A Hiker in Arizona Made a Harrowing Rescue of a Lost Dog on the Side of a Mountain

An Arizona hiker on the Shadow Mountain Trail in Phoenix completed a harrowing rescue of a lost dog on October 4.

At around 5 P.M. on October 4, the Phoenix Fire Department received reports of a hiker on the Shadow Mountain Trail in Phoenix who was unable to descend the mountain after sunset. This time of year, the sun sets by 6 P.M. in most areas of Phoenix, often bringing with it rapidly cooling temperatures.

Technical rescue teams responded to reports of a hiker who was unable to descend the mountain, the Phoenix Fire Department said in a post shared to X on October 14, at around 5 P.M. local time.

An hour later, the department said that firefighters safely walked the hiker and dog down the mountain. The hiker couldn’t descend “due to lighting issues.”

At the base of the mountain, the blue-eyed, white dog was reunited with its owners.

“Firefighters have safely walked down a hiker and a dog after they could not descend the mountain due to lighting issues. The hiker stated he found a lost dog on the trail with no owners present. The dog and owners were reunited at the base of the mountain,” wrote the Phoenix Fire Department.

As it turns out, the report from authorities did not include much of the amazing story of the hiker and his rescue of the dog. The hiker, whose name is Joe Berman, reached out to Outside to share his account of the ordeal.

Berman said that he encountered a lost white dog near the summit of Shadow Mountain during his regular afternoon hike up the peak. The dog was skittish and scared, but also seemed to be struggling with an injury to one of its legs. The terrain was steep and rocky, Berman said.

“With only three good legs, raw paws, and little energy left from being so thin, it struggled to stay upright,” Berman wrote to Outside in a lengthy note. “I couldn’t get close without putting both of us at risk. From the rain, the ground was muddy and slick underneath the loose rocks, and there was almost no stable footing.”

Berman called his wife from the top of the peak, and the two of them reached out to animal control, but the local unit could not offer immediate assistance. The dog, meanwhile, slipped and fell down a small ravine, but Berman was able to reach it. Eventually, Berman called emergency crews for help. Rangers and rescuers reached him after dark, and he was able to signal for help with the light on his smart phone.

Due to Berman’s location with the dog in steep and exposed terrain, rescuers called a helicopter.

“I lunged and threw my left arm and torso around the dog and buried my face in its neck while he pressed his head into my armpit,” he said. “We sat like that for hours as I clung to the mountain awaiting their plan or instructions.”

Eventually, Berman was able to ascend a slope of crumbling rocks with the dog to reach rescuers.

“The night had been terrifying, exhausting, and emotional, but in the end, thanks to a lot of luck and a lot of help, it was a story with a happy ending,” he said.

With sweeping vistas and steep elevation gains, Shadow Mountain Trail is a 2.6-mile loop just outside of Phoenix. Experts say it’s best to hike during the cooler parts of the day, but losing light on the trail can be just as dangerous as overheating. Because most of the desert trail is exposed, it’s best to hike this rocky, narrow trail on a colder day.

Annually, more than 200 hikers are rescued from the desert and mountain areas around Phoenix, according to the City of Phoenix. Hikers should always bring water, stay in contact with someone at home, and watch the weather whenever venturing out into the desert.