Dog Missing For 20 Days Found On Mountainside, Rescued, And Reunited With Owners

Píla, a dog living in Bolungarvík who was scared off by fireworks and since went missing on January 6th, has been returned to her owners after a dramatic rescue.

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The saga unfolds in this Twitter thread, started by one of Píla’s owners, Sandra Ósk Jóhannsdóttir.

At the point where this story begins, Píla had been missing for 20 days, and her owners were beside themselves with grief and worry. A glimmer of hope appeared when someone kayaking believed they saw Píla far up on a treacherous mountainside, snapped a photo, and subsequently posted it in a Facebook group dedicated to finding Píla.

A drone was deployed, and footage confirmed that not only was this indeed Píla, but that she appeared to be still alive, despite 20 days in harsh conditions and deep snow.

At about 20:00 yesterday, over a dozen rescue squad workers activated, and made their way to the site where Píla was spotted. After about an hour, Píla was reached, coaxed out of the snow, was then brought safely down from the mountainside, alive and well, and was reunited with her owners.

Bearing in mind that not only did this dog survive 20 days in the wild, but also a severe storm that rolled across the country just two days ago, this brief video showing Píla in good spirits is nothing short of remarkable.

Píla is now home and recovering, no worse for the wear.

“One photo for the night of the queen in her seat,” Sandra Ósk concludes the thread. “Thanks for following along, everyone! It’s so great when a search ends well, and especially in this way.” She gave special thanks to the rescue squad workers for the help, and posted account information for the squad, so that those with an Icelandic bank account can donate to them directly.