Rescued German dog returns to owner after Swiss hiking mishap
Female dog Ayla returned to Germany after crashing in the Alpstein
Keystone-SDA
A German shepherd dog has been reunited with her owner in Germany more than a week after being assumed dead after falling into a ravine in Switzerland.
This content was published on
3 minutes
Keystone-SDA
Deutsch
de
Hündin Ayla nach Absturz im Alpstein nach Deutschland zurückgekehrt
Original
According to the cantonal police in the Swiss canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden, a 61-year-old man from Germany was hiking with his dog from Säntis down to Schwägalp. In the Nasenlöcher area, the dog briefly played on a snow field, whereupon she slipped and fell into the depths.
Do you want to read our weekly top stories? Subscribe here.
The owner could see the dog motionless in the steep terrain below with his binoculars. Despite waiting a long time and constantly repeating calls and whistles, he could no longer detect any reaction from his dog. With the certainty that his dog had not survived the fall, the German set off on his descent and then made his way home.
The accident took place on Friday 26 June. Eight days later the Appenzell Innerrhoden cantonal police received a report that a dog was in rough terrain in a meadow in the Alpstein. There was no trace of the owner.
Alpine helicopter rescue
Based on this report, specialists from Swiss Alpine Rescue and Rega set out to rescue the dog. The dog was handed over to the cantonal police and then to a vet.
As the police assumed that the owner of the animal was injured in rough terrain, Rega carried out a search flight in the area. In addition, intensive investigations were carried out and a search was made for the owner using the dog’s chip number.
Thanks to the German pet register TASSO, it was possible to locate the breeding farm, which in turn led the police to the owner of the animal.
The 61-year-old man from Baden-Württemberg was able to embrace his Ayla again on Sunday.
And the press release from Appenzell stated: “The cantonal police of Appenzell Innerrhoden wish the wonderful Ayla all the best for her future life after this odyssey in Appenzell.”
Translated from German by DeepL/mga
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Popular Stories
More
Swiss Abroad
Ups and downs: Swiss drivers benefit from world’s only mobile bridge
What factors should be taken into account when inheriting Swiss citizenship abroad?
Should there be a limit to the passing on of Swiss citizenship? Or is the current practice too strict and it should still be possible to register after the age of 25?
Swiss-EU: Federal Council adopts measures to secure wage protection
This content was published on
The Swiss government has adopted a package of measures to protect Swiss wages, should the new agreements negotiated with the European Union (EU) come into force.
Switzerland must participate in EU Migration Pact, says government
This content was published on
As a signatory of Europe's Schengen/Dublin cooperation agreements, Switzerland must participate in the reform of the European migration and asylum system, says the government.
Switzerland steps up defence cooperation with NATO
This content was published on
On Friday, the Swiss government approved the country's participation in a Patriot missile project run by NATO's Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA).
Vaud government removes Valérie Dittli from finance minister role
This content was published on
The Vaud government announced on Friday that it had removed Valérie Dittli from her role as finance minister in the western Swiss region.
Swiss attorney general takes over suspected RUAG MRO fraud probe
This content was published on
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) has taken over the criminal investigation into the case of alleged fraud at RUAG MRO, a Swiss military technology firm.
Glaciers over 3,000m can be preserved via better climate protection
This content was published on
Stronger global climate protection could preserve more than a quarter of the ice in the Swiss Alps, says the Swiss Academy of Natural Sciences (SCNAT).
Swiss UN rapporteur urges Washington to release Columbia University student
This content was published on
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, Nicolas Levrat, and eight other legal experts, have called on the US to release Palestinian student activist Mahmoud Khalil.
This content was published on
Nestlé plans to close its factory in Germany at Neuss, near Düsseldorf, by mid-2026. The Swiss food giant also plans to sell its Conow plant, near the Polish border, early next year.
UBS mulls moving HQ abroad, according to media report
This content was published on
The Swiss bank UBS could relocate its Swiss headquarters abroad if capital demand is not reduced, Bloomberg News reports.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.