“Boy scouts” have an enduring image of being ready all the time, no matter the situation.
This is also what a 12-year-old boy from Hawaii proved when he found himself in a situation where his skills were needed the most.
Equipped with bushcraft knowledge and survival know-how, he not only made his organization proud but also saved lives in the process.
David King was finishing his 15-mile hike near Kailua.
Along with his mother Christine, David was well on his way to earning his Boy Scout Merit Badge for hiking. It’s an essential skill for scouts like him, most especially during jamborees.
Three miles left in the hike, however, they encountered an emergency.
They met a couple on the path together with their dog. The danger was not as obvious, David shared, but they knew the couple needed help.
The couple had run out of water, their phones were dead, it was getting dark fast, and the dog, a 100-pound blue-nose pitbull named Smokey was injured.
When David offered help, the couple quickly said “yes”.
As a boy scout, it was in David’s nature to help. But what he didn’t expect is how much of his scout skills will be put to the test.
First, they shared their water with the couple. And then, they discussed ways on how they’ll get off the trail. While the four of them can soldier on the rest of the trek, Smokey was in no shape to continue. The team had to think fast.
This is when David tapped into his scout training.
“We built them a stretcher using a big tree branch that we broke in half and used our shirts and slid it on using the armholes to fit the sticks through,” David explained to KHON.
The trek going down was not easy, though.
Smokey didn’t want to get on the stretcher at first, but when he finally did, the team started to make their way out of the trail.
Carrying Smokey was no easy task, however. The four of them rotated positions so they could fight off the fatigue. David was also fresh out from a soccer game that day so his stamina struggled a bit to keep up.
“Sometimes we did four people, two on each side,” he further shared with KHON. “Or two people — my mom and the man — and then the dog would get off and walk some, which was really helpful and let us relax.”
Soon enough, they made it to the parking lot.
The couple, only identified as JD and Aimee, got Smokey the medical attention he so desperately needed. The ordeal made David feel fulfilled and accomplished.
“To help someone using my Boy Scout skills makes me feel accomplished because it shows I’ve learned something and it wasn’t all in one ear and out the other,” David said as quoted by CNN.
He hopes that people can learn from this experience and take to heart the importance of being prepared for every situation.
Watch how a 12-year-old boy saves a couple and their dog using his boy scout skills.
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