In 2002 I wrote a book titled River of Fear, Encounters, a paranormal action thriller based upon several of my wife's and my unexplainable encounters. Rudy was one of the characters in the book, and it was published in March of 2003. God was good to me, and the first edition sold out quickly. During August of that year the book was put through several more rounds of diligent editing, and the second edition was printed by month's end. Right in the midst of the editing frenzy something happened on the night of August 14th that continues almost nightly to this day, no matter if I'm traveling around the country doing book signings, or if I'm at home.
I went to bed at 9:00 PM that night, and my wife stayed up to watch TV. I had just finished my nightly prayers and rolled onto my right side when it felt like something had jumped onto the foot of the bed on my wife's side. I looked back over my left shoulder to see what was going on, but nothing was there. Of course that wasn't much of a surprise since we didn't have a pet. I laid my head back on the pillow, and as soon as I did I felt hesitant footsteps come diagonally across the bed toward my lower back. I did not attempt to look over my shoulder again, but I was not afraid, and I absolutely wanted to know what would happen next.
The movement stopped somewhere near my lower back, and a few seconds later I felt this warm pressure settle, little by little onto the lower part of my left leg. It went from my ankle to a couple of inches below my knee. At first the pressure was light, and as the seconds passed it got heavier and heavier, but not uncomfortably so. I could feel what had settled on me move occasionally, and sometimes it seemed that I could feel it breathing. After a while I also felt pressure on my right leg, and I developed the distinct impression that it was a large dog curled up on my legs. I began to hope that my wife would come to bed soon … I wanted to describe to her everything that I was experiencing before it stopped.
At 10:00 PM I let out a small sigh of relief when I heard her coming up the stairs. I had barely moved a muscle while I waited, mostly because I was afraid that whatever was on me would go away if I did. As soon as my wife walked into the bedroom I explained what had been happening. She walked to the foot of the bed and passed her hand over my legs, feet to knees, approximately two inches above the covers. Whatever had settled on my legs immediately disappeared, but that was not the end of it.
The very next night I felt the same pressure settle in the same place as it had the night before, accompanied by the same warmth and movements. Just like the night before, I felt the pressure on my left leg first, and then on my right. Neither my wife nor I felt anything jump on the bed as I had the night before. As the event evolved I described everything I felt on my legs to my wife, and she developed the impression that I was complaining, so she said, "Why don't you tell it to go away?" But that's not what I wanted to happen. I wanted to try to communicate with, or at least understand whatever it was.
Shortly after we went to bed on August 18th I told my wife that the entity was back, and when I told her that the pressure had reached its final stage, she grabbed the covers, pulled them taunt and jerked them up. I was amazed when I felt them come up off my entire body, but the warmth and weight on my legs never changed one bit. It was like the covers simply passed right through the entity that was on me. Once I felt the covers settle back onto me I tried emptying my mind to communicate with it again, but I was very tired and soon fell asleep. When I woke up some time later, it was gone.
I have told more people that I can recall about my frequent nightly visitor, and many have offered their thoughts as to what it could be. Whenever I discussed my unseen visitor with anyone, I always told them about my distinct impression that it was a large dog. But I did not have a clue to as what dog.
On November 4, 2004 at 4:55 AM, I received not only a clue, but also a confirmation that the dog was a basset hound, and that it IS Rudy that has been coming to me. Rudy came to me three times during that night, which was very unusual. Normally it is once, sometimes twice, but rarely three times. The third time that I felt him settle on my leg was just before 4:55 AM. I was lying in bed relaxing. I was tired. I had slept soundly until midnight, and then it was catnaps for the rest of the night. I looked at the clock at 4:35 AM and thought about getting up, but because I was so darn tired I procrastinated.
My eyes were closed, when suddenly a golden light filled my vision. It was like a light had been turned on in the room, but that was not the case. Abruptly the light compressed into a golden cloud-like shape to the upper left, and for a couple of seconds it kind of floated there, completely surrounded by darkness. I described it as kind of floating because it reminded me of the way a boat moves when sitting in gently rolling water. Suddenly something that resembled a thin whirling golden waterspout spewed from the cloud toward the center of my vision. As I focused on the spot where the streaming light had stopped, it began to take on a shape. A tail formed first, and then like someone was rapidly blowing up a golden balloon, the shape expanded from right to left. When it was complete there was a golden silhouette in the middle of my vision that was surrounded by total darkness … and the silhouette was unmistakably that of a basset hound. It was standing broadside to me, and facing to the left. The second that I recognized what the silhouette was, I felt Rudy settle onto my leg for the third time that night.
Now there is no doubt in my mind that Rudy, my departed furry friend and companion, has been my frequent nightly visitor. I firmly believe that his presence has something to do with the second printing of River of Fear, Encounters. I have no idea how much longer he will continue to come to me, but I look forward to, and cherish each and every one of his visits.
Rudy and I became best buddies back in the early '70s. He was a lovable long eared basset hound that had a passion for chasing rabbits, and I loved to listen to his signature howl when he was hot on a track. Rudy, who also responded to Toot-man and Toot, passed in spirit in 1982, and our bond was so close … I knew the minute that he had died.
The morning before his passing Rudy began to bleed from the nose, and it would not stop. Later in the day I took him to a veterinarian friend of mine, and Doc gave him some kind of a shot. He also asked me to leave the Toot-man overnight so he could keep an eye on him. At around two in the morning I was awakened from a sound sleep when I clearly heard Rudy's distinctive howl, the same one I heard whenever he found a fresh rabbit track. I bolted to a sitting position as my heart sank straight to the pit of my stomach … I instinctively knew what it meant.
My sudden movement shook the bed enough to wake my wife, and she asked what was wrong. I told her I was pretty sure that Rudy had just died. Unfortunately I was right. Doc called me at 7:00 AM, and I knew by the tone of his voice what to expect. He told me that when he went to check on Rudy, he found that he had passed sometime during the night. Later that morning I buried Rudy in our backyard, and said a tearful goodbye. I didn't expect to be with my fur-faced friend again until I too passed in spirit.
