14ers.com

wash wrote:My wife and I were doing Bierstadt/Evans today via Sawtooth. We found a female german shepherd that was injured and appears to have been there for several days. We gave her food and water but were unable to get her out. Her paws are pretty damaged and she refused to walk (unfortunately she is too big to carry and wasn't cooperative).
If you are missing her we've attached a photo showing her location. If you need assistance in locating her you can contact me at <edited>.

Screen Shot 2012-08-11 at 7.40.04 PM.png

DSCN1142_2.JPG

I am not familiar with the route. Can the road on the southeast side of Evans be driven? It goes almost to the summit. That said, I don't know what the terrain is from there.

I would like to say that "litter carries" are not easy. Particularly in scree.

On way, Dan . <edited>

Massholeo wrote:On way, Dan . <edited>

I would not recommend a "Night Operation" as it is generally dangerous for the rescuers. As I understand it, the dog has been given food and water for now.

Daylight would be my strong recommendation

live4pc wrote:Don't you think it would be a better idea to hold off till mourning and then go the visibility would be much better for finding the dog??

Exactly. A night hike is a rash decision, the kind of panic lost hikers make. The only thing leaving for a unofficial rescue at 10pm will accomplish is putting your own selves in danger, possibly compounding the problem. If the dog appeared to have been out for several days, it can last until morning.

If the dog was out for several days(btw, how was this determined??) and no one has heard anything, no forum topics on the web, no lost dog signs at Guanella/Evans, no word left with the authorities, then something is amiss. People usually say something about a lost dog, especially one left near 13000 feet. With recent casualties on the sawtooth, finding something out about the owner should not be an afterthought.

Maybe the reason no authorities seem interested is because the points I made above havent been communicated clearly to them.

If help is needed text me at <edited>.

We are leaving for Kelso Ridge about 3:00 am or so. But we will divert to Bierstadt if need be.

id be down for this what time are you guys going? i assume the plan would be to lug the dog back up bierstadt?

Ditto on a night effort. Wouldn't it be better to go in from Guanella Pass? It took me about 3.5 hours to summit Bierstadt from Guanella Pass, and I think it would take longer from anywhere on Mt. Evans Road. It will be difficult going back up the scree to Bierstadt on the way out, but going down to Abyss Lake and up to Mt. Evans Road, or over the rest of the Sawtooth to Evans' summit would be just as bad (if not worse).

The weather forecast for tomorrow shows a chance of thunderstorms after noon, so an early start is probably a good idea.

I’ve been wanting to climb Bierstadt again for a while, and when I got online tonight to decide where to go for a last-minute hike tomorrow and saw this post it made my choice easy. I know all of us with dogs appreciate the quick empathic responses and eagerness to try to help (but I also second the thought that waiting until the sun rises is probably wise).

Having said that, I hope the dog is somehow rescued tonight or first thing tomorrow and I don’t get the chance to meet any of you in person, but just in case I figured I’d add my name to the list of folks who will be up there tomorrow morning in case an extra set of hands is helpful for anything. I don’t have access to any special vet supplies (other than some doggy Advil that I’ll throw in my pack), a litter, or any of the things mentioned above, but will bring some food, treats, and water (and an extra water bowl just in case that’s helpful). If anyone happens to see this tonight and thinks of other things that would be good to bring please post those suggestions and I’ll check again before heading out.

The one other thing I thought I’d mention in case others are heading up: it might be worth sticking in a collar and leash if you happen to have one around the house. Our dog (a Shepherd mix that looks startlingly similar to this pup) has injured her paw or claw fairly severely a few times over the years while out on a trail. The first few times this happened I tried to carry her, thinking that was the best (or only) option. Even though she trusts me, picking her up completely spooked her and made her fight hard to be put down, but she was happy to limp along slowly despite her injuries until we could get back to the car. So, since the lost dog is probably used to the procedure for walks, I’m just thinking that it might be worth a shot to put a collar on her and see if she’d be willing to try to walk out slowly on a leash (maybe with some extra gauze to pad her feet if she’ll put up with that). Probably a long shot, but may be worth a try.

benadryl knocks a dog out i think

I wish I could be out there to help with the rescue effort in the morning! The response to this is very inspiring to see. Here's to the safe return of everyone on the mountain, dog included!

Benadryl may or may not work. My experience is that it was totally ineffective in calming 2 dogs with fear of thunder. I've tried Xanax, with only slightly better results. Neither of these rendered the dog anywhere close to unconscious, but only sedated them some.

Someone may want to bring a muzzle, as an injured or frightened dog may try to bite. An alternative is something like a necktie or bathrobe belt.

I'd suggest those going at least agree on a meet-up time and place. Everything so far seems to be rather disorganized and haphazard.

@massholeo there are two of us hiking up tomorrow we have dog sedatives packed we are also going to bring a leash and a sheet in case we can maybe carry her out in that. What time are you planning on heading up and from where.