Full Notification

Today at 1:25 pm Altadena Mountain Rescue Team, (AMRT) was called to assist a hiker whose pet dog refused to walk in the area of Sam Merrill Trail in the Angeles National Forest.  Ground crews hiked in approximately 2 miles up the steep trail and located the 2 hikers and an overheated 6 year old female golden retriever, named "Spicey".  The hikers, a 39 y/o male, and 42 y/o female, both residents of Pasadena,  were on a 12 mile hike when the dog became overheated and refused to walk.  The pair had started the hike at 5:30 am, when the temperature was mild.  The dog was located approximately 2 miles from the start of the trail, the dog appeared not to have any other injuries.  A crew from the United States Forest Service, Engine 11 were called in to assist Altadena Rescue Team due to the remoteness of the area and extremely high temperatures.  As AMRT members were carrying the dog in a wheeled stretcher, a second dog was found on the same trail to be suffering from heat related illness.  The second dog, a 2 y/o male Dachshund mix named "Dodger" was carried approximately 1 mile by AMRT members. After 30 minutes, Dodger’s owner felt ill due to the high temperatures. Dodger's owner, 31 y/o male who resided in Anaheim was given water, cooling measures and was able to walk out on his own.   The hiker was treated further at the beginning of the trail, and released by AMRT members. Rescue crews made several trips back to the start of the trail to retrieve additional water, as approximately 7 other hikers had run out of water.   All dogs and persons left the area at 6:00 pm with stories of caution to tell.