Firefighters use teamwork to rescue dog

EASTPORT — While firefighters have been known to climb up trees to rescue cats, this time one had to be lowered down on ropes to rescue a dog on Monday, Feb. 17, up past Copper Falls.

Pedro, a young hunting dog, was out learning the ropes when he slipped down a shear icy drop-off around 3 p.m. on Sunday. He would have fallen about 40 feet, landing on the icy rocks of Spruce Creek, which could have been a fatal fall, but instead a small ledge that was about two feet by one foot, stopped his plunge about 12 feet down.

Pedro was wearing a GPS tracker and his owners made several attempts to rescue him, but the terrain was very steep and difficult to navigate and they were unable to reach their dog. The call went out to Hall Mountain Volunteer Fire Department around 7 a.m. on Monday. Hall Mountain Firefighters Allen Gemmrig, Matt Cossalman, and Garry Wright responded.

“I brought my own dog harness, plus my own climbing gear,” said Gemmrig.

Gemmrig’s dog harness that he uses on his dog, had multiple straps and a lift assist so it would be suitable for attaching the dog to himself once he reached Pedro.

They arrived at the nearest location that they could reach by vehicle and then set out on foot.

“As the crow flies, from the bridge, it was approximately 800 yards, but the climbing was pretty intense,” said Gemmrig.

They navigated through snow and ice, fallen trees and underbrush, and crossed Spruce Creek that was full of ice-covered rocks, before tackling about 400 feet of a tree-covered incline of about 60 degrees. For the climb, they were tied to one another, and took turns crawling from one secure location to another utilizing a Prusik Knot to slide along the main line.

Once in place above the dog, they set up a Z-Drag, which is an arrangement of lines and pulleys.

“The whole time we had to be tied to trees so we didn’t fall,” said Wright.

Gemmrig was then lowered down to the waiting dog.

“The dog had been there since (Sunday) afternoon at 3 p.m. — he spent the night on the ledge in below-freezing temperatures,” said Wright. “He expressed his gratitude by peeing on Allen.”

Gemmrig said Pedro was very happy to see him and he got him secured in the harness.

“I could not climb at that point because it was sheer ice with very few hand or foot holds, so they started hoisting me up,” said Gemmrig. “It worked, and it felt good to keep the dog safe and get him out of there.”

The concerned owners were on hand during the entire rescue and welcomed Pedro back, who was excited to see them.

“He was not hurt, just a couple cut paws from him trying to climb back up, but no serious injuries,” said Gemmrig. “He was very happy to see his parents. He got meat and dog food as soon as he got back to the truck.”

The firefighters relied on their training, Cossalman’s background in rock climbing, and teamwork for the mission. The successful rescue of Pedro took almost six hours, but re-uniting him with owners made it worth all the trouble for the volunteer firefighters.

“This was a hairy situation that could have been tragic without our combined effort to work together,” said Wright.