‘Four-Legged Hero’: Chihuahua Shows Rescuers Where to Find Man Who Fell into Swiss Glacier

A Chihuahua is being hailed a hero after showing rescuers where a man had fallen into a glacier in southern Switzerland. “Thanks to the dog’s behavior, the crew was able to locate the exact site of the accident,” rescuers said.

A long-haired Chihuahua, now being hailed a “four-legged hero,” paced along an Alpine rock, leading an emergency crew to its owner who had fallen into a crevasse on Fee Glacier in southern Switzerland, the Swiss helicopter rescue company Air Zermatt said.

Air Zermatt explained that the man was exploring the glacier “with his little dog” when “he suddenly broke through a snow bridge” and fell 26 feet into a crevasse.

“While the man was stuck in the glacier ice, his faithful companion, a small Chihuahua, was left at the edge,” the company said.

Fortunately, the man had with him a walkie-talkie, which he used to get in touch with someone who then called emergency services, Air Zermatt noted, adding that while rescuers had been notified, it was nonetheless difficult to determine the man’s exact location.

“On site, the search for the collapse site proved difficult. The glacier surface was wide and the hole was barely visible,” the helicopter rescue company said. “It was his little Chihuahua, of all things, that probably saved his life.”

“One of the rescue specialists spotted a small movement on a rock,” Air Zermatt said, recalling the Chihuahua pacing right next to “the collapse hole through which the man had fallen into the crevasse.”

“Thanks to the dog’s behavior, the crew was able to locate the exact site of the accident,” the helicopter rescue company claimed.

Air Zermatt added that “the little dog did not move during the entire operation and closely followed every movement of the rescue specialists.”

The man was saved from the crevasse, and he and his Chihuahua were then flown to a hospital in Visp.

The company said the little dog’s actions had “contributed significantly to the successful rescue,” calling the Chihuahua “a four-legged hero who may have saved his master’s life in a life-threatening situation.”

“Imagine if the dog wasn’t there,” Air Zermatt spokesman Bruno Kalbermatten told Associated Press (AP). “I have no idea what would happen to this guy. I think he wouldn’t survive this fall.”

Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.