Christian Stoxreiter became a hero overnight. At least for those whose heart beats for animals. Others, on the other hand, see what the head of the special drone service from the Mondsee section fire brigade command and his comrades did on Tuesday as a “big drama just because of a dog”. One thing is certain: Stoxreiter and his colleagues saved a life. Together with the mountain rescuers from St. Gilgen, they brought Border Collie “Gaia” back to safe ground after a night on steep terrain.
The emotional story begins on New Year’s Day: A Czech family – father, mother and their three-year-old daughter – spent New Year’s Eve in the Salzkammergut and wants to go high in the new year. The three of them take the train to the Schafbergalm in the afternoon, where the daughter puts the family dog “Gaia” on a leash. But “Gaia” is quickly distracted: some chamois have gathered at 1,400 meters above sea level, are padding through the snow together and are willingly presenting themselves to the many tourists as a photo opportunity.
Exercises paid off
The dog is excited, breaks away from the leash, chases after the chamois – and falls over a rock face. Even though her fall is 70 meters deep, she survives it: the family can still hear her dog barking. The search on our own was unsuccessful; the next morning, mountain rescuers from St. Gilgen and dog handlers arrived. The Mondsee section fire brigade command and their special drone service are also there.
“We only founded the service in March last year and met with the mountain rescuers in Mondsee and St. Gilgen for joint exercises. “That paid off,” says manager Stoxreiter. From Winkl, the firefighters drive as far uphill as possible on the forest road and from there start the first search flight: “I have to be honest, we weren’t prepared to find a live dog,” says Stoxreiter.
But the mountain rescuers, who climb into the steep and avalanche-prone terrain to search, discover dog tracks. “They went partly up and partly down. We flew them with the drones and suddenly discovered the dog’s head, which she curiously stuck out of a bush,” says the Mondsee firefighter.
Only minor injuries
“Gaia” reacts in panic to the mountain rescuers, snaps at them, but is quickly calmed down by a search dog that climbed with them. With injuries to her left front paw and eye, she can begin the descent – once in the arms of the mountain rescuers, once on her own. “When you see the girl’s joy because her dog is suddenly back, all further questions become unnecessary,” says Stoxreiter.
Also the one according to the invoice, which is asked again and again after missions. “We don’t normally go out to look for dogs. But this was an animal rescue. We also come when a calf falls into a cesspit. That won’t be charged for.” It wasn’t a human being who was rescued with such great effort, but: “If it’s your own dog, you think differently. “You’re probably incredibly grateful,” says Stoxreiter. Mondseer’s special drone service has already had 14 missions since March 2023: three people were found – and now also a dog.
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Source: Nachrichten
