Denver Woman Hospitalized After Falling 50 Feet Trying to Rescue Friend's Puppy on Hike

Animals 5:26 PM PDT, October 6, 2020 - ANABEL SOSA
One of the injured hikers, a Denver woman (pictured), was on a hike with her friends when the 3-month-old puppy, named Blue, lost its footing and fell 15 feet down off the edge of a road near Bridal Veil gate and became stuck in a narrow chute at the bottom, according to the sheriff.
San Miguel County Sheriff
Two hikers wound up in the hospital after tumbling more than 30 feet down a cliffside in an attempt to rescue their friend's puppy that fell off the side of the road moments before, according to the San Miguel County Sheriff. Medics and a rescue team were called around 11:30 a.m. Sunday and embarked on an operation to save both hikers and the dog.
 
One of the injured, a Denver woman, was on a hike with her friends when the 3-month-old puppy, named Blue, lost its footing and fell 15 feet down off the edge of a road near Bridal Veil gate and became stuck in a narrow chute at the bottom, according to the sheriff. The woman, who remains unidentified, climbed down to make her way towards the dog while her friend waited below to catch her in the case that she slipped, police said. 

When she almost reached the puppy, the woman slipped and fell about 30 feet onto the man –– sending them both down the cliffside another 20 feet.

The San Miguel County Search and Rescue came to the scene and anchored a rope system to its vehicle and pulled the woman up the scree slope where she fell and back onto the road, CBS Denver reported.

After both hikers were rescued, the team realigned the focus on the puppy by establishing a separate rope system, according to the report. An 18-year-old rookie on his first day on the search and rescue team was tasked with rescuing the dog.

“For me, it was the perfect scenario to get thrown into as my first time because I could get It done, I knew how it was supposed to go,” Wiley Holbrooke told CBS4.

The woman suffered from traumatic but non-life-threatening injuries and was transported from the Telluride Regional Medical Center to St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction. The man suffered from minor injuries and was soon released from TMC.

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