Dog Rescue on Mt Washington

vftt.org

Help Support vftt.org:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
A big dog like that on that trail is just asking for trouble.....hiker not prepared and putting the rescuers and dog in a tough situation.Winston should at least get a scolding or something:rolleyes:....those volunteers were great to cash in his "what were you thinking" check which had insufficient funds.More and more it seems that there are people out on the trails with the attitude of when I run into trouble come and rescue me.A donation to the Humane Society at the very least is in order.
 
BTW, anyone involved in formal S&R for a person is covered by NH workmens compensation if they are injured on the rescue. That is not extended to pet rescues. A high profile member of S&R in the region (as well as a major animal lover) reportedly got a serious back injury years ago putting her out of work for some period of time helping to rescue a Newf out of the Great Gulf by irresponsible owners. It doesn't just happen to out of shape pets, thru hikers with dogs have had the same problem in the Northern Presi's and the Mahoosuc's with torn pads despite the dog walking all the way from Georgia. There is no full time vet in Gorham, the closest is North Conway, I have heard of at least two thru hiker incidents over the years where the hiker had to get off the trail for several days and eventually left it as they spent the money they needed to finish the trail on vet bills (at least that was their claim as Gorham tends to be big hurdle for some).

My friends long time hiking companion Golden Retriever wore off his pads part way on a ridge traverse (Jefferson, Adams Madison) one day despite hiking all summer. Not all dogs seem to have the issue and some folks like Unadogger carried booties for their dogs for those occasions.
 
Last edited:
Sounds Like A Search And Rescue had a great Podcast about this last week that included a couple of people who helped out with bringing the dog down.
 
Last edited:
I had to carry my dog down Adams using my hammock chair (Star Lake/Buttress/Great Gulf.) Shit happens. Every pet owner should know that there is no rescue options for them and prepare accordingly.
 
Reminds me of the time I watched people push a Rottweiler up the scrambles on Caps Ridge Trail. For a short bit on the start of the trail, the dog and its owners were a bit behind me. The dog kept running up to me and growling. Not cool. Bums me out when people bring a dog hiking that isn't made for that kind of thing.
 
Top