Way to go Olympic Mountain Rescue!!!

[GeoScum]

On Thursday July 7, a Bernese mountain dog took a bad fall from the summit of Mount Ellinor in Washington States Olympic Mountains, after running off to meet some goats. After receiving no help or meaningful information from the USFS, and being told that mountain rescue does not get involved in non-human rescues, the family appealed to the climbing community at large on www.CascadeClimbers.com .

The family was contacted, and given information to reach Olympic Mountain Rescue. OMR sent a party up early the next morning, and recently posted on CascadeClimbers that the dog was found injured but alive. A full-on rope raise was undertaken by OMR, and the animal was littered out to the road.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery Sasha, and thank you OMR!!!!!!!!!!

http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubb..._M#Post1025553

[jebers53]

A great example of why dogs should be banned from summit climbs, feel for the poor mountain goats whose fragile living conditions were invaded by a "stupid" domesticated animal traumatizing them and destroying their home. I have personally witnessed many unleashed dog/goat,mountain sheep,marmot... Encounters often in protected wilderness areas(dogs are required to be leashed, duhh) I hope the mountain rescue team( who risked there lives to save the dog) had a few words to the ignorant dog owners re there inappropriate and selfish behavior. Keep domesticated animals out of the wilderness!!!

[GeoScum]

I was not there, or party to the rescue. I also do not own a dog, although I an very attached to a knuckle headed little corgi. I do not belong to a rescue organization

The area in question is the border of a Wilderness. So the unleashed dog was not actually breaking any laws when she ran away. It also is possible that all of this occured outside the Wilderness. Goats are a nuisance and possibly an introduced species, and many biologist have called for their extermination from the Olympics. This is not to excuse poor little Sasha's behavior, and not to condone goat menacing in any way.

http://vantage-point.smugmug.com/OMR...118101_7sXbWJL

[constructeur]

Jebers- The ONP goats were introduced in the late 20's:
http://www.nps.gov/history/history/o...e/25/chap1.htm and currently number around 300 animals.

The most notable human conflict was when an older hiker was unfortunately gored to death in 2010: http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/ar...erienced-hiker

We do have native goats throughout the Cascade range.

poor little Sasha's behavior

Sasha is not a 'poor little doggy.' Sasha exhibited classic behaviour of an animal with little or no training, which reflects on the owners value and respect for the animal she owns and the environment in which she takes her dog.

[sasfrontier]

Congrats to the team.

On a side note. The thread was started to congratulate a team who saved a life, not complain about dogs and the rules owners should follow. I truly doubt the owner was out to cause harm to wildlife or her dog.