Man sustains 26-foot fall into glacier — his loyal Chihuahua becomes 'sole reason' behind his rescue
The loyalty of a pet dog can be proven any day, and one such story recently demonstrated just how deeply a dog's bond with their owner can go. As reported by the New York Post, a long-haired, white and brown Chihuahua remarkably saved the life of its owner, who had accidentally landed in a 26-foot deep glacier crevasse in the Swiss Alps.
Last Friday afternoon, the unidentified man was hiking along the Fee Glacier with his pet dog when he suddenly crashed into a snow bridge and fell deep into a glacier crack. Stuck 26 feet down, the troubled man tried calling for help, but his voice was barely audible over the howling winds. The hiker then managed to use his walkie-talkie that he had prepared for potential situations like this, and was able to connect to someone nearby. While the distress call alerted the authorities, the rescuers could not accurately locate the man, since "the hole was barely visible."
The Air Zermatt rescue service further shared how a helicopter team was sent for the rescue, but despite countless searches, the man was not found. Then, one rescue specialist's eye landed on a small creature sitting on a rock that, upon getting closer, turned out to be a Chihuahua. This Chihuahua was none other than the loyal pet of the owner who didn't leave his side even in the harsh, icy weather. The rock was right next to the glacier crack in which the hiker had fallen.
The rescue team credited the little dog with saving his owner's life, stating, "Thanks to the dog’s behavior, the crew was able to locate the exact site of the accident. The rescuers abseiled down to the casualty and were able to save him." Once the mission was successful, the team flew the man and his pet dog to a hospital nearby in Visp, Switzerland. The rescuers were also amazed at how "the little dog did not move during the entire operation and closely followed every movement of the rescue specialists." They stated, "It is fair to say that his behaviour contributed significantly to the successful rescue. The dog is a four-legged hero who may have saved his master's life in a life-threatening situation."
While the man was miraculously saved by the rescue team and his brave dog, many individuals are not as fortunate. Two studies examined helicopter rescues for people who fell into crevasses in Switzerland and just how dangerous these situations can be. The 2014 study reviewed 415 cases from 2000 to 2010, while the 2022 study numbered 321 victims from 2010 to 2020. The injuries these victims sustained ranged from minor to fatal, with 9.4% of the patients suffering from potentially life-threatening injuries. Given these figures and the various factors that can claim one's life high up on snow-capped mountains, it is nothing short of an absolute wonder that this man survived. Without his pet dog, all rescue initiatives would have failed since the hole wasn't big enough to register for anyone.