>From my first aid training, you can improvise a quick stretcher from two 6 ft closet >pole rods and a blanket. For a dog I would fold a blanket in half and lay it on the >ground. Then put the two poles (in parallel)on top, a little more than a third of the >way in from the edge on each side. Fold the first flap in to go past the second pole. >Then the second flap goes back over to the the first pole. The weight of the dog or >person keeps the whole thing together without pinning it together. It works well for >short distances for urban environs, like getting from the park or house to the car. >Another alternative is to use a zipped jacket and stick the poles through the arms. >This might be a little small for our size dogs, but works. Of course this takes two >people to do this but is very effective. Having two 1 1/4" X 6' poles around in the garage is cheap insurance in an emergency. The other method that people were describing is called a travois. It was used by indians and hunters with horses very effectively to haul the tee-pees' poles and materials. (It also is an acceptable device for draft tests as well.) It is basically a triangle of three poles, two long and one shorter one going across at the bottom. Then a mesh of branches or tarps covering the open field of it. It is fairly effective for going longer distances but it definitely need to be lashed securely if you plan to be covering any amount of rough terrain such as a trail in the woods. I doubt that I would want to drag my injured dog along the ground for any distance what so ever. I guess that's another good reason to have more than one dog with you. (Setup a drag that the dog could assist in pulling with you.)
The only other option is practicing the firemans carry position. (This should be practiced with a willing healthy dog before having to do this in an emergency situation.) I don't know if many of you could actually lift and carry a 85-125 lbs of dead weight for any distance by yourselves. So keeping other people informed of your where abouts is essential. Be safe out there Jim LaFrom San Jose, CA now get out there and work dem workn' dogs
