A Happy Ending for Animals: The Incredible Story of «Rapunzel»

The German Shepherd dog «Rapunzel», missing for months, has been rescued thanks to the courageous intervention of paramedics from Schutz & Rettung. The dog had wandered over 400 kilometres from Germany all the way to Switzerland and was handed over to the animal hospital alive, but in critical condition.

A Nighttime Rescue on the A1 Motorway

It is Friday, 9 February 2018, at 2:30 in the morning. Two paramedics from Schutz & Rettung are driving an ambulance on the A1 motorway, heading back from Winterthur to Zurich. Suddenly, the two emergency responders spot a large, motionless animal at the roadside and decide to investigate. To their surprise, they find a German Shepherd huddled on the ground, hypothermic and clearly badly injured. The two paramedics secure the scene, alert the Zurich Cantonal Police, and try to gain the animal’s trust.

Emergency Surgery at the Zurich Animal Hospital

Meanwhile, the dog’s condition is deteriorating rapidly. At that point, no one yet knew what had happened or how long the animal had been on the move. The paramedics take «Rapunzel» into the ambulance, administer initial medical care, and warm her with blankets. Since the animal ambulance that had been called would have taken some time to arrive on site, the emergency responders drive on to Zurich in their ambulance, heading directly to the animal hospital. There, the animal undergoes emergency surgery for multiple fractures and internal bleeding.

As it later turned out, the 8-year-old female dog escaped on August 15, 2017 (!) near Frankfurt am Main (Germany) and has been roaming ever since. The chances are good that the brave «Rapunzel» will survive and can soon be picked up by her owners. More stories from the animal world on wildbeimwild.com.