She looked at him then slowly nodded.
Law hopped away from the truck toward the sound. The siren was echoing around the valley but the Doppler effect told him it was coming toward him. About two hundred yards out, a state trooper cruiser appeared on a rise in an unseen road. If he’d had his prosthesis he would have made a run for it, hoping the sight of a man in motion would catch the trooper’s attention.
Instead, Law looked around for something to flag them down with, in case they sped by without noticing the wreckage. But then something caught his eye.
A rusty-red speck was bounding across the open ground ahead and at an angle to the cruiser.
Law smiled. The doodle had done it!
He saw the cruiser slow to a stop and a trooper popped out, megaphone in hand. “Trooper Battise?”
Law waved both arms back and forth over his head, balancing on one leg.
“Sit tight. I’ve got backup coming.”
Law nodded but he really wasn’t listening. He was watching Sam, now about fifty yards out, slow down, wobble around in the snow, and then collapse.
*
“I’m not getting a pulse.” Jori looked at Law, who was kneeling in the snow holding Sam in his arms.
He didn’t look up. “Get a thermal blanket from the trooper. Get it here fast.”
He saw her wheel away from him. She’d helped him get to Sam, acting as his crutch, but this was his dog, his responsibility. It tore him up that he had to ask for help when he should be the one helping others.
Jori was headed for the cruiser while the trooper was calling for an ambulance after checking out Becker’s condition. Everyone was doing their share.
He glanced down at Sam. She was lying lifeless in his arms. Ice crusted her muzzle and face. He ran a hand gently over her head to dislodge icicles. She was suffering from hypothermia. He needed to get her warm.
Unable to carry her, he sat in snow and tucked as much of her body inside his jacket as he could manage. He knew about K-9 care. As Jori and the trooper came running back, he went over the treatment in his head to keep from going crazy with worry.
He had time. Minutes. Even if she wasn’t breathing.
Wrap the dog in a blanket. Find a warm place.
He began to rub her body vigorously with his hands, trying to get the blood flowing. She’d run a long way. He was careful not to touch her ears, nose, ears, or feet. If she had frostbite, this would only make things worse.
Sam shuddered in his embrace, her body fighting for its life. He could hear her gasping.
“It’s okay, Sam. I got you.” Law hugged her tighter, letting her chill wet fur soak his shirt. At least she was getting some heat from his body.
“We’ve got a thermal blanket. And some instant heat packs.” The trooper began tearing open the blanket packet while Jori squeezed the packs to activate them.
When the trooper had spread the thin Mylar blanket on the ground, Law lay Sam on it. She was still now, no breath sounds coming.
Still time.
Law grabbed Jori’s wrist and shook his head as she would have placed a warming pack next to Sam. “Wrap the packs in something. If they get too hot next to her skin we’ll have other problems.”
“Right.” Jori tore off her only glove, stuffed the hand warmer into it, and handed it to him.
“I’ll find something else.” She turned away and headed for the truck.
Law wrapped Sam up and leaned over her.
“How you doing, Sam?” He rubbed her roughly through the blanket. No response. He felt for her pulse but couldn’t locate it.
He checked her pupils. They were dilating. Sam was unconscious, going into a coma.
“She’s dead.” Jori had fallen onto her knees beside him.
“No. Not yet.” Law heard his own voice as if from a distance. “I’m going to use CPR.” He’d done this before, when his K-9 had jumped a fence in Kandahar and landed on a live electrical wire. The shock had stopped his heart. Hypothermia was a bit trickier. Sam had exhausted herself.
The blast of a siren close by made the little party jump. Another state police auto and an ambulance were arriving.
“Here comes the cavalry.” The trooper sounded relieved.
Law didn’t respond.
He stretched Sam out carefully, tucking a second hand warmer Jori gave him under her shoulder. He noted in passing that the cover looked an awful lot like a bra but made no comment. He was running the scenario in his head. It had been nearly four years since he’d practiced this technique.
He gently tried to open her lower jaw but met resistance. She was stiffening up. He needed to move more quickly. He didn’t smell vomit and hoped her passageway was clear. He aligned Sam’s head with her back and tilted it a little more to open up her airway.
His hand was large enough that when he placed it under her jaw, he could use his thumb as a clamp over the top of her nose so that no air could escape through her mouth.