Hawaii Boy Scout Helps Rescue Couple and 100-Pound Dog on Hiking Trail

By Darby Jones November 16, 2021
“I think that when you help someone out it’s like joy in you that just like you know you did something good that day,” he stated.

A couple named J.D. and Aimee found themselves in a scary situation  on Aug. 29 when they made a wrong turn while hiking on the Waimano Trail above Pearl City in Oahu, Hawaii.

It was supposed to be a short hike, but instead, the couple and their 100-pound dog, Smokey, ended up seven miles deep into the trail with sunlight fading, no water and dead cell phones — worst of all, Smokey was injured and no longer able to walk.

Then, they turned around and came across 12-year-old David King and his mother, Christine. “We asked ‘oh do you need any help?’ They said ‘yeah,’ they showed us the dog’s paws had some cuts on it. So, it hurt when the dog would walk. When the dog would walk, it would just be really painful,” David told KHON 2. The Kings were hiking the 15-mile trail so that David could earn his Boy Scouts Merit Badge. 

The blue pitbull was too heavy to be carried alone, so David’s Boy Scout training kicked in. “We built them a stretcher using a big tree branch that we broke in half and used our shirts and slid it on using the armholes to fit the sticks through,” explained David, who learned the trick from his older brother, who is an Eagle Scout.

“It was his idea to make the stretcher. We didn’t think it would work because we didn’t think the dog would get onto the stretcher. Smokey was just very happy to get on the stretcher. We just carried him out,” Christine added.

The group took turns carrying Smokey the remaining three miles out to the start of the trail. “It was really tough, but we rotated,” David said. “Sometimes we did four people, two on each side, two people — my mom and the man — and then the dog would get off and walk some which was really helpful and let us relax.”

They made it out, and Smokey was treated for his injuries and is doing well. David said it felt good to help others in need. “I think that when you help someone out it’s like joy in you that just like you know you did something good that day,” he said.

Image source: KHON-2