Smokey, a 100-pound blue Pit Bull, ended up being the lucky recipient of some good, old-fashioned boy scout kindness and ingenuity on the Waimano Ridge Trail, in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The dog was walking with his humans when they got lost on the hiking trail, and Smokey injured his paws during the trek.
Luckily, a twelve-year-old boy scout and his mom came upon the wayward hikers, and the youngster used his training to save the day!
Injured Seven Miles Into A 16.6 Mile Trail
(Stock Picture Credit: Sahil Mehta / EyeEm/Getty Images)In Honolulu, Hawaii, the Waimano Ridge Trail is roughly 16.6 miles long with a variety of off-shoots. While portions of the trail are well-trafficked, Smokey and his parents went a bit further than most go casually.
According to a news report from KHON2, Smokey’s parents, JD and Aimee, were unfamiliar with the section of the trail they were on and ended up lost. They were seven miles into the trail.
Sometime during the hike, Smokey became injured, though details of how were not provided. His paws had several cuts that made it difficult for him to walk. Given that he’s a 100-pound Pit Bull, Smokey’s parents were at a loss as to how they would make it back.
It was growing dark, they’d brought no food or water, their cellphone was dead, and they hadn’t seen anyone else on the trail for hours.
Boy Scout Kindness To The Rescue
A local couple got lost when they took a wrong turn. It was dark, they had no water, no food and their cellphone was dead. Their 100 lb. dog was injured and unable to walk. Luckily, they came across a boy scout and his mom.https://t.co/NiEbaYpCLo
— KHON2 News (@KHONnews) November 15, 2021
David King, age twelve, and his mother, Christine, were out on the trail attempting to earn him his 15-mile hike Boy Scout merit badge. Just three miles short of that goal, they came across Smokey and his family. They quickly forgot about the badge, and kindness kicked in.
“They showed us the dog’s paws had some cuts on it. So, it hurt when the dog would walk,” King explained. JD had been attempting to carry the dog, but he was proving to be too heavy.
“We built them a stretcher using a big tree branch that we broke in half and used our shirts and slid it on using the armholes.”
King had learned this clever trick from his older brother, an eagle scout. But his mother and the couple were a bit skeptical Smokey would cooperate.
“It was his idea to make the stretcher,” Christine King said. “We didn’t think it would work because we didn’t think the dog would get onto the stretcher.”
As it turned out, Smokey was all too eager to climb in.
Hauling Smokey To Safety
The group’s goal was to get far enough back up the trail to regain cellphone service — three miles, carrying a muscular, 100-pound dog.
“It was really tough, but we rotated,” King said.
While they were able to haul Smokey up the trail to safety, things could have gone very differently. King expressed some advice to KHON2, for others thinking of taking on the trail with their beloved dogs.
“Make sure that whenever you’re doing an activity, think of what can go wrong and how you can prevent it,” King said.
Wise words from a twelve-year-old boy scout in training.
If you’d like to take your dog hiking, you should first read DogTime’s guide for some hiking safety tips. Also, check out DogTime’s guide to first-aid for your dog here, just in case your pup has an accident.
Are you impressed by this boy scout’s kindness and resourcefulness? Would you be able to make a stretcher with branches and shirts if you found an injured dog on a trail? Then let us know in the comments below.
