On just her third day on the job, it took Aspen, a search dog on the NH Fish and Game K-9 unit, all of 10 minutes to locate a loaded handgun accidentally left at Miller State Park in Peterborough. 

The handgun was lost in the brush Sunday after a hiker slipped over a 20-foot cliff near the Wapack Trail on Pack Monadnock.  According to NH Fish and Game Conservation Officer Tom Houghton, after the injured hiker’s family got him safely out of the woods, the hiker realized he was missing his handgun, which was loaded. 

“It is interesting how these events took place. The hiker’s family was able to locate his phone and his knife, but not the gun, so they called us in, and it is great that they called. Miller State Park is a very busy park with a lot of school groups visiting and a lot of children; there is a school bus in the parking lot pretty much every day.” 

Houghton said it was fortunate the hiker’s family was nearby and able to help. 

“I was surprised the family was able to get him out safely as that is a very tough spot,” he said. “They did not call in anyone to help get him out.” 

Houghton said that Aspen graduated from K-9 training academy on Friday. 

“It is pretty amazing that she got to do this just three days into the job,”  Houghton said. “She just did exactly what she was supposed to.”

Houghton said the loaded handgun was not secured in a holster.

“That would explain why it was lost,” Houghton said. 

Houghton said that Fish and Game K-9s such as Aspen are trained to recover firearms, but that the need to do so is rare. 

“I have been on  patrol for four years, and I have never heard of a hiker losing a weapon on the trail. Every once in a while, there will be a hunter who has misplaced their weapon and they call us in, but it is very unusual. Hunters usually keep very good track of their firearms,” Houghton said. 

Aspen, a one year old English Chocolate Lab, was donated to NH Fish and Game by Melissa Saari of Cold Springs Healing Paws in New Ispwich. 

Houghton said as of Tuesday, the hiker had not yet been seen at a hospital for any injuries he may have received in the fall. 

For more information about Fish and Game go to wildlife.nh.gov.