Police officers came to stretcher dog to safety after he got sore paws while on a hike

Fin, a 9-year-old lab mix and his owner Julia Jones had an adventure on Friday afternoon. “We took the dogs because we weren’t going to go on a crazy hike or anything,” Jones said. Jones and a friend went for a hike in the Sandia Mountains, near Albuquerque in New Mexico. When they were on their way back down, Jones says Fin wasn’t acting like himself. “I noticed that he started limping a little bit,” Jones said.

About three miles from the car, they kept pushing. “I took off my socks and put them on him and they didn’t really stay but I tried,” Jones said. It didn’t take long for Fin to give in. “I looked at his paws and the skin was completely ripped off of them,” Jones said. “He just laid down under a tree and wouldn’t come out.” Jones says they tried moving him, but the 90 pound dog was too heavy in the heat of the day. “I tried to carry him,” Jones said. “I tried to carry him and I couldn’t do it.” So she tried calling some friends and animal humane, but no one picked up. The city said they couldn’t do anything.

“So, I thought we’ll call the police,” Jones said. By using the GPS signal from Jones’ cell phone, Open Space officers with Albuquerque Police came to the rescue. “They gave the dog water and medical attention, put the dog on the stretcher and walked the dog back down to the campsite,” Officer Simon Drobik said. “They came out and rescued us,” Jones said. “I mean, they rescued him!” Fin was so tired, he didn’t even flinch once he was on that stretcher. “Open Space officers are highly trained for those types of rescues, animal rescues or human rescues,” Drobik said.

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Fin is back at home now, the vet saying he’ll need to rest for about a week. “Thank you so, so much from the bottom of my heart,” Jones said to APD. “My dog is my baby and I didn’t know what was going to happen.” Jones says she and Fin have done that hike plenty of times before. She says if they do decide to go out again, she’s going to buy him some hiking boots of his own. Police say if you do venture out to explore the Sandias or other areas, take plenty of water and make sure you have a cell phone. They say without the GPS coordinates, this would’ve been a much tougher rescue.