Guide dog wandering Alaskan trail saves life of injured hiker

A hiker who fell 700 feet down an Alaskan mountain on June 20th credits a husky with saving her life.

Amelia Milling, 21, was hiking along the Crow Creek trail, which is about 26 miles from Anchorage, when her trekking poles broke and she fell down a snow covered part of the mountain side for approximately 300 feet, before colliding with a large bolder.

The impact threw her about 30 feet sideways and sent her the rest of the way down the mountain, another 300 to 400 feet.

At the bottom of the slide, Milling found a white Alaska Husky that came to her aid and guided her back to the Crow Pass Trail.

Milling, now with the dog as a companion, continued hiking the trail until she reached the Eagle River crossing, where she had to cross the river to pick the trail back up.

The current was too strong for Milling and she fell into the water.

Milling told rescuers that the dog then saved her life by pulling her out of the river.

At this point, Milling started becoming hypothermic and she activated her SPOT device for help.

Both were rescued by an Alaskan state trooper helicopter.

Once back in Anchorage, rescuers realized the dog had a tag so one official called the name on the collar and finally got in touch with the dog's owner.

Scott Swift, Nookie the dog's owner, said the dog loved to wander and walk with people along the Crow Pass Trail during the summer.

Nookie also rescued a little girl two years ago along this same path.

Nookie is a trail guide dog that helps hikers find their way back to a trail, Milling later learned.