Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team (LMRT) utilised its communications vehicle’s new satellite technology for the first time when it rescued a dog that had taken a significant fall in Glen Dessary.
The recently upgraded technology within the vehicle meant that LMRT’s team leader was able to both track the rescue effort and coordinate with the police and a vet from the LMRT Fort William base during the Saturday March 15 rescue.
Although LMRT does not routinely involve itself in animal rescue, the remote and steep nature of the terrain on which the dog fell had also raised concern for the dog’s owners, who had been walking a section of the Cape Wrath trail when their pet fell over a cliff, leaving it unable to move.
After the owners used the satellite SOS function of their mobile phone to call for help, LMRT was asked to attend by Police Scotland.
The rescue, which also required on-the-fly repairing of bridges in order to make them passable for team vehicles, saw the dog packaged in a stretcher and taken to meet a member of Ben Nevis Vets, who was waiting near Loch Arkaig.
From there the dog and its owners were transported to a veterinary practice in Fort William.
After receiving a record 165 callouts in 2024, LMRT has received 16 callouts so far in 2025. Callout numbers for mountain rescue teams across Scotland usually rising from April as warmer weather brings more people to the hills.
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