Miraculous rescue

Crashed and presumed dead dog is back

Shepherd dog "Ayla" is reunited with her owner.

(Bild: KaPo Appenzell Innerhoden)

An incredible story with a happy ending took place in neighboring Switzerland over the past few days. After shepherd dog "Ayla" crashed during a hike with her owner in the Säntis region in the canton of Appenzell Innerhoden at the end of June and all hope was lost, a major turnaround followed last weekend.

On Friday, June 28, a 61-year-old man from Germany was hiking with his dog from the 2501-metre-high Säntis down the valley towards Schwägalp. In the "Nasenlöcher" area, the dog briefly played on a snow field, whereupon she slipped and fell into the depths. The owner could see the dog motionless in the steep terrain below with his binoculars. Despite a long wait and the owner's constant calls and whistles, the man could no longer detect any reaction from his dog. Shaken and believing that his "Ayla" had not survived the fall, the 61-year-old set off on the descent and the subsequent journey home.

Eight days later, on Saturday morning (July 6), the Appenzell-Innerrhoden cantonal police received a report that a dog had been found in rough terrain in a meadow in the Alpstein, in the area near the Nasenlöchern. However, there was no trace of the owner. Based on this report, specialists from Swiss Alpine Rescue and Rega Air Rescue were called out to rescue the animal. The dog was handed over to the cantonal police and subsequently to a vet.

Search for dog owner
As the authorities still had to assume that the dog's owner had also crashed in rough terrain, Rega carried out a search flight in the area. At the same time, an intensive search was carried out for the dog's owner using the dog's chip number.

The Rega air ambulance was deployed to recover "Ayla".

(Bild: REMO NAEGELI)

Thanks to the pet register of the Federal Republic of Germany (TASSO), it was finally possible to locate the breeding farm, which ultimately led the police to the owner of the animal. The man from Baden-Württemberg was overjoyed to embrace his "Ayla" again on Sunday.