[wheatie]

[Stefan]

[Stefan]

[wheatie]

"hey guys, wait here while I see what's going on with this lady and her dog (that cannot walk)" I am beginning to think that YOU were the leader of this group of Boy Scouts.

[Stefan]

Heresay.

[fourteen410]

[NacMacFeegle]

[HitTheTrail]

Based on all the hearsay it appears the interaction between Scouts and hiker could have been handled better. And I can think of many ways they could have helped (most mentioned here). However, as a leader of that group I am not sure I would want a 70 lb boy picking up a 65 lb dog that has been injured and is refusing to be moved.

[Foist]

I find it odd and kind of funny that this story has elicited all these "hrrumph kids nowadays" "hrrumph society nowadays grumble grumble" responses. Is this a board for grumpy 80-year-olds? I would normally just chuckle and move on, but it bothers me a bit that a potentially identifiable person is being criticized so harshly and publicly. I feel like another side should be presented. Obviously, as Stefan pointed out, we are only hearing one side of the story (although it's "hearsay," not "heresay"). But even assuming the story is accurate, I'm still not convinced that the scout leader -- who might read this site or whose friends might read it -- deserves this verbal lynching. To the original poster: what, if anything, did your wife ask them to do, much less expect them to do? Boy scouts are kids as young as 10 years old. The scout leader surely has his hands full supervising a group of boys in the wilderness. Even if I had encountered this scene without a group of kids that I was responsible for, it would be far from obvious that there was anything I could or should do to assist. The dog was not maimed; it was simply spooked and being stubborn. Logically, the owner is the person most likely to solve that problem and coax the dog back onto its feet. Even assuming the dog had to be carried, did she tell them that? Others have already observed that actually carrying the dog for her was not an option, anyway. The other ways that one poster has proposed to help are either not obvious or do not seem likely to accomplish anything. Offer to share weight? She was on a short day hike, how much could she have been carrying that this would make a difference? Offer to make a phone call? There is no cell reception there, I am fairly sure. Give the dog benadryl? There is no indication that the dog had an allergic reaction, or that the troop had benadryl, and I'm skeptical anyway that you can just give any old drug made for humans to a dog. In short, I hope the dog is okay, but I'm just not getting the grumpy outrage.

[Randito]

It is true we only have one account -- that account includes the text:

[Hulksmash]

To those of you shaming the scouts for not helping...if you were there would you have personally helped pack the 65lb dog out? Be HONEST!

[wolffie]

My experiences with Boy Scouts were all positive -- although I was chagrined to note, when viewing Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will, the classic Nazi propaganda staple, that the uniforms of the Hitler Youth were only slightly different from what I wore, and the similarities were probably not all so superficial. I watched with sickened incomprehension as the two Scout leaders vandalized the rock formation in Goblin Valley (I have been there); it was like watching an adult teach a child how to torture animals or carve your name in a tree. Goblin Valley scout vandalism Choose your leaders with care. Children are not in a position to do that, and adults often choose poorly, too. Now I'm wondering what the difference between a child and an adult is. Some are allowed to graduate into nominal adulthood when perhaps they should be held back awhile. I can say that many of my values re. ideals, Nature, truth, responsibility, etc. were formed back then. Those were good men. I recall no bullying among the kids, and no serious misbehavior.

[wheatie]

I honestly probably would not have carried a 65lb dog very far. Mine is only 35 lbs. If there was a reason I felt that I was way more capable of carrying the dog than she was, I may have, especially if it wasn't far. What I would have done is stop, find out what the exact problem was and offer whatever assistance I could offer. If the dog wasn't being aggressive and I felt it safe I would have helped her lift the dog onto her shoulders. If her pack was significant, depending on my pack and condition, I may have offered to carry hers. The post said her husband should have been waiting for her as she was over due. I certainly could have gotten out as fast as safely possible, found her husband and sent him up to help. You are right, though, we do need both sides of the story and more details to really pass judgement, but all the potential ways they could have helped are all speculative. Yes, boy scouts can be 50lb tiny 10 year olds, but also they can be 200lb, 6 foot tall 17 year olds. My problem is that as they story is told, they did not stop, assess the situation and offer SOME sort of help, even if it was making a phone call once they got cell service, finding her husband or just walking out with her. You do not just walk pass someone that is asking for help or appears distressed without at least figuring out what is going on. You just dont.

[Tom]

[boot up]

Long term solution to this situation seems simple. Never own a dog you can't easily lift. I have carried my dog for miles, without needing a troop of boy scouts to assist me. That being said. Whatever happened to the Boy Scout Credo "Be prepared"? I have recently run into so many Boy Scout groups out on trails that were absolutely not prepared for the obvious environment, much less extenuating circumstances. I was a cub scout as a kid. No one would take on our "energetic" pack when it came time for us to become Boy Scouts. But I did absorb an old Boy Scout manual to the point where people assume I have been a Boy Scout. I learned all sorts of handy things, just from that manual, like how to properly blaze trees and otherwise mark trails with cairns and breaking branches. Scouts should be learning all sorts of great skills.