Sno Co search and rescue sucks, can't save a dog

[shapp]

Congradulations to the CC.comer who got a call on sunday night and went up to Wallace falls early in the morning yesterday and single handedly recued the dog that fell over 100 feet down a cliff to a ledge. The Snohomish County Search and Rescue wouldn't do it, the cops, fire department, parks department all would do nothing to save a boys dog that fell down the cliff. From what I understand it was clear from the top of the cliff that the dog had survived and was safely on a ledge.

[thelawgoddess]

"can't" and "wouldn't" are two different stories.

[Mr._Natural]

good on whoever did the deed.

[Dechristo]

mebbee da dog wuz too muhch a beyotch

[catbirdseat]

I have nothing but good things to say about Snohomish County Search and Rescue. If it weren't for them, my son wouldn't be alive.

 

Last week they found a lost hiker on Pugh who would have died, if they hadn't found him when they did.

[Gary_Yngve]

Brian, do you know the full story on that? I heard something like they were initially told he was on some other peak instead, and somehow they figured/found out that he was actually on Pugh.

[catbirdseat]

I know very little about that rescue, except that my friend Mark took time from work to go look for the guy.

 

I assume they found his car at the trailhead.

[sobo]

"can't" and "wouldn't" are two different stories.

 

TLG got it.

[nolanr]

A friend of mine mentioned a guy being stranded on a ledge on Pugh for several days and then being rescued. Never saw or heard anything about in the news. Weird how they pick and choose which stories to publicize in the media. We were up there a week before the incident.

[catbirdseat]

Television picked it up. They interviewed the man. Never saw it in print though.

[knelson]

... Weird how they pick and choose which stories to publicize in the media. ...

 

It IS interesting how rescues play out, or don't, in the media. There are a lot of rescues that never get media attention. I've often wondered if there is some intial contact between the media and rescue coordinators asking for "permission" to cover a rescue. Sometimes, the situation might be a little politically sensitive for mass consumption. Do any of our news-working lurkers have any insight?

 

Hats off to all the Search & Rescue/Mountain Rescue folks out there. While the emotional attachment to pets can be just as strong for some people as for kids, the folks putting it on the line need to draw the line somewhere. Fireman stopped rescuing kitties from trees looooooong ago.

 

-kurt

[iain]

Fireman stopped rescuing kitties from trees looooooong ago.

 

But if they do it's a full-length feature on the evening news.

[shapp]

Yeah you're probably right. They made the right decision in leaving the dog to starve on the ledge.

[cj001f]

Yeah you're probably right. They made the right decision in leaving the dog to starve on the ledge.

Sno Co made the decision to cut their budget so they can't afford to rescue dogs. Perhaps you'll pay more taxes so they can increase the budget?

[knelson]

Yeah you're probably right. They made the right decision in leaving the dog to starve on the ledge.

 

My uneducated guess is that their insurance company made that decision for them.

[thelawgoddess]

Yeah you're probably right. They made the right decision in leaving the dog to starve on the ledge.

how would you feel if your child/father/brother/wife was in need of rescue but the SAR group was unavailable because they were out rescuing someone's dog? this group was not set up to save animals. i'm not saying animals don't deserve to be saved, but look at the bigger picture. in the end, the precious dog got saved and the guy who did it deserves praise ... but that doesn't mean you have to go knocking everybody else in the world who didn't. and you certainly don't need to go knocking an all-volunteer organization that could some day save YOUR ass.

[sobo]

TLG got it, again. Couldn't have said it better meself. Thanks, TLG.

[catbirdseat]

A bit of clarification. Calls for rescue go through the County Sheriff's department. The deputy on duty makes the call on whether or not to call the SAR unit.

[DCramer]

I happened to be the guy who called the “hero” on Sunday night. The Parks Dept called me around 9pm and asked for help in rescuing the dog. The Parks epartment did not feel it had the technical skills needed to perform the rescue. After being turned down by other groups they called me. I was not able to get out in the morning but said I would make a few calls. The ranger gave me his home phone number and when I asked how late I could call he responded, “as late as you want.” The Parks Department clearly was trying their best to get the dog rescued safely. I say thumbs up to the hero and thumbs up the Parks guys!

Edited June 14, 2005 by DCramer

[thelawgoddess]

[shapp]

TLG,

 

Bottom line is that more people own dogs within the City of Seattle than have children (based on the City's stats), so a lot of people out there should be aware that if something happens to your animal you will be very lucky to have it rescued by anyone.

 

Based on this incident the family was extremely lucky to find anyone to rescue the dog in time to save its life.

 

BTW, I know a lot of dogs that I would rescue first before some people I know.

[catbirdseat]

Maybe the time has come to form a special Dog Rescue Unit (DSU). It would be an all-volunteer organization, just like SAR.

[cj001f]

Maybe the time has come for form a special Dog Rescue Unit (DSU). It would be an all-volunteer organization, just like SAR.

Milkbone/Petsmart sponsorship available!

[iain]

What were the specs on this situation? The dog was 100ft down from the top, but how high off the ground? How big of a dog are we talking here?

[Gary_Yngve]

Another issue is will the dog be cooperative. I was talking to a firefighter the other day who was telling me about a time when they went to rescue a kitten from a tree, and as he, riding in the bucket, got close to the kitten, the kitten JUMPED! Being a kitten, it bounded down the tree apparently unharmed.