An Oregon man and his four dogs accidentally drove off an embankment, stranding him in the woods. Then police said one of his dogs stepped in to help – by running four miles to alert people that something was wrong.
The Baker County Sheriff's Office said in a press release posted to Facebook that the incident happened on June 2 when Brandon Garrett was on his way to his camp in the afternoon. Police received a call the following morning from Garrett's brother, who said he never made it and that family members had found his vehicle but couldn't reach it, as it was in a "steep, brushy ravine."
Photos posted by police show Garrett's vehicle sideways in a creek.
As Baker County Sheriff Travis Ash and a dog were looking for a way to get closer to the accident site, "he heard a subject yell for help," police said.
"Brandon Garrett, operator of the vehicle, was located alive approximately one hundred yards from the vehicle above the creek," police said, adding that the sheriff then provided first aid as other responders had to use chainsaws to clear a path for more help to be able to get through.
Garrett had to be secured in a rescue basket and connected to a rope system to be pulled out and transported by helicopter to a hospital. Officials did not release any details on Garrett's condition.
Police said that their investigation determined that Garret had been traveling north on U.S. Forest Service Road 39 with the dogs "when he failed to negotiate a curve causing the vehicle to plummet off the embankment."
"One of his dogs traveled the nearly four miles to their camp, which alerted the rest of the party that something was wrong," police said. "Garrett was able to crawl approximately one hundred yards from the vehicle, where he spent the night. ... The three remaining dogs were located alive at the crash scene."
The story quickly drew applause for Garrett's animals, with many commentators on the story calling them "heroes."
"All four dogs are heroes, specially the dog with great memory who ran 4 miles back to camp and alerted the family," one person said on the sheriff's office post, with another saying, "He is a dog-hero who displayed excellent memory, speed and courage."
"No words," another commenter said. "Dogs go above and beyond."
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