Neesha, an 8-year-old retriever, went lost in the hills of Willow National Park in Ireland in early January.
The family took her on a long walk with another animal, a sheepdog named Harley.
Both dogs bolted when they saw the deer.
Harley eventually made her way back (she was discovered in the parking lot the next day), whereas Neesha vanished without a trace.
The owners searched the woods and launched drones into the skies, but the dog has vanished.
They then put a basket full of unwashed linen near where they last saw her, hoping that Neesha would recognize it by smell and flee the park.
The family also used social media to spread the word about the dog.
There was no news regarding Neesha as time passed.
“We were hunting for her for a week, then just one more, but we started to lose hope,” Erina O’Shea Goetelen, the dog’s owner, said.
The family began to accept the notion that their pet would never be seen again…
Suddenly, the news arrived: doctors and part-time keen climbers Jean-François Bonnet and Ciara Nolan discovered a dog on top of one of Willow’s peaks, cuddled up between enormous boulders, despite the icy and snowy conditions.
Neesha was terrified and trembling all over, according to her rescuers. They attempted to place her on her paws, but she continued to tumble.
Ciara put the retriever on her husband’s back and walked 10 kilometers down a difficult path with him carrying her down the mountain.
The man slipped on the ice and fell several times.
Ciara tied the retriever to his bag with a scarf to keep him safe.
The couple phoned Ash Animal Rescue right away and uploaded a video of the puppy to the operator to verify its identity.
The rescue service was already aware that the family was searching for Neesha, and they couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw her — the dog had lasted two weeks on a cold hillside without food or water!
It appeared to be a miracle. Neesha was dehydrated and had lost a lot of weight, but she was generally fine.
Erina says, “We were so thrilled, it was such a relief.”
“We didn’t know how to express our gratitude to Neesha’s rescuers for bringing her back to us. They are great folks. We owe them a debt of gratitude.”
