One of the team with the rescued dog. Photo: Aberdyfi SRT

Rescuers went to the aid of a dog whose owner feared the worst after it fell into a gully in Snowdonia.

Aberdyfi Search and Rescue Team was alerted to the incident north-east of Tywyn about 6pm on Tuesday.

The team said the dog’s owner was walking her pets in Nant Gwernol, near Abergynolwyn, when one of the dogs, a very small schnauzer, fell a considerable distance into a stream gully.

“She initially feared the dog had been killed by the fall, but when the dog started making noises she went to seek help,” a team spokesperson said.

“As the rope team assembled, a team volunteer met with the dog walker to assess the site where the dog was trapped. From his knowledge of the area he realised that he could access the stream bed higher up, and for the price of a few bootfuls of water, could reach the dog without rope access.

“The dog was duly recovered, largely unharmed by the experience, and reunited with a relieved owner.”

Team member Graham O’Hanlon said: “Many of the team are themselves dog owners so there is a general willingness to engage with this type of rescue amongst our volunteers.

“Such rescues often provide good training opportunities for our members, and there is always the danger that if we do not help, then the owner may end up putting themselves in danger in the understandable attempts to assist their pet.”