A beloved dog has been rescued from several feet of snow in Alaska more than 50 hours after an avalanche separated her from her owner.
LouLou, a 4-year-old huskydoodle, was hiking with her owner, Brian, and his friend in Chugach State Park near Anchorage when an avalanche struck close to Eklutna Lake, leaving the dog separated from the group.
Brian and his hiking companion were injured in the incident and taken to hospital by rescuers, but LouLou was nowhere to be found.
Lauren Padawer, LouLou’s other owner and Brian’s partner, was out of town when the avalanche occurred. She immediately began coordinating a search effort for the missing dog.
The first search teams failed to locate LouLou, but continued looking for her.
More than 50 hours later, searchers Amanda Barker and Dave Beckett returned by helicopter after receiving an AirTag signal showing LouLou’s location.
Video shows Barker and Beckett landing as close as possible to the location indicated by the AirTag.
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In the distance, they spotted the white dog standing in the snow—and, remarkably, she was alive. The rescuers then began making their way toward her.
After leaving the helicopter, the pair crawled through the snow for 20 minutes to reach LouLou. As they approached, the dog began barking.
They called LouLou by name and encouraged her to come with them, though she was initially hesitant.
“Come on, sweetheart,” Barker said. “Let’s go for a ride, LouLou.”
The rescuers eventually managed to secure LouLou with a leash before carefully sliding down the mountainside with her to reach the helicopter.
In the final clip, LouLou receives plenty of affection and well-deserved cuddles aboard the helicopter after her ordeal.
“To Dave, Amanda, Kathy, Barney, James, the ground search parties, the military pararescue personnel, and everyone who offered a hand: thank you,” Padawer wrote on Facebook.
“I will never forget what you did for LouLou, for Brian, his hiking partner, and for me. Sometimes it takes a mountain to remind you how extraordinary people can be.”
