Dog protects injured owner after snowmachine crashBy MARY KAUFFMAN
March 05, 2014
Otis Orth, age 52, was rescued more than 24 hours after he crashed his snowmachine Sunday and had been laying in the snow until he was discovered Monday afternoon. According to the Alaska State Troopers, Orth's dog "Amber" had remained with him, keeping him warm overnight, until she heard some snowmachines in the area Monday. "Amber" was able to get the attention of snowmachiners Tom Taylor, age 68, of Trapper Creek, and a friend of Taylor's riding in the area. "Amber" ran up to them from the direction of Jake Lake, near mile seventeen Petersville Road. "Amber" then led them approximately 400 yards to where her injured owner was hidden by snow. Several local cabin owners living near the area responded and assisted in keeping Orth warm until medics arrived. According to the Alaska State Troopers, Orth was conscious, breathing, and alert, but unable to move due to multiple injuries. Life Med responded from Anchorage in a helicopter while the Trapper Creek Ambulance responded with their Off-Road rescue equipment. Troopers, Life Med, and EMS arrived at the scene at approximately 3:40 pm Monday. Orth was stabilized, and transported by Life Med helicopter to an Anchorage hospital where he is currently listed in Stable Condition. Orth told the Anchorage Daily News in an interview from his hospital bed at Providence Alaska Medical Center that he owes his dog his life. "If I had stayed out there one more night I wouldn't have made it," Orth told the Anchorage Daily News. "Amber", a two-year-old bolden retriever, was turned over to a local acquaintance of Orth's for care. Trapper Creek in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.
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