Tuesday, Feb. 18 started out pretty normal for Larry and Cindy Pape of Marthasville. Cindy headed to work and Larry let Truman out for his morning constitutional in the wooded area of Fox Meadows. Truman is a 105-pound, 12-year-old Newfiedoodle, a cross between a Newfoundland and a Poodle.

The Papes said Truman is a “chill boy,” happy with his dog routine and rarely strays far. Because of the wooded area and the possibility of getting too far from home, Truman wears a GPS tracker collar that covers a 300-ft. radius around the Pape home.

Larry called for Truman just as usual, but there was no response. Pape consulted his GPS and saw that Truman was on the edge of their property and it looked like he was turning in circles. He heard a sharp “Yipe” from Truman and immediately headed his direction to find out what was going on.

“I found him down in the creekbed laying down,” said Pape. “He couldn’t walk. I called Cindy to come home from work, and we tried to get him out of there.”

Larry said he and his wife fashioned a makeshift gurney with 2x4s, but that was “a disaster.”

“I called my daughter (Lea Welter) because she knows everybody,” said Cindy. “We needed someone to help us.”

Thanks to Welter, the Marthasville Fire Protection District (MFPD) was dispatched for the animal rescue. The team of five volunteers responded with a UTV, two brush trucks and the medical truck. They also brought a Stokes basket litter, hoping to retrieve the dog and carry him out.

“Accessibility was not good,” said Chief Sean Johnson. “It was treacherous with wet leaves and rocky, steep terrain.”

Using special apps to help precisely determine their location and find a way in, Engineer Derik Roloff, Retired Chief Jim Buescher, Chief Sean Johnson and Firefighter/EMT Estiven Levin carried the litter. Firefighter Jeremy Smith met them with the UTV and drove it out carefully over the rocky terrain. While the rescue was ongoing, Johnson contacted the family’s vet, Dr. Daniel Smith, so his staff could be prepared for Truman’s arrival.

“He was probably chasing something,” said Cindy. “I was so blown away watching this rescue. It almost makes me cry just thinking about it. They even thought to get water to Truman.”

“Those guys carried that dog for 1,600 feet to get to the UTV,” said Larry. “He was just laying down enjoying the ride.”

Cindy said the firefighters had to lift the litter many times over large rocks and downed trees, sometimes hoisting it to eye level.

“I’m sure they were exhausted when they were done,” she said. “The rescue took over three hours.”

Truman made a huge entrance into Washington as he traveled in the back of the bright red MFPD medical truck with Chief Johnson sitting next to him. When they arrived at Dr. Smith’s office, the staff was waiting. The firefighters lifted Truman once more and carried him into the vet facility.

The good news is that Truman has recovered from his ordeal. According to Dr. Smith, there was no lasting damage that a few weeks of medication and TLC couldn’t take care of.

“I was speechless that our fire department saved our dog like this,” said Cindy. “I think we would have really gotten hurt if we had tried to do this ourselves. Everyone knew what to do. It takes a lot to pull off what they did.”

EMT Levin commented dryly that this canine victim “talked a lot less” than his normal patients.

Johnson agreed this wasn’t a typical rescue, but it’s “what we do.” He encourages the community to call on the MFPD when they are needed.

“It was a smooth rescue considering,” said Johnson. “We had the proper resources to rescue Truman. We also had Boles Fire cover our community during the rescue.”

Cindy said the MFPD’s Facebook post described Truman’s rescue and everyone was asking how Truman was doing. There were more than 63,000 views on the department’s page.

Truman has unfortunately tried to return to the area where he was rescued and the Papes have put a stop to that.

“We are NOT calling the fire department again, although we are eternally grateful,” said Cindy.