Massive mastiff rescued after getting exhausted on a mountain hike

The nonprofit, all-volunteer crew does about 50 rescues a year, Taylor, 49, said. They range from injured runners, dehydrated hikers, swift-water incidents, and jumping out of helicopters to get to stranded rock climbers. Most of the volunteers have been rescuing people for 10 to 15 years. Saving dogs, though, is much rarer and required some strategizing.

“This was an interesting rescue because of the size of Floyd,” Taylor said. “We knew we had a big dog, a 190-pounder, and we treated it like a normal rescue for a person.”

Ten rescuers on two teams arrived armed with helmets, ropes, radios, and a litter — a piece of equipment used to carry people — to rescue Floyd. However, the wheel broke about a mile into the rescue, Taylor said, so the crew had to carry the massive mastiff the rest of the way down.

But Floyd handled the entire situation like a champ and was the best of boys.

“We were prepared to have to strap him down, but he was very well-behaved,” Taylor said, adding that Floyd seemed very grateful and relieved during the four-hour operation.

His human was, too.

“The owner was really surprised when we showed up because he didn’t know people had called 911. There’s no cell service up there and he was prepared to spend the night with his dog and get him in the morning,” Taylor said.

The team posted photos and video of Floyd’s rescue, showing the exhausted dog curled up on a red blanket as responders carefully carried him down the trail in the dark. Several hikers recalled seeing Floyd on their way down and were so happy to hear the news that he was OK.