This trip started like most others. We left the house at 5:30am. We were at the trailhead at six. It was cold so Treen was wearing her coat as we headed up the frozen trail. She was off leash because nobody but us was silly enough to be out there.

The trail is one we're familiar with. It climbs through an old avalanche path and switchbacks steeply up the hillside. It's about 3,000 feet of gain in a mile and a half making it one of the stiffer trips we do. The good part is once you break out of the trees with 1,000 feet of open ridge to the top. We didn't make it that far.

Treen fell behind on a relatively flat switchback. I could see she was about 20 feet back thanks to her light. She was moving slowly and stopping every few feet. I called her and she picked up the pace to stand beside me. Then she lay down in the middle of the trail.

Treen has decided she'd have a rest before, but after miles on the trail. I'm usually the one panting and apologizing to her. She looked comfortable enough so I took a few steps forward and called her. She stood and then all but collapsed against a tree. I made her comfortable and we rested.

After a 10 minutes it was clear not only she wouldn't be able to continue, but she couldn't make it down herself. We were 1,000 feet above the trailhead and the route back to the car was full of roots, rocks, and steeps. Not that any of that mattered.

She ain't heavy. She's my dog.

But what if she had been too heavy? Or the terrain too difficult? Or if I had been hurt as well? Did you know there's an organization that is there precisely to help rescue animals?

The Washington State Animal Response Team is an all-volunteer organization that can deploy to rescue dogs, cats, horses, pigs, cows... pretty much anything except wildlife and exotic animals. Had we needed them, a single call could have activated them to help us down.

As you can imagine, it's not cheap to send a team into the mountains, but they don't charge a dime. WASART is completely funded by donations. That's why all us crazy adventurers that drag our animals into the woods need to chip in. You can support them with a quick, online donation on their donation page and then turn right around and claim it on your taxes. Everybody wins.

And I lied. She was heavy. Treen weighed about 65 pounds. Add that to the 20 or so pounds of gear I always carry and I had a fair load. Just like always, she helped as best she could. She didn't squirm or try to move once I got her up on my shoulders. She just rode down the mountain and curled up in the car.

We didn't need WASART to rescue us on this trip, but I can certainly envision a time we might. It's great to know they're out there when we need them.

BTW: If you want to get really involved, check out the Raise the Hoof event coming up March 2 in Tacoma. If you're not in the PNW, take a look online to find your local group and put their number in your phone.