Couple and their 100 lb. injured dog were stranded on trail without water—then a 12-year-old became their lifesaver
Some people find themselves at the right place and the right time to help people in need. A 12-year-old who was on a hiking trail in Hawaii with his mom to earn a Boy Scouts Merit Badge had no idea that he would end up saving a couple and their dog. The boy, David King and his mom, Christine, asked the couple, JD and Aimee, if they needed any help. The couple was lost on a hiking trail with their 100-pound dog, Smokey. The dog was badly injured and couldn't walk. So the couple was stuck in the trail without any food or water, per Western Slope Now.
JD and Aimee couldn't really call for help either, as their phone was dead. There was no sign of people around them either. Then, a few hours later, the King family showed up. "We asked, 'Oh, do you need any help?' They said, 'Yeah' and they showed us the dog's paws had some cuts on them. So, it hurt when the dog would walk," David recounted. The man had tried to carry the dog on his back, but the dog was too heavy to do that. David got an idea at that moment because of his Boy Scouts training. "We built them a stretcher using a big tree branch that we broke in half and used our shirts and slid it on using the armholes to fit the sticks through," the boy revealed.
"It was his idea to make the stretcher. We didn't think it would work because we didn't think the dog would get onto the stretcher." However, she had no idea that the dog was glad to get out of his predicament. "Smokey was just very happy to get on the stretcher. We just carried him out," Christine went on. The boy and his mom didn't have phone service either. So the four of them carried the stretcher two at a time or four at a time, to ensure that they could get to the end of the hike safely and without feeling exhausted midway.
"It was really tough, but we rotated. Sometimes we did four people, two on each side, two people — my mom and the man — and then the dog would get off and walk some, which was really helpful and let us relax," David continued. The boy had it especially hard because he had hiked for quite some time to reach his 15-mile goal before meeting the couple. He had also played a soccer game before he came to the hike. But he managed to power through. The technique of making the stretcher, which David had learned from his older brother, came in very handy for the group.
The group was able to get out of the hiking trail safely. Smokey was checked upon and treated for his injuries and had recovered well after the harrowing ordeal. David felt that it was a good learning experience for him and a big lesson for any of his future hikes. "Make sure that whenever you're doing an activity, think of what can go wrong and how you can prevent it." He was glad that he could get the family out of trouble that day. "I think that when you help someone out, it's like joy in you that just like you know you did something good that day."
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