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If there is one thing that Coloradans love as much as the outdoors, it may be dogs. But sometimes, the adventures humans plan — from summiting Colorado’s 14er peaks to backpacking through the wilderness — can be a little too “ruff” for their canine companions.

In the past month, search-and-rescue volunteers in the state have staged at least four missions to rescue injured or exhausted dogs from the backcountry.

While some backcountry rescue teams in Colorado will rescue dogs, others will only do so unofficially, and some groups have policies stating that they only rescue people, Colorado Search and Rescue Association Public Information Manager Anna DeBattiste said.

“But if you cannot get your dog out of the backcountry on your own, call 911 and ask the question,” DeBattiste said. “We love dogs, too, and we know that if we don’t rescue the dog, we may end up having to rescue the exhausted or injured owner later.”

Exhausted dogs

Volunteers with Park County Search and Rescue recently responded to two calls involving exhausted dogs in less than a week.

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Daniel Knudsen, field director for Park County Search and Rescue, said the most recent rescue occurred on Tuesday, June 24, when the team received a call from two hikers in the Lost Creek Wilderness who reported their dog Willow had “given up.”

Three days deep into a more than 30-mile backpacking trip that climbed past 12,000 feet in elevation, Willow laid down and refused to move, Knudsen said. The night before calling for search-and-rescue, the hikers had scooped Willow up and pitched camp, hoping she would recover, he said. By morning, the dog’s condition hadn’t changed, and she still refused to move.

Soon, five search-and-rescue volunteers were trekking more than 5 miles deep into the wilderness area to help the dog, he said. The team located the hikers and their pet exactly where expected and loaded the dog into a litter, feeding it treats to help make it comfortable, he said.

Willow was so tired that the few times the search-and-rescue team took her out of the litter to see if she could walk on her own, “you could immediately see her legs quivering, the muscles exhausted,” he said. When the team finally arrived back at the trailhead after nearly 10 hours, Willow laid down beside a search-and-rescue vehicle while her owners went to pick up the car, he said.

“It looked like she was going to recover fine, but she was still flat whooped,” Knudsen said. “I mean, her humans had to pick her up and put her in the back seat. Those paws were very likely going to blister and need some time to heal.”

Just days earlier, on Saturday, June 21, Park County Search and Rescue responded to a similar mission involving an 11-year-old Labrador named Luna. But this time, it wasn’t just the dog that needed rescue.

After Luna became too exhausted to continue on the multi-day backpacking trip that her owners had brought her on, the husband-and-wife couple exhausted themselves trying to save their dog, Park County Search and Rescue Social Media Manager Hailey McKenna said.

When the husband attempted to carry the 80-pound dog, he exhausted himself to the point where he “got super dizzy, couldn’t stand up, and was really dehydrated,” McKenna said. The wife ran ahead to the end of the trail to call for search-and-rescue, but she was also “in pretty rough shape” and in need of fluids, she said.

Rescuers ended up carrying the husband out of the backcountry on a litter and assisting the dog through the final 2 miles of the hike.

“This is a great example of how a pet emergency becomes a human emergency,” McKenna said. “When our dogs stop, we’re going to do everything we can to get our fur babies out of there. If we don’t have the stamina and we’re not equipped to carry them out, then that can become a life-threatening situation for everyone involved.”

On Sunday, June 23, Lake County Search and Rescue also launched a mission to assist a hiker whose dog was too exhausted to continue down Mount Elbert, Colorado’s tallest peak, with an elevation of 14,433 feet. 

The rescue team hiked up to meet the pet and its owner and “with some encouragement, cool stream breaks, and plenty of rest, the pup was able to walk down on its own,” Lake County Search and Rescue wrote in a Facebook post.

Also this month, Summit County Rescue Group sent about 10 members up the Buffalo Cabin Trail near Silverthorne to who reported his dog became exhausted and had injuries to its paws. The rescue volunteers wheeled the nearly 90-pound dog back out to the trailhead on a litter.

“We frequently rescue dogs with paws that are bleeding and badly damaged,” Summit County Rescue Group mission coordinator Charles Pitman said. “People should remember that Fluffy will follow you, the owner, anywhere you go. The dog doesn’t understand the concept of saying, ‘Sorry, but that’s out of my comfort zone.'”

The dog essentials

Just like anyone headed out into the backcountry should always carry the 10 essentials, Knudsen said that anyone who heads out on the trail with their dog should carry their pet’s essentials. That includes a first-aid kit for the dog, paw protection, a rescue harness, a dog bowl, and extra food and water.

Especially on long hikes on rough surfaces, dog owners should consider bringing booties or socks for their dogs and should periodically check their dog’s paws for blistering or injuries, he said. It is also important to have the right items in a first-aid kit to tend to the dog, including injuries to its paws, he said, noting that people can find dog first-aid classes both in-person and online.

“People really overestimate the durability and the toughness of their dog’s feet,” Knudsen said. “Especially, when you start racking up into double-digit miles – 10, 20, 30 miles on decomposed granite — it’s a lot more than people anticipate.”

McKenna also suggested that anyone hiking with their dogs bring a rescue harness, like the Fido Pro Airlift Dog Sling, that allows the dog to be carried like a backpack. It is also best to have a leash that attaches to a harness, rather than just the collar, she said.

When choosing a hike, McKenna said people should consider their dog’s training and endurance as well as their own, including whether they’d be able to carry their dog out of the backcountry with them if it is injured or exhausted.

“If you’re going on a really challenging hike, hopefully you have the physical fitness and stamina to put your dog in that (harness) and get them out of there,” McKenna said. “It is a really, really big use of resources to have a search and rescue team come get them.”

While search-and-rescue group policies for dog rescues vary, Knudsen said that Park County Search and Rescue’s policy is that the team will respond to calls for dogs at a known location but will not search for a dog. He also noted that in Colorado, the helicopter teams that work with search and rescue will not rescue dogs.

That’s why it’s important to carefully consider whether the trail is right for a dog, Knudsen said. In technical terrain, dogs can slide off steep cliffs or knock loose rocks that pose a danger to themselves or other hikers, he said.

Earlier this year, Mesa County Search and Rescue used ropes to help rescue a dog that had fallen more than 100 feet to the bottom of a canyon. And dogs have taken falls on Colorado’s 14ers too — including in 2023, when , leading the Alpine Rescue Team to stage an 8-hour rescue in precarious terrain.

“These rescues can be difficult,” Knudsen said. “You’re exposing highly vulnerable rescuers. Technical terrain just is not the place for a dog. Leave them at home where they’re safe.”

Noting that wildlife like moose are abundant in Colorado, Pitman said that hikers should keep their dogs on leash no matter where they are, so as not to spook wild animals that could pose a danger to the pet or cause it to run off.

While many rescue groups in Colorado are willing to respond to rescue a dog, McKenna noted that human rescues will always take priority, and if rescuers are out in the field rescuing a dog, that could delay them if another call comes in.

“Say while we’re in the field we get another call for a truly life-threatening situation, our response time is going to be significantly delayed,” McKenna said. “So yes, we want to rescue your dog. Yes, that’s important. We love dogs and we want to help those humans to make sure they don’t experience an emergency. But it is a really serious use of resources.”