Mountain rescue team rescued stranded dog spotted on cliffs in Snowdonia

A stranded a dog sparked a major mountain search after it was spotted on cliffs in Snowdonia, north Wales. Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue team, police and RAF rescue helicopters took part in a search for a possible fallen walker on Y Garn after the black and white Jack Russell was seen near Cwm Cywion gorge.



The North Wales Police helicopter flew over the area after passing walkers raised the alarm on Sunday after seeing the dog on the crags at the back of Cwm Cywion, north-west of the mountain summit. Chris Lloyd of the Ogwen Valley team said: “The helicopter could not find a fallen walker, so the team went to retrieve the dog. A search later on by 22 Squadron from RAF Valley, who were in the area, also proved negative.

“Team members took some time to be able to locate the dog, having walked in from the bottom of the cwm and of course the dog had been spotted from the ridge above. With failing light, steep broken ground and poor ground conditions, it was decided that the rescue be left until Monday morning. They had managed to get within about 25m of the dog but access was extremely poor.”



Mr Lloyd said another team of four returned the site. “Once again they had to cope with poor steep ground but eventually were able to climb up and rescue the little bitch,” he said. “She was tucked into Brian Robbins’s jacket and he abseiled down.” The dog, which was unhurt, was taken to a local vet practice to be checked out. It would appear that the dog had been on the hill for several days after running away from its owner who was tending his sheep.