Dog rescued from ravine
After a harrowing 24 hours, Max, a Siberian husky/lab mix, is back home.
Morris Township firefighters rescued the 11-year-old dog after he fell into a ravine in the woods about a mile from his house on Covered Bridge Road.
According to Morris Township fire Chief Dave Dietrich, Max’s owner let the dog outside Thursday, but Max did not return.
The owner searched the area, but didn’t find Max.
On Friday, the owner went out again to look for Max, and shortly after 1 p.m., he heard the dog whimpering and barking.
The owner located Max in a steep ravine and called Washington County 911.
“The dog was exhausted and couldn’t get out,” said Dietrich. “It was so hot on Thursday, and he’d been out in the heat all day, and then all night.”
Firefighters climbed down the steep ravine and placed Max in a Stokes basket.
Rescuers set up a rope and pulley system to pull Max – who weighs more than 120 pounds – out of the ravine, and then they carried him through thick brush to his house.
The rescue took nearly three hours, Dietrich said.
“Loggers had logged the woods out, so there were cut tree stumps and thick brush we had to deal with, and the hillside was so steep we had to practically rappel down it to get to the dog,” said Dietrich. “We were exhausted, and he was exhausted.”
Rescuers took Max home, and he was alert and up when the firefighters left.
“He was up and around,” said Dietrich.
Assisting Morris Township firefighters were the Morris Township Police Department and Washington County Hazardous Materials Response Team.