HONOLULU A hiker and his injured dog were airlifted to safety by a Honolulu Fire Department helicopter, officials said.
HONOLULU — A hiker and his injured dog were airlifted to safety by a Honolulu Fire Department helicopter, officials said.
The man and a woman were hiking Saturday with his labrador/golden retriever mix at the Makapuu tide pools on Oahu, The Honolulu Star Advertiser reported Saturday.
The dog’s feet were cut while hiking down a cliff to the tide pools and the animal could not return to the top.
The man and woman were uninjured.
“The dog stopped moving, and they had no way to get the dog out of there,” fire department Capt. Scot Seguirant said.
The fire department was alerted at 10:40 a.m. and by 11:30 a.m. the owner and dog were in the helicopter, Seguirant said.
The woman climbed back to the top as the man waited with his pet for help at the tide pools 17 miles (27 kilometers) east of Honolulu.
The helicopter was able to land on nearby rocks before airlifting the man and the dog, which Seguirant said was “a real service animal with a vest.”
“Just like with children, we need to be thoughtful of our pets’ welfare when we’re out and about,” Seguirant said.
“Consider what it would do to your feet if you were walking barefoot on hot asphalt on the Makapuu Lighthouse trail, and then down the side of the mountain,” he said.
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Information from: Honolulu Star-Advertiser, http://www.staradvertiser.com
The real question is why was a service dog out in the wild with its owner? I thought being a service animal is strictly for the welfare of its handicaped owner. Social Services should re-examine the owner’s disability status if he could have hiked all the way down this rugged path, then have a rescue helicopter risk getting both out.
I’m sure it cost us taxpayers $thousands for such a foolish endeavor.
And who is it that has, or will, pay for the exorbitant costs of this type of rescue? The cost to the taxpayer for this type of rescue is in the thousands of dollars?