A Bernese Mountain Dog has been hailed a hero after leading his owner to a lost dog that was shivering and unable to stand in the freezing wilderness of Alberta, Canada.
A winter walk turned into a rescue mission after Jason Zackowski’s Bernese Mountain Dog, Bunsen, sensed something was wrong and strayed from their usual path, diving into the snowdrifts of a creek bed, according to a report by USA Today.
“Bunsen just took off towards the creek, and that’s very uncharacteristic of him,” Zackowski told the outlet. “He usually stays pretty close. He ran down through the creek and would not respond to recall.”
Zackowski — who was on a walk with Bunsen and his Golden Retriever, Beaker — followed his Bernese Mountain Dog to find him next to a fallen dog coated with ice and unable to stand.
“The dog was in distress,” he said. “Initially, I thought it was a coyote near death. Then I thought it was a dog that had been dumped. I was furious that someone would do this.”
From there, Zackowski sprang into action by altering his family, who helped him with his life-saving mission.
In a race against time — as the sun was setting and temperatures were dropping — Zackowski’s son, Adam, rushed to the area with blankets and treats, while his wife searched social media for locals looking asking about their missing pets, USA Today reported.
Zackowski’s family then loaded the freezing dog that was too weak to walk onto a plastic sled and began their half-hour trek, pulling her back to their house.
“I was not letting this dog die,” he said. “No creature should have a fate like that — to die alone and cold.”
Upon reaching the house, they set the shivering dog beside heaters and gave her a warm meal. Not long after that, Zackowski’s wife found a Facebook post about a missing dog named Bailey that matched the description of the dog they had just rescued.
Bailey hadn’t been abandoned after all. Instead, the dog had actually belonged to an elderly widow living about two miles away.
The rescued dog had reportedly wandered off the night before and ended up spending 24 hours in the cold Canadian wilderness.
Bailey ended up passing away a year later of old age, with her rescuers finding solace in the fact that she didn’t spend her final hours cold and afraid in the snow, USA Today noted.
“If Bunsen didn’t go down into the creek, the dog would have died, 100 percent,” Zackowski asserted. “We’re so proud of him. He’s the hero of this story.”
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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