Hiker, 'aggressive' dogs rescued by helicopter in B.C.'s North Shore mountains

A member of North Shore Rescue retrieves equipment from a helicopter after landing at a base following a rescue operation in North Vancouver, B.C., Saturday, March 4, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

NORTH VANCOUVER — A hiker and her two dogs needed a helicopter rescue from the mountains north of Metro Vancouver because the “aggressive” and “protective” behaviour of the animals toward rescuers wouldn’t allow them to be walked out.

North Shore Rescue says in a social media statement that they received the call on Wednesday about the hiker and her dogs being lost in the Mount Seymour area.

Rescuers say the hiker left the trail to avoid a group of people because her dogs were protective, and her plan was to get around the other hikers and get back on the trail.

However, North Shore Rescue says the hiker found herself deep into a gully, and her dogs were too tired to climb out in the snowy conditions.

Rescuers were able to reach the woman on the ground, but couldn’t walk the group back on the trail due to a combination of challenging snow conditions, the exhausted dogs and their very protective and aggressive nature.

The dogs were eventually muzzled and loaded along with their owner onto a rescue helicopter to be flown back to the Mount Seymour parking lot.

North Shore Rescue is cautioning hikers to stay on the trail and carry a satellite messaging device to avoid losing contact, as well as to consider the needs of their pets if they are accompanying them on a hike.

“These particular dogs were quite protective of their human, so perhaps should not have been taken on a high-traffic trail,” the statement says.

“Difficult snow conditions for us and our long legs can be particularly challenging for our four-legged friends. What is tiring for humans can be doubly so for dogs … and if your K9 companion becomes exhausted and not able to continue, will you be able to carry them out?”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2026.