Lost Bernese Found After Two Weeks on Steep Mountain

The dog, Ohly, got away in thick snow on a steep Vancouver slope.

After the story of Missy, we know the lengths people go to when a dog is lost on a mountain. In that instance, strangers banded together to scale 14,000-foot Mount Bierstadt, near Denver, and save the dog, garnering much media attention. 

Recently, another dog became lost on a hazardous, steep, snow-covered mountain, and the public, spurred on by social media, sprang into action. The good news: After two weeks on the mountain, the dog was safely rescued by North Shore Search and Rescue officials. The concerning news: the well-meaning public got a little crazy in trying to help. 

On Nov. 25, Ohly, a Bernese Mountain Dog, was out for a walk with a family friend on Mount Seymour in North Vancouver, when he bolted from the parking lot of a ski area and became lost. Later, he was seen on a mountain ski run and in the community of Deep Cove. 

As the days passed, social media kicked in after owner Steve Goad set up a Find Ohly Facebook page. The concerned public, many of them strangers to the dog and Goad, wasted no time in getting to work. 

Harookz Noguchi got out his barbecue, carried it up the mountain, and fried up some bacon and smokies, hoping to entice the dog out. 

"If we were to lose our dog, it's like losing a child to us, so I understand how hard it must be for [Goad] and his family," he said to CBS News. 

Another volunteer, Nat Hunter, hiked in with a friend ... and two fried chickens.

"They're so incredibly loyal and you sort of feel that if it was reversed, they would do the same," Hunter said.

All the ad hoc volunteer efforts made Tim Jones of North Shore Search and Rescue a little nervous. On Saturday, the group brought in a helicopter. The area where the dog was lost was called Suicide Gully, after all. 

"You get safety breaches, you get all sorts of things and that's why we want to get this dog out. It's a public safety issue," he said. 

Fortunately, it didn't take long to spot the dog, who was stranded, helpless, on steep terrain. It took crews a few hours to recover the dog. 

"We rescued the dog from a very very steep cliff area where it would've remained," said Jones. "And we are very proud of what we did, doing this in the interest of public safety because this dog was going nowhere."

"This has been a very difficult day for our team ... but we persevered and got the job done with the dog."

Well done. As for Ohly, he's fine -- a vet said he's in good condition, if a little dehydrated. He is a Bernese Mountain Dog, after all.  

Via CBS News; photos via the Find Ohly Facebook page 

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