Rescuers spot barking dog trapped on ledge near Washington trail — and get creative
Rescuers had to get creative when they found a dog in a predicament: the animal was trapped on a small and steep ledge near a northern Washington trail with no way out.
The owner called rescuers Thursday, Feb. 29, when they realized their Pyrenees mix named Yuki was somewhere along the Pacific Northwest Trail in Whatcom County, the Washington State Animal Response Team said in a March 2 Facebook post.
They could hear her barking but didn’t know exactly where she was, the nonprofit said.
Rescuers then spotted Yuki on a ledge, about 250 feet below the trail.
“There was a drop of 50 feet off smooth rock on either side of her and no way for her to safely travel out on her own,” the group said.
But the rescue team came up with a plan. They found a spot above Yuki and lowered one person 150 feet down “steep and bushy terrain.”
A twin tension rope system was then used to lower the rescuer another 100 feet down the slope before reaching Yuki.
She appeared healthy and was wagging her tail when a rescuer greeted her on the small ledge made out of dirt and mud, the group said.
“Yuki was secured into a rescue harness, muzzled, and attached to the rope system for the trip down,” the group said.
She was lowered 50 feet down the cliff and reunited with her owner, and they returned to the trailhead, the group said.
The Pacific Northwest Trail is a 1,200-mile hike that runs east to west, starting in Glacier National Park in northern Montana. It takes hikers through Idaho and ends in Washington at the Pacific Ocean in Cape Alava.
This story was originally published March 5, 2024 at 12:28 PM with the headline "Rescuers spot barking dog trapped on ledge near Washington trail — and get creative."
