Around the Bluhmin’ Town

By

Judy Bluhm

One step at a time. Seven miles. Rugged countryside. Mountain ranges and valleys. Darkness. Lost. All night long. Two years old. One boy. A big dog. And a miracle.

Have you ever been lost? I recall as a young girl being lost in the woods in Ohio. I was taking a short cut home and was proud that I had a compass, which I knew how to use. Once off a familiar path, and confused, I proudly got out my handy compass. One problem – I had no idea which direction I had come from. And no clue where exactly I was going. Yep, being lost can be terrifying.

Arizona made the headlines with one of the best “feel good” stories in a long time. Perhaps because of the improbability of it all. A child named Bowden Allen, in rural Seligman, wandered out of his house and within ten minutes, had vanished. A search party of over forty was assembled quickly. Night was falling. No sign of the little boy.

Sheriffs used night goggles, helicopters and drones. Night came and while the boy wasn’t spotted, two mountain lions were seen roaming the area. This is mountainous, high desert terrain. The news blasted everywhere “Lost Boy” as fear overcame the parents. It is hard to imagine a toddler surviving at night all by himself. What was he thinking?

A big dog named Buford, an Anatolian Pyrenees, patrols the ranch of his owner, Scotty Dunton, chasing off coyotes or other predators. The Dunton ranch is about seven miles from the lost boy’s home. And in the morning, when Dunton walked out to his front gate, there was Buford standing next to a frightened, tired, small child. Asking the child if he walked all night, the boy said, “No, I slept under a tree and then this dog found me.”

So many stories like this have ended in tragedy. The world let out a collective sigh when Bowden was found. Something positive to celebrate. A hero dog and a resilient little boy, who had no water bottle, hiking boots, backpack, flashlight, food, or idea where he was headed.

I had a big yellow labrador retriever named Piper in Skull Valley, who liked to “find” lost animals. One day I saw Piper walking with a rooster following behind him down Old Skull Valley Road as they headed into the barn. Anyone lose a rooster? I inquired, but no one claimed him. Piper also shepherded a pregnant cat into the barn one evening. Another time he guided a “lost cow” up our road and onto our pasture.

Lost. It can also be a state of mind. Like not knowing what to do next, or how to go on living when something tragic happens. Even if we have a compass, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we know where we are going. So, we take one step at a time. For all the impossible journeys ahead of us, and all the mountains we must climb, may we take inspiration from a toddler named Bowden and a dog named Buford. Miracles happen.

Judy Bluhm is a writer and a local realtor. Contact Judy at [email protected] or visit www.aroundthebluhmintown.com.