It took over 20 minutes, but rescuers were miraculously able to locate a dog named Apollo after he was swept off a Colorado cliff in an avalanche and buried deep in the snow.
Another miracle is that Apollo, who actually triggered the avalanche (bad dog!) in Berthoud Pass, survived this ordeal with apparently only an injured leg.
Skiers who witnessed the avalanche immediately went to work, poking their ski poles into the snow to try to find Apollo. This was no easy task, as the avalanche debris field was 300 feet long (that’s three football fields) and 50 feet wide, KABC reports.
“I found him! I found him! I found him!” yelled one of the skiers in a video that captured the rescue. He and the others quickly dug the dog out of the snow.
“Hey, you’re okay!” Apollo’s owner said to his very lucky dog. “Just a litttle scared.” In the video, Apollo appears to happily trot off in the snow.
Most human avalanche victims can survive as long as they’re dug out within 15 minutes, WABC reports. Apparently dogs have the good fortune of surviving a bit longer.
Apollo’s owner told KABC his dog’s rescuers are heroes, which they truly are. Hopefully he’ll make sure Apollo stays out of trouble like this in the future.