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Hero: Park Ranger Carries Dehydrated Dog To Safety Down Treacherous Water Gap Mountain

Supervisory Park Ranger Kris Salapek wasn’t about to leave a worried owner and his dehydrated dog alone on a mountain at the Delaware Water Gap National Recreational Area.

Supervisory Park Ranger Kris Salapek carries the dog down Mount Tammany.

Supervisory Park Ranger Kris Salapek carries the dog down Mount Tammany.

Photo Credit: Lexie Daniel

Lexie Daniel of Randolph said she and fellow hikers on Mount Tammany in Warren County gave their water to the owner, “but we were afraid that would be little help with how much the dog was already struggling [in the intense heat].”

Salapek then lifted the huge dog onto his shoulders and carried him down “an incredibly rocky hill all the way down to the stream – it was a LONG distance -- and laid him in the water as he knelt beside him and poured water on him,” she said.

“The ranger then picked him back up over his shoulders and walked all the way back down towards the street,” said Daniel, a pediatric nurse at Hackensack University Medical Center. “This was a couple miles of an incredibly rocky path."

“This ranger saved this dog’s life. This is a HERO,” Daniel added. “This dog probably wouldn’t have made it without him.

“We are so lucky to have rangers like this that put even animals before themselves. This ranger deserves insane recognition and a standing ovation for his bravery, selflessness, and strength,” she said.

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