A cherished dog was rescued after being trapped under several feet of snow in Alaska for over 50 hours following an avalanche.
LouLou, a 4-year-old huskydoodle, was hiking with her owner, Brian, and a friend in Chugach State Park near Eklutna Lake when the avalanche hit, separating LouLou from them.
While Brian and his friend sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital, LouLou was left behind.
Lauren Padawer, LouLou’s other owner and Brian’s partner, was away when the incident occurred but quickly began organizing a search team to find her dog.
At first, the search parties were unable to locate LouLou, but they kept their spirits up and pressed on.
After 50 hours, two searchers, Amanda Barker and Dave Beckett, took to the skies in a helicopter after receiving a ping from an AirTag that revealed LouLou’s location.
Footage captured their landing as close to the ping as possible.
They spotted the white dog standing in the snow far off in the distance, alive and well, and made their way toward her.
Climbing through the snow on their hands for about 20 minutes, they finally reached LouLou, who barked excitedly as they approached.
They called to her, encouraging her to come closer, though she was a bit shy at first.
“Come on, sweetheart,” Barker reassured. “Let’s go for a ride, LouLou.”
Eventually, they managed to leash the hesitant pup and carefully made their way back down the mountainside to the helicopter.
The last clip shows LouLou receiving plenty of affection and pets aboard the helicopter after her harrowing experience.
Padawer expressed her gratitude on Facebook to everyone involved, saying, “To Dave, Amanda, Kathy, Barney, James, the ground search parties, the military pararescue personnel, and everyone who offered a hand: thank you. 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.”
