Meet Blue, The Dog Who Traveled 4 Miles To Get Help For Owner Trapped In Ravine

By Graeme Demianyk 

Brandon Garrett and his dog Blue.

Baker County Sheriff's Office

Local authorities have published a photograph of the hero dog ran who ran four miles to get help for his owner after a car crash left him trapped in a ravine in Oregon.

Blue, whom The New York Times identified as a whippet, is credited by rescue services with helping save Brandon Garrett after his truck went off a remote road in a heavily wooded part of the state close to the border with Idaho on June 2, the Baker County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Garrett was driving with his four dogs when the vehicle plummeted at a curve in the road. One of the dogs, later identified as Blue, traveled four miles to the campsite where Garrett and the dogs had been, which alerted a friend of Garrett’s that something was wrong.

Prompted by Blue’s appearance, Garrett’s family started searching for him. They found his vehicle the next day but couldn’t reach it in the steep terrain.

The party called 911, and rescue services found Garrett about 100 yards from his white pickup truck on its side in a creek after they heard him yell for help. Garrett had been able to crawl out of the car after the crash, the sheriff’s office said.

Photos of the rescue show him in a stretcher hooked onto ropes, which were used as a pulley system to transport him to safety across the ravine.

He was airlifted to hospital, authorities said. Garrett’s other dogs were found alive at the scene of the crash.

“He’s got a cracked ankle and his body itself is just really bruised and battered,” Garrett’s brother, Tyree Garrett, told The New York Times.

He added one of the three dogs that remained at the site of the crash had surgery for a broken hip and injured its femur, and another broke its leg in two places.

After widespread coverage of Blue’s valiance, the sheriff’s office put a photo of the whippet on its Facebook page after an apparent clamor to see him.

 

In this image provided by the Baker County Sheriff's Office, responders aid in rescue efforts after a vehicle went into an embankment on U.S. Forest Service Road 39 on June 3 in Oregon.

via Associated Press

A vehicle is seen after it went into an embankment on U.S. Forest Service Road 39.

via Associated Press

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Meet Blue, The Dog Who Traveled 4 Miles To Get Help For Owner Trapped In Ravine

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Dog runs four miles to get help for owner who crashed car into Oregon ravine

Dog runs four miles to get help for owner who crashed car into Oregon ravine

Brandon Garrett was driving solo with his four dogs near where his family was camping, when he failed to navigate a turn

by Gloria Oladipo

A dog ran four miles to get help for his owner who crashed his car into a ravine in Oregon – and was ultimately rescued because of the animal’s heroics, according to authorities.

The case unfolded as Brandon Garrett was driving with his four dogs north on US Forest Service Road 39 in Baker county, near where his family was camping.

During the trip, Garrett failed to navigate a curve in the road and crashed over an embankment, according to a statement from the Baker county sheriff’s office.

Garrett survived the crash, but the accident left him stranded and forced him to wait – and hope – for help.

Thankfully for him, one of his dogs ran back to the campsite, and the animal’s appearance led the Garrett’s family to realize something had gone wrong. The dog ended up running nearly four miles through the wilderness before tracking down the other campers on 3 June at 9.30am.

The family quickly began searching for Garrett and eventually spotted his car. But they were unable to reach him because of the difficult terrain, prompting them to call emergency rescuers for help.

“The reporting party explained that his brother, Brandon Garrett, had not made it to his camp yesterday afternoon. Family members located his vehicle this morning but were unable to reach it due to the terrain,” the statement from the sheriff’s office said.

First responders managed to reach Garrett by using chainsaws to make a path. They then used a rescue blanket and rope to retrieve Garrett from the ravine.

Garrett was found about 100 yards from where the accident occurred with his three other dogs, who were also alive.

Authorities provided Garrett first aid on the scene. He was later driven in an ambulance to a helicopter that flew him to a hospital in the area.

Details about the extent of Garrett’s injuries or his medical condition were not immediately released.

Full Article & Source:
Dog runs four miles to get help for owner who crashed car into Oregon ravine