Billy,thank you for that comic relief.
Maddy -- wow!Great questions! Many of your thoughts I can relate to as they echo exactly the type of stuff I think about when hiking with my dog Terra in winter! I take that responsibility very seriously -- and aside from her snowballing issues that are somewhat resolved by her lightning blue lycra bodysuit that so many people love to poke fun at -- I do consider "what if I got hurt? Who would help her? Would I lose her?" ...too much of an "8 Below" scenario for my comfort level.
I have a SPOT. I'm not sure if Trish has one but IMHO its an excellent tool. I know my 76 year old Mom loves getting the updates that say "I'm OK and having a great hike" because it makes her feel secure and puts her mind at ease. I *also* have my SAR message on my SPOT programmed with the additional information that I hike with a dog, her name and physical description. It's just one more safety tool in the tool box, IMHO.
So much of what we consider to be risk is based on our own personal experience. I HAVE had a beloved canine partner DIE on the trail with me and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it but cry, guilt myself and deal with all the what-ifs. That changed me. I am WAY more conservative now. I wish I could have prevented it. I wish I could say my furkid was "
happier as a dead but hiking to the max dog", but the reality is that I'd rather have had him in my life for a whole lot longer. He was just doing what he wanted to do and what made him happy, who was I to take that away or think that I should take it down a notch?? So many more knowledgeable *did* warn me...and I didn't listen, I didn't believe thier "gut instincts" were smarter than me, because they weren't HIKERS. I live with that. And I promised myself for all my future furkids that I would NEVER forget that lesson or fool myself I was smarter again.
Sorry if I digress, this is the only way I can relate to the kid topics....
In terms of mitigating those risks you raise, which I think are excellent ones, having MORE adults on the hike would IMHO be safer. Safety in numbers. A back up adult or adults who will take charge of the situation if the parent is injured. Wow...I can only imagine how frightening that would be for all involved. How to prepare a kid for that? Gosh, I don't know if I'd even want to!
edited to say, I don't mean to suggest I sit around thinking of scary scenarios! Quite to the contrary, I tend to think up really big ideas and wonder if I can pull them off, that's the stuff that motivates and supercharges me -- but at the same time, I consider my responsibility to my furkid, and many times she stays at home and doesn't "epic" with me. My point, is that once a doubt or concern crosses my mind, I personally feel I owe it to myself to keep it honest, if I'm doubting or experiencing feelings of concern about something, there is probably good reason...I err on the conservative side myself and let my intuition be my guide...don't need more reasons than that!. ;-)