No one ever wants to find themselves injured and alone on a snowy mountain but, should it ever happen, it’s best if you have your Alaskan malamute by your side.
At least that was the case for Grga Brkić, a Croatian man who went hiking with his friends on New Year’s Day. The Velebit trail on Mount Velebit was sure to be a great way to start off 2022, but an ice-covered path turned out to be challenging for his 8-month-old pup, North.
As the group descended the trail, North began to slide on the ice. Grga tried latching onto his leash, but soon after the pup slipped, dragging his owner with him 500 feet below. As he was too injured to move and too far away from anyone else to be reached, his friends left to get help.
The Croatian Mountain Rescue Service (CMRS) branch jumped into action right away, gathering a team of 27 members for their rescue mission.
In the meantime, though, the frigid weather continued to drop as Grga and North waited for help to arrive with no way of knowing how long it would take. The CMRS were contacted at 6:30 p.m. but snow, ice, and broken trees made reaching them all the more difficult. By the time they discovered the two of them cuddling for warmth, it was almost midnight.
“The dog was curled up next to the owner in the pit the entire time; he warmed his owner with his body, thus preventing the mountaineer’s significant hypothermia,” Josip BroziÄević, head of the CMRS said.
It took hours to pull Grga and North out of the pit they had fallen into and, as soon as they did, the man was placed on a stretcher – but that wasn’t good enough for North. Still wanting to protect his human, he refused to leave his side, insisting on laying on top of him even as the CMRS lowered them both down the mountain.
“His loyalty didn’t stop even when the rescuers came,” the CMRS posted on Facebook, “he was one of us, guarding his man for 13 hours.”
Despite enduring such a massive fall, Grga only fractured his lower leg and injured his ankle. The heroic North, on the other hand, was completely uninjured.
“This little dog is a real miracle,” Grga said.
Don’t forget to share this article with a friend to celebrate North’s loyalty!
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