It was in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreational Area on an extremely hot day. The sun was above heads and the temperature wasn’t quite in a mood to drop. Several persons were hiking and among the group, one person also had a dog with them. As brutal as the sun is to humans, so too it is to animals and the dog was on the brink of passing out when park ranger Kris Salapek noticed it.

Kris immediately ran to the dehydrated dog to help it. The dog owner was constantly panicking and didn’t know what to do. Salak picked up the dog on his shoulder and instantly started rushing towards a nearby body of water. While this was helpful it was not sufficient to fully revive the dog and Salapek had to take it down the mountain so he could get the assistance of a vet.

This incredible act of kindness was witnessed by Lexie Daniel and his friends who were present at the time. The following day, Lexie posted this entire incident on Facebook and it quickly went viral with over 35.7k shares. The post gives a more vivid narration of the incident.

Lexie’s Post:

“I need to make a huge shout out to a park ranger at mt Tammany in NJ. His name is K Salapek. Upon heading back down from our hike, we see a dog panting with heat exhaustion laying on the ground. A park ranger was with him. We gave them the water we had left but were afraid that would do little help with how much the dog was already struggling. This park ranger picked up this huge dog, threw him over his shoulders, and carried him down an incredibly rocky hill all the way to the stream (it was a LONG distance) and laid him in the water as he knelt beside him and poured water on him. The ranger then picked him back up over his shoulders and walked all the way back down towards the street with this heavy dog. This was a couple of miles of an incredibly rocky path. This ranger SAVED this dog’s life. This is a HERO. This dog probably wouldn’t have made it without him. We are so lucky to have rangers like this that put even animals before themselves. This ranger deserves insane recognition and a standing ovation for his bravery, selflessness, and strength. ***clarification: the dog was not dumped. Owner was there also and visibly upset, just couldn’t carry the dog himself****”

The dog was then declared sound and playfully recovering by a comment update on this post.

By: Nehla Zohaira, SAVED News International Correspondent, South Asia

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About The Author

Kazi Musa

Ph.D. Candidate in Economics

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