100-Pound Dog Injured On Hiking Trail Is So Happy To See His Rescuers

Meet Duke — a four-year-old Golden Retriever who loves to spend time outdoors with his family.

Duke especially loves going on hikes, but during a recent trek through Vancouver’s North Shore Mountains, the 100-pound dog got stuck on a difficult trail and needed the help of a few kind rescuers to get him out of trouble.

The 100-pound dog cut his paws when the trail he and his mom were hiking turned into sharp rocks. Duke’s mom tried to carry him to safety herself, but the terrain beneath her feet was still too rough to walk on and the narrow trail had a steep drop-off. So she called North Shore Rescue for help.

Within minutes, air operations coordinator John Blown and the rest of his team responded to the scene via helicopter.

“We were able to land not that far away, exit the helicopter and hike down to the location,” Blown said.

Although the North Shore Rescue team is used to saving humans on the mountain range, they’ve rescued a few dogs in the past, so they knew just what to do.

“We put him in a rescue harness and then one of our members hiked the dog back to the helicopter,” Blown said.

Duke was over 100-pounds and in pain from his paw injuries, but he stayed calm during the entire rescue. In fact, he was pleased to be picked up by his rescuers.

“You would think that [when] picking up a big dog and carrying them, they might get upset,” Blown said. “But when we got him into the helicopter and put him down there, he looked pretty happy.”

The North Shore Rescue team then lifted the helicopter off the dangerous peak and brought Duke and his humans safely to the ground again.

Duke’s humans then brought him to a local vet clinic immediately after landing, where he received emergency care for his paws.

Thanks to North Shore Rescue’s quick response, Duke is on the mend. According to the vet, his paws should be fully healed in just a few weeks, which means he’ll be able to explore dog-safe trails with his parents again soon.