No one wants to be lost in the woods in Hawaii with an injured dog, but if that is the case, it’s best to have a Boy Scout nearby. If that sounds oddly specific, that’s because it happened!
Last summer, JD and Aimee set out on Waimano Trail near Pearl City, where they lived. They brought their 100-pound blue pit bull, Smokey, with them, planning on a lovely summer hike. That is, until they took a wrong turn and got lost seven miles in.
Smokey had cuts all over his paws, and JD and Aimee had no idea what they were going to do or how they were going to get back. Then, in a stroke of serendipity, a 12-year-old Boy Scout and his mother found them.
David King and his mom, Christine, were finishing a 15-mile hike to earn David’s merit badge when they ran across the lost couple and their injured pup.
“We asked, ‘oh do you need any help?’ They said ‘yeah,’ they showed us the dog’s paws had some cuts on it,” David explained. “So, it hurt when the dog would walk. When the dog would walk, it would just be really painful.â€
After the couple explained their predicament, David immediately came up with a plan. The first order of business? Finding a way to carry Smokey.
David’s solution was both practical and ingenious.
“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,”he said.
We can only assume this is a universal Boy Scout technique, because David learned it from his older brother, an Eagle Scout.
Since none of their cell phones worked and they couldn’t reach anyone else, they came up with a system to carry Smokey as they hiked back to the trailhead.
“It was really tough, but we rotated,”David said. “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.â€
As if young David wasn’t impressive enough already, he did all of this after having played a soccer game right before he set off on his 15-mile hike!
Thanks to David, they all made it out of the woods safely. And like the true Boy Scout he is, David has some advice for other hikers: Prepare for any possible mishaps, make sure you know the route, and always carry food and water.
David also learned a valuable lesson for himself!
“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,”David observed.
What wise words from such a young person! We’re glad that all five of them are safe, and we’re incredibly proud of David. If that didn’t earn him his merit badge, we’re not sure what will!
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