A dog was rescued from near the summit of Mt. Hope, Colorado by the Chaffee County Search and Rescue North (CCSAR-N) on Thursday, July 6.
In a social media post, CCSAR-N said that they were “alerted to a dog in distress” at approximately 13,600 feet near the summit of Mt. Hope at around 2:15 p.m. in the afternoon.
Bailey, a 100-pound German shepherd, had summited the peak earlier in the day with his owner but was now “immobile and unable/unwilling to continue”. After a few hours of trying to coax him along, his owner decided to descend alone for his own safety and well-being. He was unable to carry Bailey down with him.
Using coordinates from a cell phone ping, CCSAR-N team members were able to identify Bailey’s general location. Two teams of 8 members in total gathered at the Sheep Gulch trailhead and hiked around seven miles up the east ridge of Mt. Hope. They were able to locate Bailey, who greeted the team with “grateful wags”. The volunteers then carried Bailey down in a dog-sling backpack, said CCSAR-N. They were later met by another team who provided litter carry assistance to wheel Bailey down.
Almost 12 hours after he summited, Bailey made it down and was reunited with his owner. The pup is “doing well and will receive a full vet check as soon as possible,” CCSAR-N shared on social media.
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CCSAR-N urged pet owners to mindfully plan for their animal’s needs to avoid such instances.
“And though SAR does not officially respond for animals, we are all officially huge animal lovers, so we do what we can when we can,” added the organization.
CCSAR-N is an organization of volunteers who work to help those who find themselves in unfortunate situations, according to their website. Members serve at the request of the sheriff’s office, which is legally in charge of all SAR operations in the county.
