The owner told rescuers that he fell while hiking up the mountain Thursday, broke some of his fingers, and couldn’t get the dog to go back down with him, search and rescue coordinator Roger Beckett said.
The 62 lbs mix-breed, Lukka, scrambled up and away from her owner when he fell. That meant he couldn’t climb and get her on his own, and Lukka couldn’t be coaxed down on her own either, Beckett said.
The man returned Friday and could hear the dog’s barks, but she still wouldn’t make the downward climb on her own.
That’s when the man sought out the volunteers of the Olympic Mountain Rescue, who are trained to rescue hikers, and occasionally pooches.
“Once in awhile the need arises, and we’re happy to go out and look for the dogs,” Beckett said.
The team assembled at the trail Saturday morning and hiked with the owner to where Lukka had been. The crew helped the man up to where the dog was, and they helped Lukka ease her way down.
“She wasn’t too happy about coming down, but she came down with the rest of the climbers on a leash,” Beckett said.
But after scrambling down, Lukka was happy to see her owner in what Beckett described as a tearful reunion.
