Maggie, a 35kg Turkish Akbash dog, had to be rescued by the Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team this weekend after she refused to keep walking.
The three women with Maggie had made the decision to walk up Ben Nevis, the largest mountain in the UK. Maggie came along; no problems were in sight. However, on the descent, Maggie suddenly stopped.
Maggie’s weight meant the women could only get Maggie halfway down the hill, where they met with the Lochaber Mountain Rescue team. Maggie was taken the rest of the way down on a stretcher. Alongside the stretcher, the rescue team brought a casualty carer and chicken stick treats.
Some have reacted to the story online with anger, as this past weekend saw a second heatwave in the UK.
What the fuck are you doing taking your 35kg dog up Ben Nevis, particularly in this heat, you absolute arseholes?
— Cat Among The Pages (@CatAmongPages) August 14, 2022
Some folks just shouldn’t be allowed dogs.https://t.co/XQpSzBS9h1
Maggie wasn’t safely at the bottom until one a.m..
What did the mountain rescue team have to say?
Lochaber Mountain Rescue team is one of the UKs biggest and busiest volunteer-run rescue teams.
Donald Paterson, the team leader, said Maggie ‘had a few cuts to its paws, but I think with the heat and soreness it decided it wasn’t going any further.’
A dog called Maggie had to be rescued from Ben Nevis yesterday after she got into difficulty and couldn’t move.
— Linda Sinclair (@lindajsinclair) August 14, 2022
The 35 kg Akbash was enticed with chicken treats and then stretchered off the mountain by Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team. (pics @LochaberMRT) pic.twitter.com/f9LSXwv83o
He continued to say: ‘The owners were struggling and would certainly have been up there all night if they didn’t get any assistance.’
Though the team don’t usually go out for animals, this case was an exception.
Therapy pug saved in Ben Nevis rescue
Maggie isn’t the first dog to be saved from Ben Nevis. Back in 2017, Alfie, a therapy pug was part of a group of walkers rescued from the hill.
As a therapy pug, Alfie was often a visitor to Royal Manchester Children’s hospital following the Manchester bombings earlier that year. On this occasion, he was part of a sponsored walk for charity.
When one of the party got exhausted, Lochaber Mountain Rescue team were called out to give assistance, just like with Maggie. Although this time, they were saving a person, not a dog.
Sheepdog saved from gorge fall
Animal-related incidents are not unique to Ben Nevis. In Cruachan gorge, near Oban, a sheepdog fell and was in need of rescue. This all happened in 2017. The border collie, Gel, was herding sheep when they fell.
Luckily, Gel didn’t fall all the way, instead landing on a ledge.
Oban Mountain Rescue used a rope to lower a “dog whisperer” team member to help the dog out.
In a Facebook post, Oban Mountain Rescue wrote:
“Our best dog whisperer was deployed on a rope and casualty and rescuer hoisted back up successfully – without the casualty biting the rescuer.”
Rescue teams have done a lot to look after animals in the past few years; they might not want to watch any videos that tell you which animals are most likely to kill you. Otherwise, rescue teams might not be as favourable as they have been in the past…
