A 121-pound St. Bernard named Daisy was rescued on July, 24 from England's Scafell Pike, UK’s highest mountain on Friday, at 3,208 feet above sea level, with 16 members of Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team being the lucky responders. Daisy had recently been adopted by her new pet parents. The Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team has been assisting people in the western fells of the Lake District for over 50 years regardless of weather conditions. It took 16 volunteers to lift Daisy, and the UK’s mountain rescue team spent close to five hours with the entire rescue.

According to Wasdale’s Facebook page “Daisy had collapsed whilst descending from the summit of Scafell Pike, and therefore unable to carry on; our members didn’t need to think twice about mobilising and deploying to help retrieve Daisy off England’s highest.” Since Daisy was showing signs of pain in her back legs, and was refusing to move, Daisy’s pet parents had to call in for the rescue. They kept her well-hydrated and fed until the team members arrived with a stretcher. The weather was going to deteriorate later on in the evening, so the rescuers had to move Daisy quickly before bad weather set in.

The Wasdale Mountain Rescue team added via their Facebook page that “In advance of getting on location advice had been sought from several local vets regarding pain relief, possible issues specific to that breed of dog and how best to handle them in such stressful situations.” This is how they tackled the beginning part of Daisy’s mountain rescue. “On reaching their location, team members carefully introduced themselves to Daisy, so as not to cause any additional distress, and with the help of a treat or two members were able to assess her condition and administer analgesia for the pain.”

The Wasdale Mountain Rescue team knew that Daisy’s cooperation was important for a successful downhill rescue. That said, they had to use a few methods and plenty of treats to get Daisy to cooperate, and she soon settled down comfortably in her stretcher. The rescue team compared the canine rescue to that of a “normal adult evacuation” of which they had done hundreds of times before. The West Lakeland Veterinary Group and Galemire Veterinary Hospital also helped with the rescue by giving plenty of advice and support.

Today, Daisy is in good spirits, and is recovering from her ordeal. “Having team members with their own pampered pooches at home, and also our much-adored search dog Jess, we recognize the distress that both an animal can feel and also that of their owners,” the team said via ABC news.

GUEST POST