Dog News

Dog Needed Rescue after Injuring Paw Pads

by Katherine

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On May 31, 2014, Fin a nine-year-old husky lab mix, injured his paws while on a three-mile hike with his owner Julia Jones in the Sandia Mountains, New Mexico. The injury stopped the pet on his tracks and police officers were called to rescue the pet and help carry him down the trail path.

It was 90 degrees on that day and Jones along a friend decided to go on a short hike.

Fin waiting for rescuers.
Fin waiting for rescuers.

“We took the dogs because we weren’t going to go on a crazy hike or anything,” Jones told KRQE.

When the women and the dogs headed back to their car, Fin started to act differently, he was limping and it was difficult to get him to walk.

“I looked at his paws and the skin was completely ripped off of them,” said Jones. “I took off my socks and put them on him and they didn’t really stay but I tried. [Fin] just laid down under a tree and wouldn’t come out.”

Knowing that the pet was injured and that the heat of the day would not be good for either women or the dogs, Jones and her friend tried to carry the 90-lbs dog, but he was too heavy for them. The pet owner tried calling friends for back up, but no one answered. With no other option, Jones called police and officers were more than willing to help her and her injured dog.

Open Space officers with Albuquerque Police came to the rescue. They used the GPS signal from Jones’s cell phone to locate her and her dog on the trail.

According to Officer Simon Drobik, the officers helping Fin gave him water and medical attention, then placed him on the stretcher and walked him back down to the campsite.

“They came out and rescued us,” Jones said. “I mean, they rescued him!”

Fin was later seen by a veterinarian who recommended the dog rest for about a week until his paws healed. The dog was sent home and has recovered from the injuries.

Jones said that next time she takes Fin out on a hike, he will be wearing a pair of doggy hiking boots.