Dog Saves Life Of Owner After He Falls In Tahoe National Forest

NEVADA COUNTY (CBS13) — A 53-year-old man is lucky to be alive after he was injured while camping in the Tahoe National Forest.

Nevada County Search and Rescue teams could finally track him down thanks to his four-legged friend.

"We think about the movie lassie and Timmy in the well," said Nevada County Sheriff's Deputy, Sgt. Dennis Haack.

Lassie was a show that aired on CBS for 17 seasons, and although there's no sign of a reboot, one dog in Nevada County could be ready to take on the role.

Except in this story, it's not a brown collie named lassie; it's a black and white border collie named Sal who helped save his owner's life.

The Nevada County Sheriff's Office was called in by Cal Fire to help look for the man.

"He had reported he had fallen 70ft. Had broken ribs and a broken hip… he called 911 on his cellphone," said Sgt. Haack.

Unfortunately, the call dropped. However, search and rescue teams were able to contact the man's friend, who pointed them toward the man's campsite.

"As our searchers got to the area and found his camp they couldn't find him… so they spread out and searched the area," said Sgt. Haack.

That's when Sal joined the search.

"He ran about 20 ft away from them stopped and looked back at them. They took that as he was trying to lead them to the victim," Sgt. Haack stated.

The man was found with serious injuries and flown to a hospital in a California Highway Patrol helicopter.