide with shock. He knew he was a good runner, but…he didn’t know it would get him a future like this.

“Yes. So, are you interested in that kind of training? I’m not going to lie, it will take some dedication. But since you’re my son and all, I think you can pull it off.” He said with a smile.

“I didn’t even know I was that good.” He was still in shock someone noticed his skills. “Am I really the fastest puppy he’s ever seen?”

“Of course, no puppy of your age can run half as fast as you. And I’m being completely honest.”

“Wow…”

“I know, it’s a lot to take in”-

“I’ll do it!” Dingo shouted, which startled Balto a bit.

“Woah, ok! Umm, I didn’t know you’d respond this quickly.” Balto panted for a second. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“I’m positive! You said it yourself, no puppy even compares to me when it comes to running. And it sounds like fun, anyways. I get to be just like you now!” Dingo smiled his widest.

Balto couldn’t resist that statement. “My son…” he breathed as he nuzzled Dingo. He started giggling and both proceeded to wrestle a little bit, laughing the entire time.

Jenna sighed. “Welp, I know what Dingo’s going to be doing for the rest of his life. I just hope none of this backfires on us.” She said to herself as she trotted away.

For the next two weeks, Balto and Yago have been preparing Dingo for some real sled dog training, just by doing some strength and running exercises. Dingo loved every minute of it, while Jenna was still a little skeptical about the whole situation. Then, it was time to tell Dingo’s owner, Billy, to start training him officially.

Dingo was outside the house with his father and Yago.

“Are you sure this will work? I mean, what if he doesn’t understand me?” Dingo asked.

Balto lowered his head to Dingo’s level. “He will. Once he sees this in your mouth…” Yago pulled out a sled dog harness from behind him and gave it to Dingo. Balto smiled. “He’ll know exactly what you’re trying to say.”

“Boys? Are you out here?” A voice called not too far away. Balto instantly recognized it and sighed. Dingo, after about a second, noticed the voice was familiar as well.

“Mom?” Dingo yelled. Jenna immediately popped out from a nearby bush and walked over to them.

“Hello Balto, Dingo…Yago.” Jenna greeted.

“What are you doing here, Jenna?” Balto asked as politely as he could.

Jenna’s eyes narrowed the slightest bit. “Just checking to make sure you’re not going to overwork our son.”

“Of course we’re not. This is what he wants. I thought we were supposed to encourage our children, not prevent them from doing something they love.” Balto had to get that point out there. He knew about Jenna’s suspicions that they were pushing Dingo too hard, and quite frankly he was getting a little annoyed with it.

“I know that, and I know you want what’s best for him, but eventually he will become another one of Yago’s ‘perfect machines’, and do you think for a second I will let that happen?”

That’s when Yago stepped in. “Jenna, I’m sorry that you’re upset, but Dingo wants this. And I promise we will never go too far with him, even if he wants us to. I swear.”

“I’d sooner run away from my sweet owner Rosie than believe your garbage!” Jenna shouted at him suddenly. “I know what you do to sled dogs, Yago. They sleep, eat and breathe sledding, and they have no personal lives anymore. Heck, they barely even have personalities anymore. They’re just…robots! Robots you practically work to death!”

“Jenna, calm down!” Balto pleaded. He turned Jenna around to face him. “Look, I’m going to make sure nothing like that ever happens to Dingo. You’ll believe me, won’t you?” He said softly.

Jenna looked down, still worried, but thinking about the answer to his question.

“Mom?” Dingo squeaked, worried she might start yelling again. He sat at her feet. “I’ll be okay, mom. Ever since I took my first steps I’ve always wanted to run. And I’m really good at it, too! You saw me, didn’t you? I’m like a rocket out there! I really want to do this training. I really want to become a real sled dog, just like Dad. Please, mom? I want this more than anything else. I’ll always be Dingo. You’ll never have to see me like a machine, ever. I promise.” He nuzzled Jenna’s bandana as her eyes started to fill with tears. She looked at Balto, than at Yago. Her muscles started to tighten, but she looked back at the child at her feet, and it became clear this is exactly what he desired. And she had to let him go.

“Okay.” Jenna managed to squeak out. “You can train.” She put on a sad smile and turned away.

Words could not express the type of smile on Dingo’s face. He hugged his mother’s leg hard.

“Oh thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!” He shouted. “You will not regret this, mom, I swear!” He ran toward the harness that was lying on the snow and put it in his mouth.

“Let’s do this!” He muffled while his teeth gripped the leather harness.

While he was running toward his home, Balto walked up to Jenna and wiped her tears away with his paw.

“He’s going to be something great, Jenna. I can feel it. And you will too.”

Jenna put her head against his chest. “I just hope you’re right…” She breathed.

Yago smiled as he scratched the door to Billy’s home. In about 5 seconds, Billy opened the door, and there was Dingo sitting there with a harness in his mouth.

“Dingo, boy, where did you get that?” He giggled. Dingo dropped it in the snow and barked a few times. As Billy picked it up, he noticed Dingo did his begging face he usually did at the kitchen table when they ate.

“What’s wrong buddy?” He asked. Dingo nudged the harness closer to him.

“C’mon, Billy, get the picture…” Dingo said to himself.

A few seconds later, Billy smiled. “Aww, you wanna become a little sled dog don’t you, boy?”

Dingo wagged his tail and barked again.

Billy picked the harness up and looked at it, imagining it on Dingo, for fun. But then he gasped. He remembered his dad had a whole bunch of training equipment…He thought for a second. Then he said. “Dingo, do you wanna train to be a real sled dog just like my dad’s dogs?”

Dingo barked like crazy and jumped around, tackling his owner to the ground. Billy took it as a yes. He tussled the fur on Dingo’s head, laughing. “Alright boy, settle down. I’ll train you.” Dingo licked Billy’s cheek about 100 times. He picked Dingo up and stretched out his arms just to make him stop. “After we eat some dinner, ok? Then I can show you the training room in the shed behind the house and we can get started!”

Dingo smiled brightly as he was being carried into the house, looking at all the proud faces in his front yard. Then they closed the door and Dingo began eating out of his food bowl as fast as he could so he can get to training.

Jenna managed to smile as he went inside. She remembered what a good boy Billy was, and he would never do anything to harm Dingo.

“Are you going to be alright Jenna?” Balto asked.

Jenna nodded, wiping away the last of her tears. “I think I’ll be ok. Just make sure Yago doesn’t push Dingo too hard. All I want for Dingo is to be happy.”

“And he will be. You’ll see.” They nuzzled as the sun started to set and Yago was on his way home, thinking that Dingo will be the best sled dog the world has ever seen.

More weeks have passed and Dingo’s training could not have gone better, not just for him, but Jenna now seemed to accept Dingo’s choice of career. That made him even happier.

One very windy night, Balto decided to take Dingo on a walk around town while they discussed Dingo’s sledding skills.

The wind howled in both of their ears as they were about to head back home down an empty street, and they had to talk louder than usual just so the other dog would hear.

“Dingo, you did an amazing job today! I’m so proud of you for breaking your personal record.” Balto congratulated.

“Thanks dad! I’m pretty proud of myself, too!” Dingo beamed.

“You know, I was a little hesitant when I was going to put you through all this training, but I’m really glad I did it. You’ll surely make a difference on Nome’s team in a year or two.”

“You really think so?”

“I know so!”

Dingo giggled because he was so happy. He fell in love with the sport since Balto first noticed his talent in running.

“So when do you think I’ll be able to run with a real team? Maybe not Nome’s team yet, but maybe a mail team to start off?”

Balto shrugged. “Well, I’d say you’d have to be a year old, maybe a month or two less at the least.”

“But that’s still such a long time! I want to be on a real team, now!”

Balto laughed. “I know you do. You just gotta be patient.”

Dingo sighed. “I know. I just wanna be the great sled dog you were. I wanna make you proud.”

“You already have. But you know what would make me more proud?”

“What? What?” Dingo shouted, eager.

“If you can beat me in a race!” Balto exclaimed.

Dingo put on his overconfident face. “Psh! Is that all I have to do to win your approval? That’ll be a snap!”

“I dunno…you’ve never raced me before. As a matter of fact, I don’t think you’ve seen me at my best at all.”

“Well, even at your best I still don’t think you could beat me.”

“So, I guess it’s a challenge, huh?” Balto said, his face getting closer to his son’s.

“You bet it is! You can shout the starting calls.”

Balto chuckled to himself before he got into position as well as Dingo.

“Ready…set…GO!” Balto shouted and Dingo shot off the invisible starting line, which really surprised Balto even though he’s seen Dingo do it a hundred times. But he figured he should give Dingo a little booster before he shot off to beat him.

The thing was, though, it was really hard to beat him. Balto kept getting faster and faster down the street, and he didn’t get much closer to Dingo at all. Dingo looked back and had that cocky, I-told-you-so smirk on his face before he shot off again into the howling wind.

“I’ve taught him well. Or Yago has, anyway.” Balto said to himself.

Balto breathed deeply and closed his eyes. He pretended he was in a race against time, just like in the serum run. He had to get to the end before it was too late and Rosie was gone. Then he shot off, running faster than the wind that was pushing him back. He remembered everything he loved about running. The thrill, the excitement, the cooling wind in your fur. Balto laughed to himself. He forgot all the pleasure and happiness he had while running, especially racing. He remembered beating Steele while they were in a dogsled race, only Balto wasn’t part of it. Still, the win had caused him to be face to face with Jenna for the first time. Everything they went through together to save a little girl, and all the children of Nome, was etched into his heart. He was reminded of why he was a hero, and why he deserved this great life as well.

All of these sudden memories kept flooding in as Balto continued to speed down the street with a magical smile on his face. His dreams pushed him through the endless wind in the middle of the storm during the serum run, and now his dreams for Dingo are pushing him through this very similar wind.

Dingo.

Balto opened his eyes at the thought of his son. He looked around a bit to notice he wasn’t right next to him. He eventually figured that Dingo went so far ahead of him because he was in daydream land for a little while. Thinking that Dingo was just up ahead, he focused on the race and picked up his speed looking from side to side for his son.

After about 30 seconds and no sign of him, Balto started to worry. The street was nearing its end, and the wind was really picking up, making it difficult to Balto to sniff him out. He kept running and running, looking every which way, now with panic in his eyes. Suddenly, something really hard slammed into him and he fell backwards into the snow. Balto quickly got up, not really caring for his minor injury, to see that he ran into the side of a building. A building in the middle of the road. Balto gasped. The street had ended. And no Dingo.

At this point, Balto started to howl and call his name.

“Dingooooooo!!” He screamed again and again, trying as hard as he can to shout louder than the deafening winds that surrounded him and the rest of the town.

After a few minutes of screaming and no reply, he decided to go back to where they started the race. It was pretty easy since the wind current was carrying him in that direction, making him run faster than ever before. As he neared the beginning of the abandoned street, the snow started to fall, first in little flakes, then in piles. This made it even harder for Balto to see. “Perfect,” He muttered to himself, but the wind was so loud he couldn’t even hear his own voice. It was then he wondered how in the world Dingo would be able to hear it.

Many minutes later, Balto was pacing endlessly through the snow and the wind, down every single street, losing his mind. How could he ever lose sight of him?! He was just up ahead of him in the race! After almost all hope was lost, he screamed at the top of his lungs: “DINGO!!! WHERE ARE YOU?!!!” in a giant howl. The little hope he had thought that maybe Dingo could hear this one, since surely he himself could hear it just fine. But after a few minutes and not the slightest scent catching his aging nose, he fell into despair, wondering how could his perfect angel of a son, just disappear?

When the race was still going on and he had passed Balto easily, Dingo sped down the street, not giving a care about the wind trying to knock him down. But as the seconds passed, it became harder for Dingo to see. When a huge gust of wind hit his face, Dingo shut his eyes to shield himself. But the wind turned him around, and without even knowing it, he was headed in a different direction, down another street. When he could see again, Dingo realized his mistake, and stopped to look at the surroundings.

“Dad?” He called. Only the wind seemed to answer. Dingo had never been alone like this before. He didn’t like it at all. “Dad?” He called again, but louder. After no reply, he quickly turned around and ran in the opposite direction, scared and cold. He turned his head behind him to make sure he wasn’t followed, but he could barely see past his own nose at this point. The snow had begun falling and it fell fast. Suddenly, out of nowhere, something hit Dingo square on his head, and then all he could see was black.

Little Daniel found it hard to sleep that night. Even though his bed was as soft as it could be, the screeching wind from outside kept his eyes open. He always dreaded storms like this because they were almost never ending. The real reason he couldn’t sleep, though, had nothing to do with the weather. It was because he was leaving Nome tomorrow with his family. This is only a temporary home they stayed in here in Alaska. Their real home was in Chester, Montana. The reason they have a temporary home here was because the rest of their relatives lived here, and rented out the home once every two years so they could visit.

Dan always loved to see his family, and he almost didn’t want to go back home. The wind outside was only reminding him about what he didn’t like about Alaska so that he’d leave. At that moment, Dan sat up in his bed, his face pointing toward the window. He knew at this rate he wouldn’t go to sleep until sunrise. He looked hard out the window and saw that the snow had stopped falling, except for a few flakes here and there. Dan thought that maybe a little walk outside would cause him to shiver, go back into the warmth of his bed and sleep the night away. So without waking his parent in the next room, he got on his boots, put on his coat and scarf, and went outside, closing the front door ever so quietly.

The wind was surely dying down as well, but it was still griping hard on him like a monster’s hand. He walked, facing the wind, a little down the lonely street he lived on. He had to admit it was a little spooky this time of night with all the lights off and only the blinding breezes could be heard. The night sky was pitch black, and no stars tonight. No moon either. Every little crunch he made with his boots in the snow was quickly blown away by the gusting wind. The end of his scarf was dancing wildly as if it had gone crazy, and he could feel his fingertips getting deeper and deeper inside his coat sleeves as the minutes passed. Dan then wondered why he ever came out here in the first place. It was freezing! He was about to turn around to go back home when he noticed something by an unlit lamppost, something red.

A curious little boy, Dan walked against the wind again to get to the lamppost. When he got there, the red thing was underneath a layer of snow. Dan sucked it up and used his hands to brush away the flakes until the red thing was clearly visible. After about half a minute, thinking that he would get frostbite if he continued, he stopped and put his hands back in his sleeves for warmth. He tried to get a good look at what was at his feet. But he couldn’t make it out. Trying again, he reached out quickly and touched the red thing with his hand. It was wet…and furry. It was then he finally noticed what it was, and he dug it out of the snow as quickly as he could.

“A puppy!” he exclaimed through the wind. He shouted quietly enough so as not to wake anyone that was sleeping, but he forgot about the extremely noisey wind and so disreagarded his last thought. He was horrified at the sight of him.The creature was blue, he wasn’t waking up, and he had a giant bruise on the middle of his forehead. Dan wanted to cry just looking at the poor thing. Without thinking, he put the puppy inside is coat and zipped it high enough so that the little guy could get air. And he ran as fast as he could to the vet’s office.

With luck, the vet’s was still open, or at least the vet was still inside, probably because of the storm. Dan rushed to the door and knocked on it, but the vet was already there before the third knock. He was watching out the window.

“I’m sorry, little boy but we’re closed.” The vet said.

“Please! I want you to make sure this puppy is alive! That’s all you gotta do! I just wanna know if he’s okay!”

The vet thought for a short moment while looking at the poor creature in the boy’s arms.

“Well, alright. Come inside.”

After a brief overlook of the puppy, the vet confirmed that the pup was very much alive, but only unconscious. He would wake up again in a day or two with proper care. Dan thanked the vet for his help and he went out the door and walked back home. The vet soon did the same.

Dan quietly tip toed inside his house, with the puppy still inside his coat. He shut the door ever so gently and then turned around to see two people glaring at him. His parents.

“Daniel! What were you DOING out there in the middle of a storm!” His mother, Jill, exclaimed.

“You should’ve been in bed.” His father, Nick, crossed his arms.

“I’m sorry I ran out there, but I had to do something important.” Dan tried to explain.

Jill put her hand to her forehead. “What was SO important that you had to walk outside in a blizzard in the middle of the night?!”

“Well…this.” He opened his coat to reveal the red pup inside.

“A…puppy?!” Nick exclaimed.

“Yeah, I found him all alone, buried in snow. The vet said he’s still alive, he just needs to be cared for until he wakes up.” Dan snuggled the puppy to his face and smiled.

“So you want us to take care of a puppy that you found on the street?! What if it has rabies?! Take that thing to the animal shelter, right now!” Jill pointed towards the door.

“No!” Dan hugged the puppy tighter. “Without the right care, he’s gonna die! And I don’t wanna go back out in that storm again, even YOU don’t want me to!”

“Well, you seemed just fine waltzing out there once.” Nick said.

“Nick!” Jill hissed. She looked at her son. “Fine, he can stay the night. But tomorrow morning before we leave that pup is going to the shelter!” And then she went upstairs, followed by her husband.

Dan took the puppy to his room and laid him on his bed. He took a towel and dried the pup off as best he could, then hugged him again before going to sleep.

The next morning, Dan woke up, still feeling tired from all the craziness last night, but knew he had to get ready to go back to Montana. He looked at the foot of his bed to see that the pup was still unconscious, but he looked a lot better than he did before.

Just as Dan was getting out of his bed, his father came in through the door.

“Dan? Can we talk?”

Dan nodded, now realizing he’ll have to give up the pup before they leave. He looked back at the cute sleeping face of the adorable creature before he turned to look at his dad.

“What is it, Dad?”

“Your mother and I were talking last night when you went back to bed. We were talking about the pup you brought home.”

“I know, I know. I’ll remember to take him to the shelter before we leave.” He said in an annoyed tone.

“No, son.”

Dan’s eye widened. “What?”

“We know we can’t give that pup up to the shelter when he needs a family to take care of him, and since he has no collar…”

Dan’s smile was forming and getting bigger by the second. “You don’t mean…”

“And you DO need someone to keep you company while your mother and I both are at work…”

“You really mean it?!”

“ONE catch!” Nick pointed his pointer finger up. “The puppy will be your responsibility to care for. That means feeding him, giving him water, walking him, AND cleaning up after him. Do you think you can do that?”

“YES YES YES!! Thank you SO much Dad! I love you!” He tackled his Dad and hugged his neck until he started chocking.

“Okay-ack! You can stop now-ack! You’re hurting me.”

“Oh. Sorry. Dad, do you think the people on the train will mind if we bring a puppy on board?”

“As long as you keep him in your coat, I don’t think anyone would notice. Plus, I’ve seen weirder things on trains.” He chuckled.

When everyone was all set to go, and Dan had said goodbye to all of his relatives, he picked up a still unconscious pup turned him toward the tiny town, and waved his paw for him.

“Goodbye Nome!” He shouted. Then he spoke softly to his new pet. “I know you’re not going to wake up for a while, but when you do, it’ll be in somewhere really great!”

“Daniel! Hurry up or we are going to miss our train!” Jill called from afar.

“Coming!” Dan said back. He turned to the pup again as he was putting him into his coat once more. “Ready for a little train ride, boy?” Of course, the pup didn’t reply. Little did he know what the pup was about to experience.

It turns out, no one noticed a puppy on the train ride to Montana. They were probably more concerned with the passenger who brought a snake on board. While riding, Dan was thinking of names for his new puppy as he was looking out the window at the falling snow. It was many hours before they even caught a glimpse of Montana.

As the puppy continued to sleep in the boy’s arms, Dan was getting a little worried.

“Don’tcha think he should’ve woken up by now?” Dan asked his parents.

“The Vet said a day or two, right? It’s barely been a day. I’m sure the little guy would be fine.” His dad assured him.

Dan looked back at the poor thin on his lap. He picked him up, held him close to his heart, eyes a little bit watery.

“I really hope you wake up soon, boy. I wanna do so much with you.”

When the sun had set on their journey, the boy fell asleep while Nick took over carrying the pup.

“Nick, even though I did agree to this, I still don’t like it.” Jill whispered to him.

“We’ll make sure he gets all his shots, don’t worry.”

“No, just about the fact that Dan thinks the puppy is going to be okay. What if he doesn’t end up waking up?”

“He’ll wake up. It’s only been a day, and he could wake up at any time.”

“I just have a feeling. I didn’t want Dan to keep the puppy because in its condition, I don’t think it will survive.”

Nick put the puppy’s chest to his ear, then after a few seconds he smiled. “He has a heartbeat. It’s slow but it’s going. Listen.” He put him close to Jill’s ear and she listened to the slow faint pounding.

Jill sat back in her seat. “I’m just saying, I don’t want to get Dan’s hopes up. I don’t want to see him heartbroken.”

“Trust me. He’s gonna be okay.”

Jill sighed. “I hope so, for Dan’s sake.” And with that both parents fell asleep as well.

The next day, Dan could not have been more excited to come back home after the long train ride. The moment the family arrived back at the house, Dan could not contain his joy. He picked up the puppy in his arms and ran from the cab all the way up the driveway into his home. He put the still sleeping pup on his bed carefully.

“We’re home!” She shouted to the skies.

“Dainel, get back here and help us carry the things back in the house!” His mother screamed from outside.

“Whoops. Gotta go, I’ll be back soon to name you!” Then he dashed out the door to help with the suitcases.

Later that day, when everything was back in its place, Dan sat in a chair by his bed, watching his new puppy sleep, sleep, sleep the day away on his mattress. He became a little worried again, it’s been almost two days now.  He should have woken up. But then Dan stopped himself and even chuckled.

“I have nothing to worry about. He’s gonna be fine, just like Dad said.” He thought aloud. “In fact…I’m gonna name you right now! I was gonna wait until you woke up, but you’re making me really impatient.” He scratched behind the pup’s ears. His foot made the tiniest little twitch when he did, and it really surprised him. He kept it to himself, though. He would soon wake up anyway.

The boy smiled. “I’m gonna call you…” He looked around the room for ideas. And after stopping to look out his window, he saw, out in the distance, his old bicycle. He got a new one recently and didn’t need his little kid one, so Dan’s parents put it out on the lawn, hoping someone would be willing to take it. Unfortunately, it still sat there, even after the few weeks the family was gone in Alaska. Dan figured it would happen, because the bike was in really bad shape. The frame’s paint is chipping away in big chunks, one of the handlebars is loose, and the chain is incredibly rusty. Who the heck would want a bike like that? He looked at his new puppy again. He noticed his fur looked a little like rust, like the rust on his old bike chain. Rusty. Out of all the names he thought of on the train, the name Rusty beats them all out. Dan smiled. “Rusty” he said. “You’re name is Rusty.” He wanted to make a final decision early so he wouldn’t change his mind over and over. And Rusty is the perfect name for a dog like him, for a 7 year old boy anyway.

Then, he got up, pulled out one of his drawers on his dresser to reveal a shiny, pink, piggy bank. He pulled the cork from the pig’s belly, and all this change, plus a few bills, slipped out. And landed on the floor.

“Oops. Should have thought that one through.” He turned toward his newly named friend. “I’m gonna go buy you a new collar. That way whenever you get lost, other people can find you and bring you home! I gotta get there quick before the shop closes.” He looked at the clock on his wall. 7:15. He still had time before the store closes at 8. He dashed out the door with the few bills he had, and out the door, riding his new bike as fast as he could.

When Dan walked through the front door of his home, back with a shiny new collar, he was excited as ever to see his puppy awake. It was pretty close to the Nome vet’s deadline for little Rusty, and he was sure that he would have woken up by now.

He ran up the stairs to his room, swung open the door, and shouted. “Rusty!” Only to find that no one answered.

The little puppy was still unmoving on the bed, still breathing very slowly.

Dan sighed and sat down on the bed right next to him. “Oh, I thought you would be awake by now, but that’s okay. You had a big day anyway.” He pet the pup on his head and tried to smile as best he could. But then he remembered the collar. His smile became more real.

“I got this for you, boy. I hope you like it.” He showed a leather, brownish-reddish colored collar with a shiny and thin brass buckle. A circular dog tag hung down from it, having the engraving, “RUSTY” along with the family address and phone number.

He gently lifted Rusty’s head and buckled the new collar in, and he put on his bravest face for him.  Dan was sure that he would wake soon…but hours had passed. Little Rusty did not move an inch.

It was getting to the point where the family had to rely on hope in order to get Rusty to wake up. The sun was setting soon. Dan was then called downstairs because his parents wanted to speak with him about Rusty’s new collar…among other things about him as well.

Dan slowly walked down the steps, one at a time. His parents were sitting in the two chairs in the living room, and a third one was meant for him. He walked patiently to the chair and gradually sat down.

“You wanted to see me?” He asked. Though he had a pretty good idea as to why they did. But his parents told him anyway.

“I saw that you bought the puppy a new collar today.” Jill spoke softly to him.

Dan nodded. “Yep. I named him Rusty, and got him and brand new collar. But don’t worry, I had my own money saved up.”

Jill looked at Nick with worry in her eyes. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, Nick was starting to worry, too.

“Sweetie. How much was that collar?”

Dan thought for a second. “Only two dollars. They’ve had that collar for a while.”

Jill nodded. “Alright.” She passed for a second before asking, “And when do you think ‘Rusty’ is going to wake up?”

“I really don’t know. The vet said he should have been awake by now, but he’s still asleep.”

“Dan, do you still think Rusty will wake up?” Nick asked.

The little boy nodded. “He has to. He’s my new pet.”

“Well…there are lots and lots of dogs here to choose from.” You can tell Nick wanted to choose his words carefully.

“But I don’t care about the other dogs, I care about Rusty.” Dan put his fists to his hips.

Jill put her hand out and rested it on his shoulder. “I know, honey. But…maybe its just best for everyone…if we just give the collar back.”

Dan took her arm off. “What? Why would I do that? I just bought it!”

“Look, Daniel, I know you love that puppy a lot. But…you need to understand. There are some things in this world that you can’t make happen, even if you screamed it to the heavens.”

“I don’t understand…”

“In other words, just because you think Rusty will wake up…doesn’t mean it’s really going to happen.”

“Mom…what are you saying?!” Dan’s eyes were beginning to fill up with tears.

“I’m saying this in the nicest way possible, sweetie. I’m just not sure if Rusty is going to make it.”

“But…he IS gonna make it. He’s just a little late, that’s all!” Dan screamed.

“We need to face the facts, Daniel. And you’re going to have to give me the collar so I can return it" She held out her hand.

“NO!” Dan shouted at her. “I won’t let you!” He turned toward his father, who has said little in this conversation. “C’mon, Dad! You know Rusty’s gonna make it. You believe me, don’t you?” He looked at Nick with tears in his eyes, and heartbreak in his voice. It almost made Nick want to cry along with him. But he had to face the facts as well. Rusty has made no progress since they found him. Maybe this was it for the little guy.

“Dan, I know how much you want him to wake up. I want him to wake up too. But he should have been out and about right now, and he’s not. And…I don’t think he’s going to get any better. I’m sorry, son.”

Dan backed away slowly while shaking his head in a vibrate manner.

“No…” was the only word that could escape his mouth. He ran up the stairs to his room and slammed the door.

Both parents sighed. They might as well let Dan have one more day with Rusty, to prove to him that he needs to let him go.

“Nick, this is getting ridiculous. I don’t know why you talked me into keeping that dog in the first place. Now, Dan is going to be so upset. This would have been prevented if he just let nature take its course in the shelter.”

“Dan would have been upset either way. But you’re right. We can’t keep a dead dog. I just thought that maybe he would wake up, too. I guess I was just wrong.”

“Yes, you were. And now we’re going to have to deal with Dan being so upset over a dead dog that YOU wanted to keep.”

“Well, YOU agreed with me. It’s not like I never told you about him. You knew exactly what was going to happen and you didn’t do anything!”

Jill threw her hands in the air. “What was I supposed to do?! Just rip the puppy from Dan’s arms and throw him back in the gutter?!”

“No, but you could have just done away with him while we were still in Nome, and that way Dan wouldn’t be as upset.”

“So this is AAAALLLL my fault isn’t it? Of course, only you would want to blame me for everything.”

Nick grabbed his head and screamed in agony, ready to tear his hair out. He always hated getting caught up in these arguments.

“Look. What’s done is done. We’re going to the town vet tomorrow and we’re going to put him down. Then we’ll get Dan another dog if he wants one. Okay?”

Jill crossed her arms. “Fine.” And went upstairs to go to bed.

Dan lie awake under his covers, listening to every word of his parents’ argument. A tear began to flow from his eye as he clutched little Rusty to his heart. That faint little beat was still there…still moving steadily.

“I’m never gonna let them take you away from me. I’ll find a way…somehow.” The tag on Rusty’s new collar shone in the moonlight as Dan drifted off to sleep, dreaming of one day, playing fetch with his new best friend.

Morning came as quickly as day had vanished yesterday. The sun’s rays burst through the window and into Dan’s closed eyes, now opening because of the brightness. He groaned softly and lifted up his head. There lay Rusty, asleep as always.

Now Dan was getting frustrated. It was one day past the vet’s deadline. All that Rusty was capable of was keeping that heart beating, slowly but surely.

“Please get up, Rusty. I want to show Mom and Dad that they’re wrong about you. You can make it. I know you can.” He got out of bed, stood next to it, and continued staring at the pup.

When minutes passed and not a thing changed, Dan got very upset. He built so much tension in himself, and he couldn’t take it anymore. He grabbed his pillow from the bed and flung it toward the wall.

“WHY WON’T YOU WAKE UP?!” He screamed at him. “Why are you doing this to me?! Please, Rusty, PLEASE!!”

After 10 seconds of silence, he fell to his knees and started sobbing in his hands. Soon after, both parents came quietly in his room, significantly saddened by Dan’s agony.

“Dan, honey. We need to have a talk with you, okay?” Jill said softly.

Dan wiped his nose, nodded, and went out the door. Just before he left, he looked back at Rusty for what he thought was the last time.

“I’m sorry, boy.” He uttered before he slipped out.

And it was utter silence in the bedroom for the next 10 minutes.

The blackness was clearing, he knew it. He was able to feel the softness and fluffiness of the surface he slept on, and was beginning to hear the faint sound of human shoes below him. Finally, light moved into his vision as he opened his eyes and finally was able to interact with the world around him. Dingo was finally awake.

He slowly rose from his sleeping position and looked around the room with intense curiosity. The curiosity quickly turned to panic as there was not one familiar object in the room.

“Where am I?!” He shouted in his thoughts. He ran to the window to see if the outside was familiar at all, but instead he screamed. He looked at his own reflection in the glass…but he was not able to recognize that either.

“WHO am I?!” He shouted once more. As panic was overtaking him, he began to ask questions to himself. “Have I always been here? Do I have a name? Why can’t I recognize myself? How come I can’t remember anything!” He thought he was losing his mind.

He lay on the bed, curled in a ball, heart pounding in his ears. He tried so hard to remember something, anything that happened before, anything about himself…but nothing came up.

He felt like nothing, the poor pup. He started to question his own existence in the world.

“…Was I meant to be here? The only thing I know for sure is that I exist. Did I always exist?” He started to look about the room for clues of his past. He figured that this is the place where he fell asleep and forgot everything. He looked at all the pictures on the wall, the toys on the floor, and the quality of the furniture, something that could spark even the slightest memory. But again, nothing popped in his head.

Frustrated, the pup barked like crazy.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Dan was getting ready to go upstairs and take Rusty to the vet to say his last goodbye.

“I know you don’t want to do this. We don’t want to either. But we have no choice. Rusty isn’t going to get any better.” Nick told him.

Dan nodded, unable to speak because of all the crying he’s done.

“You don’t have to come with us if you don't want to.” Jill said.

“No.” Dan squeaked out. “I wanna go. I wanna say goodbye to him.”

Jill nodded, her eyes starting to feel moist as well.

Nick patted Dan’s shoulder. “Now go and bring Rusty down here, and we’ll wait for you outside, okay?”

Once again, Dan nodded, to overcome by his sadness to respond with words.

Suddenly, a magical moment happened.

As Dan took the first step up the staircase, he heard something he thought he would never be able to hear.

Barking.

He didn’t notice it at first, thinking it was just the neighbor’s puppy. And then he started to realize that the barking was coming from his room. As soon as he figured that out, he shot off like a rocket up the stairs.

“RUSTY!!” Dan screamed, the smile already returned to his face.

His parents quickly followed him, hearing the barking as well.

The little pup, sitting on the bed, jumped at the scream of a human boy’s voice.

“So people DO live here!” He realized. He didn’t have much time to think of anything else before a little boy barged in with the biggest smile he’s ever seen.

“RUSTY, YOU’RE AWAKE!!” He shouted. Then he opened his arms, picked up the pup and hugged him to his chest.

This really alarmed the pup, who was squirming, trying to be set free. The boy noticed and said, “Oh, Sorry, boy.” And put him down back on the bed.

“This must be my owner…” the pup thought to himself as he was trying not to get dizzy.

After that, his parents walked in and were completely shocked, staring at the puppy like he had five heads.

The boy turned to look at his parents. “See? He’s awake! I told you he would!”

The boy’s parents were just speechless, mouths wide open. And then the mother said. “Well…This is…REALLY a surprise!”

However the dad eventually rejoiced along with the boy. “I can’t believe it! He’s finally awake! Rusty’s awake!”

Meanwhile, the pup was trying to piece everything together.

“I must have been asleep for a long time.” He realized.  “They’re so happy to see me. I guess I must have always lived here.” He looked to the window again, and saw his reflection once more. This time, he saw around his neck, a collar, with the word RUSTY printed in big letters on the brass tag.

A big smile grew on his face. “Rusty…that’s me.” He breathed.

The pup looked at the little boy and the rest of his family. And his smile got bigger. “This is my home, this is my family. That means if I’ve forgotten anything, they’ll be here to remind me.”

The little boy picked the pup up again because he couldn’t stand his excitement. And this time the pup returned the favor with a lick on the boy’s cheek. Both of them started to laugh. The boy held the pup tighter as tears started to flow from his eyes. The pup now called Rusty nuzzled his chest in comfort, telling him everything is going to be ok. 

“I’m home again.”  He whispered. quietly.