Bjarya and her owner with Chris, who found and captured the dog and walked off the mountain with her. With them are rescuers Martin Green, left, and Geoff Brittain, right

Bjarya and her owner with Chris, who found and captured the dog and walked off the mountain with her. With them are rescuers Martin Green, left, and Geoff Brittain, right

A lost dog was rescued after spending a night on a Snowdonia mountain.

Bjarya, which belonged to a visiting couple from Belgium, was reported missing on Cadair Idris on Sunday.

Aberdyfi Search and Rescue Team was alerted by the manager of the Cader Tearooms about 4pm that a dog was ‘stuck in a precarious position’ on the mountain.

The dog’s owners had gone to the car park to get dry and, with no further information available, the team was called out.

Bjarya had been lost between the summit of Penygader and Pencoed on the southern ridge of the mountain. Graham O’Hanlon of the rescue team said: “Barking and howling could be heard from above and within the cwm around Llyn Cau, but with visibility down to 50m at times, and with very poor conditions of wind and rain, they had been unable to pinpoint the dog’s location.

“In continuingly poor conditions, team volunteers made their way to Llyn Cau with a view to trying to locate the direction of any calls from the dog, and therefore start to identify likely locations.

“The team also pushed up the stone chute to just below where Bjarya was last seen. No conclusive sounds or sights were detected.”

The dog’s owners were informed of the situation and encouraged to talk to walkers heading up the mountain the following morning. They were reassured that, with an indication of location, the team would be happy to return and help. Everyone was safely off the mountain by 9pm.

A social media appeal on the team pages to raise awareness of the missing dog reached more than 60,000 people overnight.

Mr O’Hanlon said: “Through the success of the social media campaign, along with the efforts of Bjarya’s owners at Minffordd car park and that of team volunteers on the hill, there were few people on the mountain who did not know of the missing dog. At around 12.45pm a dog matching the description was spotted running loose near the summit, and was secured by a member of the public.

“The dog, a bit bumped and bruised but otherwise lively, was handed over to team members who brought her off the mountain, and reunited her with her relieved owners.”

Team volunteer Mr O’Hanlon, who was involved in the operation to locate the dog, added: “Everyone is relieved that once again we have a dog rescue with a happy outcome, but it also provides a timely reminder that for the safety of your pet, and that of livestock grazing in the mountains, dogs need to be kept under control in the countryside.

“It is also worth remembering that, while we all enjoy a good dog rescue, and enjoy the subsequent public interest, there is much going on that doesn’t seem to be as newsworthy, but is important nonetheless.

“In the seven days of August alone, mountain rescue teams in North Wales have attended 21 incidents and have assisted, rescued or recovered 39 people – and two dogs.

“And all this provided by volunteers, and funded entirely by donations. If all of the now 60,000 people who helped with the Facebook appeal to look out for Bjarya donated £1, it would provide a massive boost to the resources the team would be able to draw on in their rescue work.”

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