Rescue team carries injured dog down from fells

Dog owners are being asked to consider their pets' capabilities after a mountain rescue team had to carry a German Shepherd down from a rocky fell.

Keswick Mountain Rescue Team (KMRT) made the plea after carrying the dog, which suffered injuries to all of its pads, down from Blackmoor Pols, Gillercomb, on Sunday.

The volunteers described it as a "difficult descent" which "could have seriously compromised a second rescue".

Mountain Rescue said while its priority would always be helping human casualties, "judging by how many of these incidents we get" it said it needed to "raise an important point" to dog owners.

The four-year-old dog became injured and was unable to continue after a "long walk over high rocky ground".

It was taken on a stretcher down into Gillercomb and Sour Milk Gill by Mountain Rescue volunteers, which took about five hours.

KMRT said the dog's owners were "extremely upset" but had "learned a valuable lesson".

The owners agreed to share the details about the incident, in order to educate others about pad injuries, KMRT continued.

"Dogs don’t have fancy walking boots, how far could you walk barefoot in the mountains?" KMRT asked.

It urged owners to consider the terrain of what their pets are used to.

"Grassy fields is no preparation for rough and rocky fells," KMRT added.

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