Hamden Firefighters Rescue Dog at Sleeping Giant State Park

HAMDEN, CT — Hamden firefighters rescued Maria, a 7-year-old German Shepard-mix, after she collapsed while hiking with her owner at Sleeping Giant State Park on Wednesday evening.

Crews responded to the park around 7:30 p.m. after a man called to report that his dog collapsed during the hike and he was unable to remove her from the trail without help.

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With the assistance of the State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, firefighters from Engine 5 and Engine 9 entered Sleeping Giant from the far eastern trailhead located on Chestnut Lane, according to Deputy Chief Gary Merwede.

Merwede said the exhausted dog was found approximately 1/3 of a mile in on the Yellow trail. A portable stretcher was used to hand-carry Maria to a waiting DEEP ATV, for removal from the woods.

There were no personnel injuries and all units were back in-service at 8:30 p.m., according to Merwede.

The Hamden Fire Department has responded for 10 rescues on Sleeping Giant since the beginning of the year, Merwede said.

Pictured, from left to right, are: Firefighter Kurt Vogt, Maria, and Firefighter Chip Talmadge / Courtesy of Hamden Fire Department