A four-legged hero has emerged on Switzerland’s Fee Glacier. After its owner fell into a crevasse, a chihuahua helped alert search and rescue teams to his location, likely saving his life, according to local officials.
On July 4, a man was walking with his long-haired chihuahua when suddenly a snow bridge broke, and he fell nearly 26 feet into a crevasse, CBS News reported. While the man was stuck in the ice, his dog was unharmed and remained at the edge of the hole.
The man used a walkie-talkie to send out a distress signal, which another nearby hiker received and transmitted to Air Zermatt, an airline that works with local rescue organization KWRO.
A rescue team quickly set out in a helicopter, but was unable to quickly find the hiker.
“The search for the collapse site proved difficult,” an Air Zermatt news release stated. “The glacier surface was wide and the hole was barely visible.”
As luck would have it, rescuers spotted the small chihuahua and took this as a sign to search the area. The team was able to safely recover the man and the dog, who were both flown to a nearby hospital.
Fee Glacier is a 2.9-mile-wide glacier in the Pennine Alps that is popular with tourists and skiers, who can access it via cable car. It’s one of the few remaining areas that allows for summer glacier skiing.
Reports show that the glacier has greatly receded in recent years due to climate change. In 2023, a hiker died after he was buried by debris when part of the glacier in this area collapsed. In 2024, Air Zermatt performed around 2,000 rescue missions in the wider area.
As for the heroic chihuahua, Air Zermatt had nothing but praise for man’s best friend.
“The little dog did not move during the entire operation and closely followed every movement of the rescue specialists,” the Swiss agency said. “It is fair to say that his behavior 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.”
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