From lapdog to lifesaver - a Chihuahua saves his owner trapped in a glacier
The pet Chihuahua that saved its owner’s life after the unidentified man fell into a Swiss glacier on Friday.
Image: Air Zermatt
Last Friday an unidentified Swiss man was hiking with his dog on the Fee Glacier in the Swiss Alps when he unknowingly stepped onto a snow bridge - a fragile layer of ice that forms over cracks in the glacier. The bridge gave way, and he plunged 8m into the icy darkness below.
It wasn’t a muscular St Bernard or a hardy German Shepherd that came to the rescue. Instead, it was a long-haired Chihuahua, no taller than a hiker’s boot, who led a rescue team to its owner after he plummeted into a glacier crevasse in southern Switzerland.
How a tiny dog sparked a big rescue
Trapped and injured deep inside the glacier, the man managed to call for help using a basic walkie-talkie.
A passerby picked up his distress call and contacted emergency services. However, the rescue team from Air Zermatt struggled to locate him. The glacier's vast, jagged surface offered little clue as to where he had fallen.
But then came a breakthrough. One of the rescue specialists spotted a flicker of movement against the rock - the small figure of a dog, sitting alertly by a near-invisible crevasse.
The Chihuahua had remained right next to the hole where its owner had vanished, refusing to budge.
The little dog did not move during the entire operation and closely followed every movement of the rescue specialists.
Image: Air Zermatt
“Thanks to the dog’s behaviour, the crew was able to locate the exact site of the accident,” said Air Zermatt in a statement. One of the team members abseiled down into the glacier and successfully reached the injured man.
The unlikeliest of heroes
The rescue team later shared that the little dog stayed still throughout the operation, watching every movement as they worked to bring his owner to safety. They credited the Chihuahua’s unwavering presence as the reason the mission succeeded.
“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,” Air Zermatt added.
This tiny breed, which hails from Mexico, has long been known as a loyal companion. Originally bred as lapdogs by ancient civilisations such as the Toltecs and Aztecs, Chihuahuas were once considered sacred, thought to carry the spirits of the dead into the afterlife.
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