While accompanying his visually impaired master on the peaks of the Vosges Mountains, Osmose, a 7-year-old Labrador, fell and tumbled off the mountain. Fortunately, the guide dog for the blind was rescued by the gendarmes and escaped unscathed.
This story could have ended very badly. On Tuesday, February 1, Osmose and his master took part in a hike organized for the visually impaired on the peaks of the Vosges. The group progressed without incident until the Labrador left and tragedy struck: the guide dog fell and rolled off the mountain.
“You should know that plates are currently being formed on the ledges and the dog broke a plate, which led him into a corridor, a real slide that made him fall 150 m lower”tell the Parisian Chief Warrant Officer Vincent Leuenberger, of the Mountain Gendarmerie Platoon (PGM) of Xonrupt-Longemer (Vosges). The latter received a phone call just after the fall to intervene at the accident site, near the Col de Falimont.
“We think we are doing a good job”
Accustomed to delicate interventions, the men of the PGM abseil and eventually find Osmosis. “He was curled up in bushes. He quickly understood that we were there to help him, he let us party. He was very cooperative when starting the takeoff », continues Vincent Leuenberger. Fortunately, the dog was unharmed. “He was not injured because it was powder snow, which dampened his fall. They are trained dogs, we saw that he was grateful. It gives us satisfaction. We tell ourselves we are doing a good job,” concludes the chief warrant officer.
Two hours after the intervention, Osmose was able to join his master, who was waiting for him at his inn.