Morzine Source Summer 19 ISSUU

48
www.morzinesourcemagazine.com
Paw Patrol
THE
Ultimate Rescue
By Alice Gregr
If only animals could talk. They’d be able to tell us some fantastic stories.
I’d love to know what they get up to, where they go to explore and who they
meet on their travels. We think Morzine’s latest celebrity couple would have
quite an interesting tale to tell.
In March of this year the whole of
the Vallée d’Aulps was rocked by the
disappearance of two local dogs,
Mungo and Mika. The pair ran off
whilst on a walk on the river path
between Essert Romand and St.
Jean d’Aulps. Their owner Abigail
Beaumont and her family launched
a desperate search for the dogs,
putting up posters in the local area
and leaving out trails of socks,
blankets and treats on paths in and
around the area they went missing,
in the hope of tempting them home
again. There’s no doubt that Morzine
is an area of dog lovers and it didn’t
take long for a lot of people in the
valley to get involved in the search.
Mungo and Mika were rescued by
the Beaumont family when they
were living in the Bahamas. Mika is
six and Mungo three. They’ve come
a long way from the street dogs
they used to be. I think it was the
fact that these family pets were so
clearly loved and missed that really
tugged on the heartstrings of the
local community. As always, this
amazing valley didn’t disappoint and
rallied together to make sure that
these two adventurers were brought
home safely.
It wasn’t until the 6th April (exactly
two weeks after they went missing)
that Abigail and her family got their
first bit of really positive news.
Local trail runner and hiker Leanne
Emery Garner was out walking in the
Graydon area when she heard a dog
barking followed by another howling.
As a dog lover herself, she was
already desperate to help find Mungo
and Mika, so when she heard two
dogs in an area close to where they
went missing, she couldn’t ignore it.
And it’s a good job she didn’t!
Snow and bad visibility meant it
was impossible to locate the dogs,
let alone mount a rescue operation.
The family called the local mountain
rescue who promised to send out
the helicopter when the weather
improved. However this was going
to mean at least another night out
in the cold for Mungo and Mika. But
there was nothing anyone could do
at this point other than go home and
wait for the weather to clear.
In the time that I had taken a break
from watching my phone to make
a cup of tea, everything changed.
A simple message saying “we
have Mika” popped up. “What?!”
I thought. “Don’t tease us!” But it
was true. Leanne and husband Tom
had headed home, but just couldn’t
stop thinking about the poor dogs
possibly trapped or injured in a
freezing cold Graydon. She put
a shout out for anyone with any
knowledge who might be able to
advise them. Within seconds local
ski instructor Cameron Skinner
from PDS Academy telephoned
saying he wanted to help. He, along
with Marc and George Walton from
Peak Snowsports, decided that they
couldn’t just leave Mungo and Mika
to face another night out in the
cold and launched their own rescue
operation.
These guys are thoroughly trained,
hugely experienced and knew what
they were doing (don’t try this at
home kids); they quickly headed off
towards the barking and managed
#lovemorzine
#lovelesgets
#loveavoriaz