A beloved pet dog that 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 on its owners on Árainn Mhór on 16 August after she was spooked by high winds.
Her German owners, who were on the island during a month-long visit to Ireland, put out an SOS for her.
Locals and tourists 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 were also searches of the mainland in case Mali had managed to swim across.
However, there were no sightings of Mali and hope was fading until last night, when a pleasure fishing boat in the area happened to spot her perched on a cliff, 61 metres above the sea.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
The captain of the boat, John Paul Baska of North West Charters, immediately contacted Malin Head Coast Guard.
A member of the public initially heard the radio call and made his way to the ledge where Mali was stuck.
It turned out that Mali leash had become snarled on a rock on a wide ledge and she could not move.
Mr Baska said it was pure luck that they spotted the dog after hearing her cries.
"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.
Mr Baska, who was also accompanied by Padraig Lawlor, arranged to head over to the mainland to meet up with the dog's owners, who were still staying nearby in Cionn Caslach.
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 travelling home without their beloved pet.
There were scenes of joy as the family met Mali at Burtonport Harbour last night.
Mr Baska 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 15 days.
"I'm just so happy for them that we were in the right place at the right time."
Ms Recinos Ralda posted a brief message on social media thanking everyone for their efforts in finding Mali.
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."
