A trail runner stumbled upon a lost dog curled up all alone on a trail on the island of Oahu — and jumped into action to save her.
Sergio Florian found the scared and starving dog about 1,000 feet up Hawaii's Pu’u Manamana mountain during a training run. She was stuck on the steep cliff and couldn’t get back up or down the mountain, Florian said in the comments of the video he shared to the platform showing the rescue.
The dog was on the “most treacherous part” of the trail, Florian said. Fortunately as a physical therapist he was in good ehough shape to carry the 40-pound pup down the steep mountain trail and posted about the dog he’d found on social media, which ultimately led to Florian reuniting her with her owner, a pig hunter.
The owner told him his dog, named Stevie, ran off along with two of his other dogs when they weren’t wearing their collars or protective pig hunting gear. Stevie’s face was injured as a result, Florian said. He searched for the other two dogs the next day and plans to go much deeper into the valley to search for them over the weekend. But for now, he’s happy he could at least help rescue Stevie.
“My heart is full tonight,” he said on Instagram. “Love happy endings.”
Below is the story as covered by a local Hawaiian TV station and then his own video posted on Instagram on which he wrote:
My heart is full tonight. Found this sweet girl 1000 feet up on one of the most precarious sections, of one of the most dangerous trails on the island. Sheer cliffs and drop offs in all directions. Luckily she let me carry her down. My arms are hurting tonight, but my heart is overjoyed. I couldn’t leave another living creature in distress like that. Love happy endings.