Handicapped dog first to Mt Washington summit
In an article written by Melanie Plenda for the Union Leader in New Hampshire, the story of an amazing athletic feat is unfolded.
This athlete happens to be a dog.
A handicapped dog.
It’s the story of Lucy, a dog left for dead just a years prior, due to irreparable spine and leg damage. And amazingly, with the aid of a designed doggy wheelchair, for the rear of the body, on just two legs, Lucy made it to the summit of Mount Washington.
Being a small dog owner, and someone who hikes and climbs Mount Washington myself, I cannot stress to you enough the incredible feat this must have been for such a small animal: especially one suffering from this severe a handicap. I couldn’t imagine hiking Mount Washington without my arms yet alone two supporting limbs.
But to not steal the efforts from Melanie’s work, I’ll provide you with the link here to read the story yourself.
This is a feel good story 🙂
If a handicapped dog can do this, imagine what you can with all of your body intact…
Please allow to be motivational for yourself. It was for me today to perform my own workout despite the immense pain from advanced hike/climb up Mount Washington Saturday morning with Mike Signori.
Cool Quotes from Melanie’s article:
“In fact, she’s the first to even attempt it,” said Ryan Triffitt, marketing director for Mount Washington. “Mount Washington has always been a proving ground . . . Last summer, we had a camel. This summer, a dog in a wheelchair.”
“She’s such a go-getter,” Dunning said. “Nothing stops her, she’ll try anything. She goes up steps, she jumps off steps. She goes for walks, she goes for runs. Even at a full-out sprint, she far outdoes me.”
Mount Washington Climb New Hampshire – November 21, 2009
So this past Sunday I was led by one of my brothers for life, Captain Michael Signori, up to the summit of Mount Washington in New Hampshire.
Mount Washington is the largest peak in the northeastern region of the United States.
The peak is 6,288 feet above sea level (1.19 miles).
The entire round trip is about 8.1 miles from the base we began at off rt. 302.
We made it up in 3 hours and 2 minutes. Came down in equal time. We couldve come down faster, but, unfortunately, I went up in really unsupportive boots, eventually injuring my MCL on my right leg, and later hurting my ligaments in my left leg.
Each step back down was excruciating. I swallowed 3500mg of ibuprofen at the summit hoping it would help… not sure it did in the immediate sense 🙂
Below is some fun footage of the climb during the last 30 minutes upward. This was probably some of the easiest parts of the climb, sorta. Although, the harder parts I couldn’t hold a camera and pull simultaneously so… those weren’t depicted.
I look forward to this climb again, or better yet, the more challenging routes, like the ravine.
WARNING:
EXPLICIT LANGUAGE in VIDEOS BELOW:
The Climb (about 3 minutes)
ROCKY IV – DRAGO!!