PSA:TR for Dog Lovers

[Stanley]

Saw this elsewhere but seemed pertinant.
Dont know who it was, but im sure some of you can relate.
Use your noggin out there.

"Went to find the safest stuff we could ski today so we picked Titty Mouse Ridge. Safe for humans, but not for dogs. Coming off Titty Mouse ridge to get to the out track, we traversed around the way we normally ski because of the isolated danger dropping into the gully (we were concerned about the steep slope that leads into the gully). The dog went the normal way, triggered the avalanche and was buried. We did not witness the slide happen and discovered it a few minutes later because we had to skin up a bit to find it.
Checked the debris pile for a few minutes, probing likely areas, but were not able to locate the dog. With only one person to spot and one to probe, we quickly called off the search to not endanger the person probing (not an easy decision to make).

Slide was at about 7500 ft., North East aspect, 2 foot crown, 50 feet wide and ran 50 feet to the gully. Debris was in exceess of 6 feet (length of probe).

Did not investigate sliding layer because of hangfire, but it did not go to ground.

Lost a loyal friend this morning and an incredible dog because of my mistake. Just because I could be out in the backcountry and avoid avalanche terrain didn't mean my dog could. Just a little hindsight in hopes of providing some foresight for others."

[Trackhead]

I ski with my dog 50% of the time. And I could see him getting into a terrain trap like that.