Duke is a 4-year-old Golden Retriever that loves going on hikes and spending time outdoors with his human family. This 100-pound dog just can’t get enough of going on hikes. However, on a recent hike through Vancouver’s North Shore Mountains, on a difficult trail, Duke got stuck and needed help of some kind rescuers to get him out.

As the trail that Duke and his mom were taking turned into sharp rocks, the poor 100-pound dog cut his paws. Although Duke’s mom tried carrying him to safety, it was impossible for her to do so as the terrain was too difficult to walk on and the narrow trail had a steep drop, hence, she called North Shore Recue for aid. It took them only minutes for air operations coordinator Tim Blown and his team to get to the scene in a helicopter.

Blown had this to say: “We were able to land not that far away, exit the helicopter and hike down to the location.” Although North Shore Rescue mainly saves humans on the mountain range, as they had previously saved a few dogs, they knew exactly what to do. Blown goes on to add: “We put him in a rescue harness and then one of our members hiked the dog back to the helicopter.”

Being over 100-pounds, and in pain with the injuries in his paws, Duke was calm and patient during the whole ordeal, and he was extremely happy to be rescued. Blown continues: “You would think that [when] picking up a big dog and carrying them, they might get upset. But when we got him into the helicopter and put him down there, he looked pretty happy.”

The helicopter then lifted them off the dangerous peak and bought Duke and his human to safe ground. As soon as they landed, the rescue team took Duke to the vet to get emergency care for his paws. Because of the quick response from North Shore Rescue, Duke is now on the road to recovery. The vet says that within a few weeks, Duke’s paws would be fully healed, and then, Duke and his human parents could explore all the dog-friendly trails very soon.