‘They did the right thing’: North Shore Rescue airlifts injured dog to safety

North Shore Rescue is reminding dog owners to be aware of the conditions, after crews rescued an injured dog from Mount Seymour on Tuesday.

Duke, a golden retriever, was near the mountain’s peak when his owner Erin Waslen noticed he was limping and realized he’d cut the pads on the bottom of his feet.

“I bandaged them to see if that would help – it didn’t really help. We got him a little bit of ways, probably half a kilometre, and we just couldn’t get him any further,” she told Global News.

“I can’t lift him because he’s 100 pounds.”

Waslen called 911, who connected her with North Shore Rescue.

1:43 Temperatures rising across much of B.C. until Thursday

Search manager Don Jardine said the team were able to pinpoint Duke as being on the North Side of Tim Jones Peak, an area with a steep cliff that has seen recent fatalities.

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“He was quite a ways out, a couple of hours, in very rough terrain,” Jardine said.

“The dog was exhausted and was cut up by the sharp rocks. It’s a pretty hot day. And for a dog that size, I think they did the right thing.”

Jardine said the provincial government usually won’t subsidize animal rescues, and that Walsen had agreed to contribute financially to the rescue.

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But he said provincial officials agreed in this case that there could be serious risk to humans as well, and decided to cover liability and helicopter costs.

By calling for help rather than trying to carry Duke out in hazardous terrain, Walsen prevented possible injury to herself.

The rescue, however, is a good example of why dog owners should take extra care in the backcountry — particularly amid the current weather.

“Dog owners out there with large dogs, be careful in this heat,” he said.

“The trails are pretty hard, there are a lot of sharp rocks, and you may find yourself in trouble if you try and go too far.”