Helen Thayer

Charlie the Hero by My Side

This true-life adventure story tells of the unconditional love and devotion of a once nameless Arctic Inuit dog who risked his own life to save the life of his human companion from charging polar bears. In Resolute, one of the world's most remote and cold settled regions, where for several months the sun never rises, a seemingly ordinary Canadian Inuit sled dog gave birth to a pup who would live for twenty-three years and enter polar history when he walked at Helen Thayer's side to protect her from polar bears when she became the first woman to ski alone to the magnetic North Pole. Descended from both wolves and dogs, Charlie developed into one of the finest polar bear dogs in the world and is known and admired by adventure lovers worldwide. As he grew into a muscular adolescent, he proved fearless around bears. His snarling leaps and lightning-quick dodges to avoid razor-sharp claws and teeth that could rip flesh and kill, were spectacular and enough to persuade a bear to leave for more friendly territory. When temperatures dropped below zero, and howling winds again swept the frozen ocean and barren land with icy blasts, the village once more became the target of polar bear visits. It was time to protect residents from marauding bears. The dog raced after the bears, chasing them out of the village and far out onto the sea ice. At the age of eight, this nameless dog's life changed forever when Helen Thayer, a polar explorer, became his new owner. With limitless loyalty and true devotion, he protected her from bear attacks during her historical journey. Later, Charlie was introduced to the dogs, cats and goats on the Thayer family farm and quickly became the ruler of his new animal kingdom. His first encounter with a genuine Pacific Northwest rain storm and the green grass and trees he had never seen before, was at first investigated with utmost caution. The first cat he had even seen became a best friend. He accompanied Helen to her public speaking events and immediately claimed the center of attention and unashamedly basked in his newfound fame. There was no limit to his capacity to win human hearts. Continuing his remarkable story, Charlie later became the key that enabled Helen and her husband Bill to live close to wild wolves for a year in the Canadian Arctic when the Thayer's embarked on the monumental quest to observe and understand the ways of wolves in the remote northern wilderness. Charlie's wolf genes provided the pathway to acceptance by three wolf packs, even allowing close interaction with a family's pups. This is a one-of-a-kind story of an amazing dog who began life as a nameless Arctic dog, then as Charlie, went on to gain a unique place in canine history.