saving the dog

[RiverAux]

The news today included a story about the rescue of another group of people on Mt. Hood in Oregon.  Apparently these mountain climbers had their dog with them and it was rescued also.  The mountain was totally covered in ice and snow.  How the heck did the dog make it up there in the first place?  I'd consider charging the owners with animal abuse.  Just nuts!

[swya]

depends what type of dog because back in older days didn't they use dogs for rescues and such, also the dogs that dogsledrace in alaska call do that easy

[RiverAux]

Climbing up to 8000' on an ice covered mountain is just a bit different than mushing through AK.  It isn't just this case -- I've seen other cases of people bringing dogs up mountains where they really shouldn't have been there. 

[ZigZag911]

Bear in mind that of all of them, the dog had little or no choice in the matter.

It certainly sounds irresponsible to bring a dog into such a situation.

[Chris Jacobs]

I watched the news and when the dog got out of the snow cat it was running around and playing in the parking lot.  Even being stuck up there and all it was still full of energy.  The sheriff is also crediting the dog with possibly saving the peoples lives because supposedly it slept on them last night and kept them warm.

It was a black lab i believe.

[SarDragon]

All I can say it, "Three Dog Night".

[shorning]

It certainly sounds irresponsible to bring a dog into such a situation.

I'm sure the Neanderthals would have disagreed.  We've just become too soft as a society.

[RiverAux]

Having a dog out while you're cross country sking?  No problem.  Taking a dog up a mountain where you have to rope yourselves together for safety is downright stupid. 

[CAP428]

Dogs are used in mountain-rescue situations all the time today.  While I would not personally take my dog up the mountain, it depends on  a lot of factors.'

Namely, what type of dog was it?

What was the weather like when they started?

Because, for example, a chihuaha would probably have less chance of surviving such an incident than, say, a husky or St. Bernard.

As far as weather, conditions can change in an instant with very little warning.  I have not looked into this event much, but it is quite possible that the conditions were fine enough for hiking with their dog and then quickly turned much worse.

I don't see any substantial case for animal abuse...

[RiverAux]

I'd say I was half-joking about actually charging them. 

But, again we're not talking about the bunny slope at the local ski resort or most places people go hiking. 

This is a very steep, ice-covered mountain that I'm sure has no other 4-legged animals up on it very often.

There is a human safety element to this as well.  From what I understand the dog was tied into their rope safety system and frankly I wouldn't want to be tied to an animal that really didn't know what was going on if there was a chance that animal could do something stupid and pull me over a cliff. 

[Major_Chuck]

First.  Go Dog!

Second.  How stupid of the humans.  Don't they check the weather forcast for the mountain before they head out into the blizzard. 

Last night when I watched the news the only thing I could think of is how hundreds of people have to put their lives in jeopardy to pluck these idiots off the mountain.  Sorry if I don't have any sympathy for the lost and stranded hikers/skiers/etc. 

The only plus in their favor was the dog and their little gps devices.  Beyond that.  They were stupid.

[Chris Jacobs]

The mountain right now is a challenging mountain to climb, but this Saturday was a beautiful day here.  i was half way up the mountain in short selves.  I think the people started off thinking it was going to be another nice day not realizing what was comming in.  On top of that there is far crazier things i have seen people do with their dogs than this.  In the summer the route they were taking is a challenging day hike.  Taking the dog might not have been the best choice, but it wasn't their first time up the mountain and i doubt it was the dogs either.

[RiverAux]

I tend to get very mixed feelings about the actions that lead to a SAR.  Most are usually preventable one way or another so lots of times people have done something stupid that has led to people putting their lives on the line for them.  However, thats what folks like us have volunteered to do.   So, I don't try to pass judgement, though I often think just like safetydude. 

[ZigZag911]

It certainly sounds irresponsible to bring a dog into such a situation.

I'm sure the Neanderthals would have disagreed.  We've just become too soft as a society.

Then again, the Neanderthals probably wouldn't have rescued anyone, either!

A modern house pet, no matter its instincts, is not prepared for mountain climbing!

By the way, I'm on board with the Geico folks -- who cares what the cave men think??

[ZigZag911]

 I think the people started off thinking it was going to be another nice day not realizing what was comming in.  .

Does anyone out there check a weather forecast before they start scaling Kilimanjaro or whatever?

[CAP428]

A modern house pet, no matter its instincts, is not prepared for mountain climbing!

Not necessarily.  First, nothing I have heard has indicated it was simply a "house pet."  It very well could have been, I just haven't heard so.

Second, people train their pets differently.  A poodle raised by a single woman in the big city is going to have much different abilities and tendencies than a large hunting dog raised in the country, etc.

There are plenty of pets that are prepared for climbing mountains (my dog being one of them, as I take her climbing all the time!).