A Close Call.

While fishing, Jack noticed his dog Rufus was missing. We searched the nearby area and discovered a snake had bitten Rufus. I quickly sucked the venom out from his wound to save his life. Abigail treated the dog at home, reassuring a Jack that Rufus would recover completely.

Jack felt pure joy after landing his fish, though I lost my own catch shortly after. As I prepared to try another piece of bait, Jack suddenly realized his dog Rufus was nowhere in sight.

He decided to go search for him immediately. There was no way I was going to let him wander off alone, so after stowing our fishing rods away safely, I joined Jack to track down Rufus.

I was not in any rush to speed up our search, but Jack urged me to check the far side of the riverbank. The urgency of the moment pushed me to cross over to the other side. A strange feeling settled over me, making me worry that something terrible might happen while leaving the boy alone for even a moment.

Once I reached the designated spot, I scanned the area thoroughly for any sign of the dog. Rufus was nowhere to be seen, and a sudden urge made me hurry back toward Jack instead.

My instincts were right on the mark, as trouble had already struck. I ran as fast as I could back to the kid, fearing the worst.

It turned out Jack was unharmed, but Rufus was in grave danger. A snake had bitten the poor dog on his leg. John told Jack to stay calm while John moved in to help Rufus. He knelt down beside the dog and began sucking the venom directly out of the bite wound.

As John pulled the poison out, Jack repeatedly warned him not to swallow any of it, so I helped him spit it onto the ground after every pull.

John carried the injured dog back toward the house and instructed Jack to gather the fishing rods and follow behind.

Jack returned shortly after, visibly terrified that Rufus might not survive the poison. Abigail stepped in to examine the wound and assured him the dog would be completely fine.

By the time another day arrived, the atmosphere had settled back to normal. John was outside on the barn, quietly brushing his horse under the morning sky. The ordeal was finally behind us, and the mission was complete. I could only hope that Rufus would make a full recovery and be back on his feet soon.