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Success Story

The Rescued Become the Rescuers

To Nancy L., an injured hiker on Monument Mountain in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, three former homeless dogs — Brodie, Corie, and Lukas — must seem like angels. To cousins Kerstin Voss and Temora Allen, who were walking the dogs that memorable afternoon, Nancy's rescue feels like a miracle.

Kerstin Describes the Rescue

On a rainy, cold October afternoon, on one of our usual treks up Monument Mountain, the dogs ran off the trail and barked frantically. Initially we called them back, suspecting a squirrel or porcupine had set them off, but the dogs persevered. We were a little suspicious because we had found an abandoned knapsack, and followed them on the steep terrain, some 100 feet off the trail.

At that point we spotted Nancy, lying unconscious, unable to call for help. Temora ran down the mountain with Brodie and called 911. Corie and Lukas and I stayed with Nancy, kept her warm, and braced her to prevent her sliding further down the mountain. Finally help arrived — including 30–40 firefighters and paramedics. They had to cut vegetation and string ropes along the steep incline to enable them to carry Nancy on a stretcher to the trail. Further down the mountain where the trail is accessible by four-wheelers, she was placed on a trailer-sleigh.

Four hours after being discovered by the amazing canine trio, Nancy arrived at the emergency room. Her doctors reported that she had sustained severe injuries from her 100-foot fall, and was suffering from hypothermia when the dogs found her. Today, she is steadily improving while she undergoes rehabilitation therapy.

Kerstin is grateful that she and Temora and the dogs were able to help. "We were the last hikers on the mountain that day. Had it not been for the dogs finding her, they tell us Nancy would certainly have died during the night. I'm sure the dogs sensed that Nancy, lying there unconscious, was worthy of a huge alarm. Only they, with their incredible sense of smell, could have known that she was there."

Heroes with a Menacing Past

What put these three canine heroes on Nancy's path that day? Perhaps chance — just as chance — and some caring humans — saved Brodie, Corie, and Lukas from almost certain death earlier in their lives.

Four years ago, Brodie, a red merle, was found wandering in the woods around Denver, without a collar or ID. He spent the next month in the Fort Collins shelter, unclaimed and slated for euthanasia. Then Aussie Rescue was contacted. They placed Brodie in foster care, where he remained until Temora adopted him. Brodie is about eight years old, and a very handsome fellow. He is independent and positive, and loves to play Frisbee with limitless intensity and enthusiasm. He is gentle, good-tempered, and a tireless hiking companion.

Corie and Lukas, Border Collie crosses, were taken from the NYC AC&C Manhattan shelter by New England Border Collie Rescue, a member of the Mayor's Alliance and its NY Breed Rescue Network. Viv Ramos, the group's NYC representative, adopted Corie to Kerstin in the summer of 2003, when he was just six months old; he had been surrendered to AC&C when his former guardian lost his job and home. "Corie was a sweet and well-loved boy," she says, "so he didn't have any real issues or baggage when I claimed him."

Kerstin agrees. "Corie is so gentle, and prances everywhere he goes. He loves water, and doesn't miss a puddle to bathe in no matter how cold or dirty it is."

The following summer, Viv pulled Lukas from AC&C on the day he was scheduled to be euthanized. "He was a scrawny boy who had been adopted out to an inappropriate home. He hadn't been neutered, and wasn't in terribly good shape when I got him," she says.

"The day I evaluated Lukas I had my heart set on him going to live with Kerstin and Corie," Viv continues. "Though Kerstin had been evaluating all of the rescues I fostered in the interim, when she watched Lukas and Corie playing together, she saw how well suited they were to one another."

So Viv had Lukas neutered, and he went to live with Kerstin and Corie. "When I adopted Lukas, he was two years old, but very thin, wasted and scrawny." remembers Kerstin. "He seemed puzzled by my attention, stroking, and play. That's changed, however, and now he is an affectionate cuddler. He also is very vocal, and relentlessly herds the other dogs on our walks. Lukas prefers to chase the dog who chases the ball."

The dogs obviously adore each other, Kerstin explains. "Brodie and Lukas wrangle for top-dog status, while Corie doesn't get into dog politics. Corie and Lukas, who usually live with me in NYC, are a team, and can spend hours rough-housing with each other."

Kerstin and Temora are delighted that they can share their lives with these beloved heroes. And they are also thrilled that the rescued trio was able to return the favor by helping to rescue Nancy. "They're so positive, and take joy in the simple things of life," says Kerstin. "They live in the moment and remind me to do the same, rather than to brood about the future and the past."

Brodie, Corie, and Lukas will be honored this month in Great Barrington, where the town's mayor will award them a special plaque acknowledging their heroic achievement.