Cody the rescue dog has been hailed as a hero after playing a key role in last night’s Donegal Mountain Rescue Team mission.
The skilled Collie helped locate two Scottish tourists who became stranded on the side of Muckish Mountain yesterday evening.
The hikers called Letterkenny Garda Station when they became stuck on steep ground and were not sure of their location. Low cloud cover on the mountain made visibility and positioning difficult at that particular time.
Donegal Mountain Rescue Team Leader Gareth Wilson told BBC Radio Foyle today how Cody worked quickly to locate and save the people.
Cody and his teammates after the mission. Photo: Donegal Mountain Rescue Team
SARDA Ireland North Dog Handler Gareth recounted how Cody worked on high ground as the team began their search on the south side of the mountain. Cody was away for five or six minutes before returning and using his training to alert to Gareth that he had found the walkers.
Gareth said Cody shows clear signals when he has found someone – he would be excited and very focused on getting back to him. When close enough to the stranded people, he would constantly bark. Cody was commanded to show Gareth where the walkers were, so he bounced in their direction before bouncing back to his handler several times, as trained.
With Cody’s directions, the Donegal Mountain Rescue volunteers found the walkers on a crag. Gareth said the main problem was the ground they were on, which was very loose and brittle.
“They couldn’t climb up or down because of the rock face they were on.”
“Also with the low cloud, they were continuously getting cold,” Gareth said.
He said the tourists were delighted to see Cody and the rescuers and had “good craic” with the team as they used a rope system to bring them to safety.
“They were in great spirits, we enjoyed the fun with them when we got to them. I think they were quite glad to see a collie dog running in towards them and disappearing for while,” Gareth said.
The walkers were escorted down the mountain safely and are doing well, all thanks to Cody and the volunteer team.
It was all in a dog day’s work for Cody, who was exhausted by the end of the successful mission.
“When we were heading back from the call last night we actually thought there was something was wrong with one of the jeeps. There was this funny noise but it turns out it was just Cody snoring on the way home!” Gareth said.
The Donegal Mountain Rescue team is comprised completely of volunteers who are on 24 hour call, 365 days of the year. They provide an emergency response, remote environment and extreme terrain, search and rescue service for Donegal. The team are funded entirely by grants and public donations. Donations can be made online here: www.idonate.ie/donegalmrt
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