A pet whippet ran four miles to help save his owner after the truck they were traveling in crashed into a ravine in Oregon.
Brandon Garrett’s truck went over an embankment in a heavily wooded area of the state near the Idaho border on June 2 as he drove with his four dogs.
The man’s family had no idea what happened to him until his whippet named Blue made it to a friend’s campsite, alerting them that something was wrong.
Garrett and the dog, who had glass stuck in his snout, had been due to return to the campsite hours earlier but failed to show up, The New York Times reported.
Garrett’s brother, Tyree, raised the alarm and an overnight search in bad weather began to find the missing 62-year-old.
Officials said that Tyree located his brother’s truck the next day in the ravine and called in rescuers.
Baker County Sheriff Travis Ash responded to the scene and as they searched for an access point to the creek, he heard a man yell for help.
Garrett was located one hundred yards from the vehicle above the creek where he had been able to crawl to safety.
The sheriff’s department gave him first aid at the scene while Pine Valley Rural Fire volunteers and US Forest Service employees cut a path using chainsaws.
When rescuers reached the man they loaded him in a basket and pulled him out of the ravine on a rope system. He was then airlifted to a regional hospital.
The other three dogs were found alive at the site, though they were injured in the incident. One of the dogs had surgery for a broken hip and had injured its femur. Another dog had a broken leg in two spots.
