As most dog owners know, the love between humans and canines is unconditional, so when Tia Vargas encountered an injured pooch during a hike through the Grand Tetons in Wyoming last month, she knew she had only one option — to rescue the wounded pup.

Vargas, who was hiking with her dad, came upon the injured English Springer spaniel as she was climbing the 11,000-foot peak. About six miles up the mountainside, she saw a family surrounding the dog, who was limping. The dog’s owners were nowhere to be found, so Vargas decided to take matters into her own hands, literally.

She strapped the 50-pound pup to her back and started back down the mountain. Aside from the occasional rain and snow, Vargas and her father also got lost twice.

“Every time I put him down so I could rest, it was difficult,” Ms. Vargas told Mother Nature Network. “And every time I got down on my knees to put my head under his belly and try to use neck and body strength to lift him it was painful and difficult. I thought we would see people on the trail on the way down to help. But that wasn’t the case.”

Despite the struggle, Vargas and the dog eventually made it down the mountain where she saw a flyer for a ‘lost dog’ named Boomer. After calling the owners, they reunited with the missing pooch, explaining that he had fallen off a 100-foot cliff the day before and rolled 200 feet down the mountain. Although they searched endlessly for him, he was nowhere to be found.

The family, who would be moving to Arizona shortly, was looking for someone to adopt Boomer since they couldn’t take him along. They had considered one family, but when Tia expressed interest, the agreed to let her adopt the dog.

At the vet, Boomer was treated for a torn ligament and a dislocated joint, and fitted for a cast. He is now recovering well in his newfound home.

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“His personality is perfect with mine and the kids. We all love him so much,” Vargas says. “They begged me for a dog and I was worried because it’s a lot of time and work. I told them ‘no’ for so long. And I said if we get a dog it would have to be dropped in my lap and already trained. And he is both of those and so much more. He feels like one of my kids now.”