UKC

A 4-year-old, 55kg St Bernard dog named Daisy found herself in a role reversal of sorts this weekend after she collapsed on a descent of Scafell Pike near Brown Tongue and required a 16-strong team of rescuers from Wasdale MRT to stretcher her down the hillside. The story caught the attention of the mainstream media and a video of the rescue has amassed nearly 70,000 views.

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In reply to UKC/UKH News:

If she'd been carrying her little barrel of brandy, she could've rejuvenated herself and got down by herself.

In reply to UKC/UKH News:

It was irresponsible of the owners to take the dog up there in the first place, I hope they contributed financially for the teams efforts

In reply to Bob Bennett:

Are you parodying the Daily Mail comments section?!

Unless there was some prior indication that the dog was unwell or incapable, which I haven't read, I don't see how they were being irresponsible. And MR themselves don't seem to see it that way, as far as I can make out from their comments in the article.

What makes you say that? Do you think all dogs should stay out of the mountains?

In reply to Bob Bennett:

On the news last night they said a contribution was made. I think the dog enjoyed her ride down and it was a good publicity story for the team. She looks like a big old soft thing more suitable for the flats of Lincolnshire than romping the fells.

In reply to Bacon Butty:

I'm waiting to see Shelbourne's regular cartoon on the front of Westmorland Gazette. My guess it will show the MRT members wearing brandy barrels.

In reply to UKC/UKH News:

Was the dog wearing appropriate footwear? Could they nav? Were they hill-savvy? 

In reply to Bob Bennett:

FFS... there always has to be one. Maybe the dog was just having a bad day. Here's a crazy idea, why don't you maybe try and find out?

In reply to Bob Bennett:

Did you know that the original 1968 Barryvox avalanche transceiver was named after Barry, a St Bernard dog who rescued dozens of people in the Swiss mountains from his base at the Hospice du Grand St Bernard. It therefore seems to me rather fitting that she should be rescued with as much care as would be given to a human. 

http://www.mammutavalanchesafety.com/2017/10/where-did-barryvox-get-its-nam...

In reply to Bob Bennett:

Just in case you don't know how to use google, or don't understand why your hot take on this is wrong....

The St. Bernard or St Bernard is a breed of very large working dog from the western Alps in Italy and Switzerland.  They were originally bred In Switzerland for rescue by the hospice of the Great St Bernard Pass on the Italian-Swiss border.  The hospice, built by and named after Italian monk Bernard of Menthon, acquired its first dogs between 1660 and 1670. The breed has become famous through tales of alpine rescues, as well as for its enormous size.

It would be more irresponsible to keep a St. Bernard as a city dog that only gets walked in the local park - days in the mountains is literally what they're bred for.  

I think this is a lovely story and I'm sure there's no other breed of dog that MR would be as happy to rescue!

In reply to Iamgregp:

What are they bred and trained for??

This dog wasn’t in any way seriously injured as it was fine the next day according to various reports, so it looks like someone took an unfit dog into the mountains which then had to be rescued. Despite their heritage the breed has changed dramatically since the 1955s (breeding fashion) and they are now known as low exercise requirement dogs. They are not used for rescues now and haven’t been for a long time. 

It was a fun story - rescue breed rescued, but some analysis of why that happened doesn’t deserve such a scathing response.  

In reply to PaulJepson:

She seemed to have the best footwear and apparel available. Evidently 'all the gear and no idea'. Don't be too ruff on her.

In reply to Iamgregp:

Unfortunately modern St Bernards haven't been bred for mountain exploits and are very large, heavy and lazy. Most that I meet already have joint problems in the first 2 years of life. You'd be lucky to walk most of them round the park let alone up Scafell. 

In reply to Bob Bennett:

Stop hounding them 😉

In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:

I skied up to the St Bernard monastery once and stayed the night. The 'real' dogs at the monastery are completely different from the big lads and lasses we think of St Bernards; really muscly, slept outside in the snow in some low temperatures. Still very friendly though. Followed us for several KM back down the valley then set off back home; it was like they were seeing us off their manor.

In reply to SouthernSteve:

My dog is fit as a fiddle but I've had a couple of occasions where it's sat down and refused to go any further, they're dogs, these things happen.  Luckily I can (just about) carry mine, though she is a bit of a lump.

That's a fair point about the breed being much different from it's original constitution (though the same is to be said for many breeds), but I don't agree that it was irresponsible to take this dog up there and given that it's a 4 YO, the owner looked like an older gentlemen who was properly equipped and it was Scafell Pike I'd guess that this was not the dog's first day out in the hills.   

If it was some inexperienced idiot taking a breed with no stamina, say a Greyhound, up there then I'd be on board with the irresponsible take on this.  But it's not, it's a guy who looks like to me like he knows what he's doing with a breed of dog that ought to be able to handle it.  That said, I think he may lower his expectations of Daisy in the future!

Like I say, they're dogs, these things happen. 

In reply to Bob Bennett:

The cute pictures of Daisy on Facebook have already raised over £800 from the dog loving public.  I imagine that figure will go higher, and doesn't include donations outside of Facebook or from the owners.  She has given them a lot of national publicity which they are quite rightly making the most of.  

As for irresponsible, I don't think we should judge.  Presumably she was well when they departed.  She was given painkillers on the instructions of a vet.  It's not necessarily predictable, and people make mistakes.  Sometimes things happen.  

In reply to UKC/UKH News:

If anyone's stuck for ideas on a rest day in Chamonix or something to do with family, then the Elevage de St-Bernard in Servoz is well worth a visit. They have around 20 dogs and tickets go towards their upkeep. They are the original, pure-bred shorthair variety.

In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:

One of my earliest memories is from when i was maybe around 4 or 5 years of age, went to the vets with my mum and our small lap dog, and on arrival "Heidi's Dog" was there. A massive St Bernard which was the size of a bus from the perspective of a very small child. I got all excited and started trying to play with it, puling on hair, stroking ears, trying to ride it, etc. all the while the dog just passively enduring my onslaught, until he had enough and unceremoniously stepped over me, laid down and rolled over trapping me underneath. It took a whole load of people to convince the pooch to get up and let me go.

Game, set and match for the St Bernard

In reply to Luke90:

It seems the dog was incapable of what it was meant to do. I really think that it is not the job of the MRT to rescue dogs particularly in the current pandemic situation. As for the team, and teams in general, they just get on with the job and rarely comment on incidents.  Having said that, dog rescues are usually very lucrative for the teams , Wasdale made a packet some years ago recovering a lost Collie dog, and no doubt will benefit financially from this call out.

In reply to Bob Bennett:

I'm taking my 14 year old pet Holstein up there on a 3 Peaks challenge on Saturday night just to find the line between humanitarian response and reckless and avoidable... Def some mixed messages from RW this week. 

In reply to Bob Bennett:

You could just as easily say it’s not the job of dogs to rescue humans who wander off in jeans without a map too.  But we use dogs all the time for rescue.  The incident that stays with me is seeing dogs going up a ski lift to search for bodies so that the family or families can say good bye to their loved ones.  

No one forced MRT to get Daisy.  They make their decisions as do the volunteers.   

In reply to Bob Bennett:

Presumably cragfast on the Collie Step?

In reply to Bob Bennett:

Not the first time. Some years ago, one of the Peak District teams charged 6 or 7 thousand pounds to find a lost dog!

In reply to marsbar:

These jobs often go out on the call-out system as an 'Animal Rescue' so you can make an informed decision about going. Either -  'Sorry dog, really important work meeting I can't reschedule' or 'sorry, I'd love to join you on the trip to your mothers but, gotta job, gotta go'

The photos show a well attended job.

In reply to OldMonkey:  I didn't know they charged for rescuing dogs.  What about people - does that ever get charged for?

In reply to wbo2:

No and dog bring charged for I have never heard of. The general principle is if there is capacity animal rescues are taken on esp. where there is risk bystanders owners may be at greater risk e. g. Animal on a cliff ledge or where there is humanitarian cause.. If its not known where an animal is and its road ming there would unlikely be a response. I can only guess it was an arrangement for a suitable donation rather than charging. I think most MR charities articles would not allow them to charge. 

In reply to wbo2:

Simondgee is obviously correct. There is no charge for rescue.

There was however an ugly incident a number of years ago. A group of team members used the name, resources and kit of one of the Peak teams for personal gain. Not a good look.