We received a call for a dog down a steep slope in Arlington, WA. Cheyenne, a Husky, was 35-40 feet down and couldn’t make it back up on her own.
We sent a call out to qualified members and had about 9 responders on the way shortly after. A couple of the technical team arrived just before it started to get dark, which made assessing the situation easier and the rescue safer since the team could make better judgements about how to proceed. They could see the dog, who was stationary, alert, and did not seem hurt.
The equipment van arrived fairly quickly as well, allowing the technical team to begin rigging ropes and clearing the blackberries in the way of getting to the dog and bringing her back up.
The attendant, the person descends to the animal to rig it and raise it back up, was Valon M. for this rescue. Assisting was Michael C. whom some of you may remember as the attendant from the recent Cloe rescue.
Once everything was set, Valon began to descent to the dog, continuing to clear brush. Michael rappelled down shortly after to help cut back the canes, then ascended again using prusiks,
At the dog, Valon fitted her with a harness we have for these occasions. After everyone was ready, the raise team brought Valon and Cheyenne back up.
Cheyenne seemed thirsty but otherwise unhurt. After that, the team debriefed, packed up, and headed home.
Twix, Horse Across a River