THUNDER BAY -- Two Thunder Bay women have turned the true story of a dog who survived a tumble down a waterfall in Quetico Provincial Park into a chidren's book.
Cindy Sakiyama co-authored A Most Unusual Journey in Quetico Park with Elizabeth Straiton, a member of the board of directors of Friends of Quetico.
Sakiyama, who also illustrated the book, says the fictionalized account is "loosely based" on the disappearance of Kali during a canoe trip in Quetico with her North Carolina-based owners in July of last year.
The 7-year-old retriever mix survived 10 days in the wilderness after slipping into violent rapids known as Rebecca Falls. Her owners had searched for her for two days but returned home, devastated, after deciding she must have drowned.
But Kali had made it to an island, where her barking eventually caught the attention of other park visitors.
The dog was ultimately flown to park headquarters by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, and was reunited with her family who travelled back from the U.S. to retrieve her.
Sakiyama told Tbnewswatch in an interview on Tuesday that she and Straiton "took it from our imagination as to how this little dog was able to survive all those days in the park."
She said the book was fun to do, and contains some lessons for children about how to keep the environment in Quetico pristine, as well as teaching points about water safety and campfire safety, and what it means to help others.
"It's a little bit of an educational piece as well as a story," she said.
The book is available at several locations around Thunder Bay at a cost of $10. Proceeds from sales will support the Friends of Quetico.
Sakiyama said Straiton contacted the dog's owners before writing the book, and they were pleased to hear about the project.
