NANAIMO — A Nanaimo woman is thanking a pair of hiking heroes who helped carry her injured dog to safety.
Courtnay Huber’s two-year-old Australian Shepard Pip was out with her mother-in-law and partner for a New Years Eve hiking venture at Cable Bay Trail in Cedar, when the excitable dog injured herself.
Huber said she received a ‘frantic’ call from her mother-in-law in the early afternoon, saying Pip had been wounded while playing with her brother.
“My mother-in-law’s not actually a very frantic person, she’s very calm. Pip and her brother, who’s also an Australian Shepard that my mother-in-law owns, were running through the forest just like dogs do, chasing birds and whatnot, and she was running and launched into a stick that was about an inch and a half wide…and basically hurt herself.”
They first thought it was a broken leg or shoulder that was causing Pip to screech out in pain as she was holding her foot in the air.
“While this was all going on, my mother-in-law went in to check on her and comfort her because she was crying, and Pip actually ended up biting my mother-in-law just out of sheer fear and pain. My mother-in-law’s finger actually ended up having to have plastic surgery the next day because the bite was so severe.”
The mother-in-law’s partner was able to pick up the injured dog and began making their way back to their vehicle, and that’s when they came across another group of hikers.
30-year-old David King was hiking with several friends on Cable Bay Trail when they came across a distressed Pip being carried out.
“My partner Ash is a nurse and she was offering to take a look at the lady’s hand because she had it wrapped… and it looked like something was wrong with her dog, and I think she just wanted to get to some medical assistance as soon as possible. We offered to carry Pip.”
Between King and his friend Brent Murphy, they were able to carry the 40 lbs. Pip the rest of the way out of the trail to the parking lot.
“Pip was fairly uncomfortable, obviously in pain and we just were kind of like, trying to gingerly carry her to make sure she was as comfortable as possible.”
King said Pip was ‘overall super calm and chill’ while the two men carried her back to her vehicle.
“You kind of get the sense from dogs that they know what’s going on. We have a dog as well, and sometimes it just seems like they get it, so Pip was super friendly and was just kind of enjoying the ride.”
Pip will spend the next few weeks recuperating at home, but her owners said her energy levels returned to normal shortly after returning home from the vet and is expected to make a full recovery. (Submitted/Coutnay Huber)Murphy said he didn’t feel like it was a big deal at the time, and as a dog owner himself, he hopes someone would do the same for him if they were in a similar situation.
“Recognition should also go to the older gentleman that we took Pip from. He carried the dog for just as far as we did until he got to us, so big props to him, he did a lot of work too.”
Once they made it back to the vehicle, the couple brought Pip back to Huber’s home. While her mother-in-law went to the hospital to get her hand treated, Huber brought Pip into the Central Island Emergency Hospital.
After a quick examination, it turns out Pip had suffered a ruptured trachea, which was causing her body to fill with air.
“They (the vets) rushed her in, sedated and restrained her, and sure enough that was the problem. She had to have her chest tapped because it was full of air which was collapsing her lungs, so probably 30 minutes later and we would have lost her. We’re definitely lucky to have a puppy today.”
Huber made a post on Facebook with a photo of King and Murphy carrying Pip looking for their names so they could properly thank the two men.
The post was shared almost two thousand times, including into a local hiking group until the two parties were connected via Facebook messenger.
“We just wanted to find them and thank them for what they did and helping carry her out. We got to chat with them and they seem like honestly really lovely men and we’re just so glad that we were connected with them.”
Pip also suffered a fractured rib but is healing up nicely at home, with the doctors giving her four to six weeks before she’s back on the off-leash trails, perhaps a bit more cautiously next time.
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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com
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