A beloved pet dog which went missing on an island off the coast of Donegal more than two weeks ago has been found alive and well – clinging onto a cliff edge.
Mali, a Bernese Mountain dog, ran off from its owners on Arranmore Island on August 16th last after she spooked by high winds.
Her German owners, who were on the island during a month long visit to Ireland, put out an SOS for their beloved pet.
Locals and tourists alike set about trying to find Mali and combed the island in the hope that she would be found.
They even sent drones around the island hoping to find the dog while there was also searches of the mainland in case Mali had managed to swim across.
However, there were no sightings of the dog and hope was fading until last night.
That’s when a pleasure fishing boat in the area happened to spot the dog perched on the cliff, 200 feet above the sea below.
The captain of the boat which spotted Mali, John Paul Baska of North West Charters, immediately contacted the Malin Head Coastguard Station.
Mali on board the North West Charters boat being brought to meet her relived family at Burtonport Harbour.
A member of the public initially heard the radio call and made his way to the ledge were Mali was stuck.
It turned out that the unfortunate pet’s lead had become snarled on a rock and what was quite a wide ledge and she could not move and was probably in the same location for the past fifteen days.
John Paul Baska told Donegal Daily how it was pure luck that they spotted the dog after hearing her cries for help.
“It was a very good day and we decided to go around the island for a bit of fishing. Nobody would have been around there because of the poor weather recently.
“One of the lads, Michael Boyle, said he thought he heard a dog barking and I thought he was having us on because we all knew everyone was looking for Mali.
“He said he was serious and we turned off the engine and we could hear the barking clearly. It was hard to spot her because she is black and the cliffs are dark and it was only because of the small patch of white on her chest that we could see her.
“Everyone got so excited and I radioed Malin Head straight away and then headed around to the pier to see the dog.”
Mali was in great shape, alert and full of life despite her ordeal.
John Paul, who was also accompanied by Padraig Lawlor, then arranged to head over to the mainland to meet up with the dog’s owners who are still staying near in Kincasslagh.
Mali is reunited with her family at Burtonport. Pic from Arranmore Hub.
Mali is owned by Sarah Recinos Ralda, her husband David and their four children.
The family were planning to return to Germany in the coming days at the end of the holiday and thought deep-down that they would be traveling home without their beloved pet.
There were scenes of unbridled joy as the family met Mali at Burtonport Harbour last night, the pet they thought they would never see again.
John Paul added “It was very emotional and I’m just so delighted for them. They must have thought they would never see her again when there was no sign of her for fifteen days.
“I’m just so happy for them that we were in the right place at the right time.”
Mali’s owner Sara Recinos Ralda posted a brief message on social media thanking everyone for their efforts in finding her.
She said “She’s not dehydrated, pretty alert, has lost a little bit of weight and overall just acts veeerryyy hungry. We still can’t believe it and are overwhelmed.”
