Always Travel with Your Dog

In recent weeks, the dangers of traveling in the mountains of the Northwest United States have topped headlines around the world. Sadly, when you live in these mountains, this type of tragedy becomes even more common. There are however, mountain stories with happy endings. Many of these rescue stories include a life saving dog.

A Utah woman, who was trail running alone, fell 60 feet and broke her pelvis. Her dog however, faithfully kept her warm throughout the twenty-degree night and the next day lead rescuers to her location. This is happily not the first time I have learned of a courageous mountain rescue by a loyal dog, and I’m sure it won’t be the last.

When I lived in South Lake Tahoe, California I always took my Shepherd-mix with me hiking. Honestly, I must confess, it was simply for companionship. However, during one hike she suddenly became extremely agitated and refused to let me continue forward. After about five minutes, I finally gave into her plaintive whining and we turned back towards the car. She wagged her tail proudly and was overall very please with herself!

A week later, I went to my friend’s home and took my dog with me. Due to several instances with roaming bears, my friend’s back porch was screened in. Maybe “screened in” is an understatement? Standing on this porch was really more like being a caged animal in a zoo. The screen literally went about twenty feet above your head and was even molded to create a makeshift roof. I don’t know how strong the actual screen really was, but if you were on this porch there was certainly an illusion of safety. Ah, mountain life!

The three of us were enjoying a relaxing afternoon on the back porch, when suddenly my dog started behaving in the same agitated state that she had displayed a week earlier. No less than ten minutes later, an enormous bear with her two round cubs appeared about twenty feet from the porch. The family moved at a fairly swift pace for their very large size and left a quickly as they came. It was an amazing sight!

I have never seen anything like this before or since. My dog, she just sat down and looked up at me, proudly panting. “I told you so,” she said.

Go to Local Ski Life: Sun Valley, Idaho or Trailing of the Sheep: Idaho to read more stories about mountain life.