Dog Rescued In Palm Springs From 1,300 Ft. Hiking Trail

Officers with the Palm Springs Mounted Police and a member of one of their families rescued a dehydrated, stray dog this week, who would have otherwise died near a popular hiking trail.

Dispatchers received a call around 11 a.m. on Sunday, telling them about a stray dog on the Shannon Trail in south Palm Springs.

Sgt. Mike Kovaleff said the citizen claimed the dog didn’t seem to have an owner or access to any water.

“Members of the Palm Springs Mounted Police Search and Rescue Unit were called and they took it upon themselves to conduct a search,” he said. “Several members, in addition to one of their family members, hiked into the hills in search of the canine with basic rescue equipment.”

After two hours of searching, they found the lost female Australian Shepherd off of the trail at the 1,300-foot level.

Kovaleff said she appeared to be dehydrated and not very friendly.

“These highly-trained rescue members were able to get her to lie down on the rescue litter in a makeshift cage, using the two separate half-sections of the litter to contain her,” he said. “They carried her down and brought her to the Palm Springs Animal Shelter, where she was medically screened and found to be in good condition.”

?Had we not found her, she would have surely been attacked by coyotes or other desert predators,? Mounted Search and Rescue Unit Member Doug Stevens said. “We share compassion for our four-legged friends as well as the injured or lost hikers we encounter.”