Loyal dog stood alone on a glacier until rescuers saw him—and that’s how his owner was saved

A Chihuahua saves a glacier hiker in the Swiss Alps in what rescuers call a miracle made possible by one fearless dog.

After the hiker fell 26 feet into a hidden crevasse on the Fee Glacier in Valais, Switzerland, his small dog stood guard—refusing to leave his side—until help arrived, says Good News Network.

It happened in the early afternoon when a snow bridge suddenly gave way beneath the hiker, sending him deep into the glacier ice.

He was injured and stuck, with only his loyal companion at the edge of the crevasse.

Though he managed to call for help using an amateur walkie-talkie, the person on the other end couldn’t pinpoint his exact location.

With no precise coordinates, the glacier rescue team faced a huge challenge.

Chihuahua saves a glacier hiker by guiding rescuers to the hidden crevasse

Air Zermatt, the helicopter crew assigned to the call, flew out to search.

But locating the fallen hiker proved nearly impossible—the glacier’s surface stretched wide, and the crevasse was almost invisible from the air.

Then, a rescuer spotted something unusual: a tiny movement on a rock nearby.

It was the Chihuahua saves glacier hiker story in the making—the dog was still there, alert and shivering, standing next to the crack in the ice.

The crew quickly zeroed in on the accident site thanks to the pup’s position.

One of the rescue specialists abseiled down the icy wall and reached the man, who was safely pulled up while his dog watched from above.

Unlikely Alpine rescue hero stands firm

The rescue team described the dog as calm, focused, and utterly devoted throughout the mission.

“The little dog did not move during the entire operation and closely followed every movement of the rescue,” said Air Zermatt in a media release. “It is fair to say that his behavior contributed significantly to the successful rescue. The dog is a four-legged hero who may have saved his master’s life in a life-threatening situation.”

The pair were then airlifted to a hospital in Visp.

Although the dog’s breed was described as a Chihuahua, some reports suggested it may have been a Papillon, a small spaniel breed with long hair.

But whether it was a Chihuahua or not, its loyalty and quick instincts made the rescue possible.

The incident has touched hearts worldwide, with many calling the dog an unlikely Alpine rescue hero.

Owner rescued by pet in another life-saving dog story

This isn’t the only time a dog saves its human.

In Baldwinsville, New York, a pit bull mix named Rocco was hailed as a hero dog after alerting his owner to a house fire.

According to the NY Post, Angela Murray was asleep in her top-floor apartment in Baldwinsville, New York, when her pit bull mix, Rocco, began barking nonstop.

She told Syracuse.com that the barking was more intense than usual, enough to wake her up.

At first, she brushed it off, unsure what was wrong. But then she heard a faint fire alarm in the background.

When she got to the living room, Rocco was still barking, refusing to settle down.

That’s when she began noticing unusual sounds from the ceiling—sharp pops that signaled something was seriously wrong.

Realizing the danger, Murray quickly grabbed Rocco’s leash and rushed out the door.

The two escaped as fiery debris started falling around them just in time. The staircase they had just used went up in flames shortly after.

“If I had stopped to get my glasses or look for my wallet — nope. I wouldn’t have made it out,” she said.

Neighbors later praised Rocco, calling him a hero dog. “They said they never hear him bark,” she recalled. “But he was barking out of control, that something was wrong.”

Watch the full Chihuahua saves glacier hiker report from CBS Chicago below: