Rescuers haul out dog suffering from altitude sickness

An ill dog which refused to move was slung in backpack-style harness and carried four and a half miles out of the backcountry Saturday night. 

Two campers from Oklahoma had brought the animal with them to Crater Lake in the Indian Peak Wilderness west of Granby. One of the campers hiked out to cell service and called 9-1-1. 

Five personnel from Grand County Search and Rescue (GCSAR) responded to the Monarch Lake trailhead at 8:30 p.m. They reached the campers two hours later and found the Staffordshire Terrier mix " extremely sick and lethargic with altitude sickness," GCSAR's Incident Commander stated in a Facebook post. "Wouldn't even raise head to acknowledge rescuers."

The team determined the dog, described as "80 pounds of muscle and super sweet" by the rescuers, was unable to walk out on its own. The owners were not capable of carrying it out by themselves. So three members of the team put the dog in the harness and headed downhill. The remaining two helped the campers pack up their gear and follow. 

"As the dog got to a lower altitude, he perked up and was able to walk on his own. The team manufactured some socks for his sore feet," GCSAR's commander stated in the post.

The hiker who had walked out to call 9-1-1 was later determined to be suffering from altitude sickness as well.

Altitude sickness often affects visitors from lower altitudes who are not acclimated to higher elevations. However, it also randomly affects people who are relatively acclimated as well. Symptoms include dizziness, headache, nausea and fatigue. In its more advanced stages, it can be lethal.

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The best treatment, particularly for severe cases, is to move to lower altitude. 

All members of the rescue team and the camping group were back at the Monarch Lake trailhead by 1:15 a.m. Sunday.