Rangers come to aid of overheated dog

Recent DEC Forest Ranger actions:

Town of Keene
Essex County
Pet Distress Reminder: On June 21 at 2:45 p.m., DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from a hiker advising that they were coming down Giant Mountain when their 75-pound Golden Retriever collapsed about one mile from Chapel Pond parking lot. The hiking party had started their trip at approximately 7 a.m. up the Ridge Trail and neglected to bring enough water for their dog. About halfway up the trail, the dog began to struggle and the group turned around to head back down. The dog collapsed from heat exhaustion just above the junction for the Ridge Trail and Giants Nubble. An Assistant Forest Ranger working in the area was notified and quickly found the distressed dog. The dog was carried to the Washbowl waterhole and placed in the water. After cooling the dog and giving it time to rest and rehydrate, the dog was able to make it back down the trail without further assistance.

Every summer DEC’s Forest Rangers receive calls for dogs in distress on hot summer days. Pet owners sometimes overestimate their pet’s physically fitness and capacity to walk on scalding hot rocks. DEC warns pet owners to avoid bringing dogs hiking with them in the summer. Dogs are at risk of heat exhaustion and death. If a dog collapses from exhaustion, owners are advised to get the animal to a shaded area as quickly as possible and cool their feet, which is the most effective way to help an overheated dog.

Town of Thurman
Warren County
Wildland Fire: On June 17 at 2 p.m., DEC’s Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from Warren County 911 requesting Forest Ranger assistance with a wildfire in the town of Thurman. Forest Rangers Chuck Kabrehl and Art Perryman responded and assisted Thurman and Warrensburg fire departments with the fire that was threatening a structure on Dippikill Road. An investigation determined that the fire was likely caused by an electric line that ran from a home to a barn on the property. Rangers assisted in putting the fire out quickly.

Town of Webb
Herkimer County
Wilderness Rescue: On June 19 at 4:58 p.m., Forest Ranger Dylan McCartney overheard radio traffic on the Herkimer County Sheriff’s frequency of an injured 19-year-old hiker from Winslow, New Jersey, near the summit of Bald Mountain. Forest Rangers McCartney and Lincoln Hanna responded to the area, arriving at 5:25 p.m. The Rangers located the hiker and determined she had a non-weight bearing ankle injury. With assistance from the Old Forge Fire Department, Rangers McCartney and Hanna carried the hiker out from the Bald Mountain Fire Tower and down the mountain using carry out and low-angle rope techniques. Forest Rangers and fire department personnel reached the trailhead at 6:45 p.m., where the hiker was turned over to the Old Forge Ambulance and transported to a local hospital for treatment.

Town of Keene
Essex County
Wilderness Rescue: On June 20 at 8:25 a.m., staff from the ADK/Johns Brook Lodge contacted Ray Brook Dispatch via radio reporting a 43-year-old male hiker from Rochester had an unstable ankle injury on the Phelps trail, descending from Little Marcy. Forest Ranger Lt. Julie Harjung directed Forest Rangers to report to NYSP Aviation in Lake Clear while additional Forest Rangers and an Assistant Forest Ranger responded by hiking to the injured man’s location. One Forest Ranger was inserted on the summit of Mt. Marcy by helicopter to look for the hiker. Forest Rangers hiking down the Phelps Trail located the hiker, assessed his injury, and splinted his lower leg. Forest Rangers radioed for a hoist extraction of the hiker and the helicopter flew him to Marcy Field to be transported by EMS to a local hospital.