Missing collie Nell lured with bacon and sausages in Scottish Highlands rescue

Beloved pooch Nell proves she nose best

A mountain rescue team used bacon and sausages to lure a missing dog to safety in the Highlands.

Dundonnell Mountain Rescue Team members Alison Smith and Rachel Drummond deployed the novel technique during their efforts to return Nell the border collie to her grateful owners.

Launching their search on Monday, the pair used a disposable barbecue loaded with sausages and bacon to attract the nose of the pooch.

The two rescuers with Nell, safely back at base.

Nell’s owner was left distraught after the female border collie ran off into the Wester Ross wildnerness in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The anxious border collie had been frightened off by the sound of helicopter blades during the rescue of her owner and a fellow ultra marathon runner who had encountered difficulties in the remote Fisherfield Forest area.

An Inverness Coastguard helicopter was used in the rescue of the two male runners, who were found to be suffering from the effects of mild hypothermia.

Nell’s owners distributed photos of the dog on social media in a bid to be reunited with their beloved pet.

A Dundonnell MRT spokesperson said: “During the rescue a border collie called Nell, owned by one of the men, took fright at the helicopter, ran off into the night and was not seen again by Dundonnell MRT members who were in the area. Nell’s owners subsequently publicised her loss via social media.”

The rescuers’ decision to bring a barbecue along with them during their search for Nell turned out to be a masterstroke, the pungent smell of sizzling bacon and sausages wafting over the local hillsides being too much for the famished canine to resist.

Speaking of Nell’s rescue, a Dundonnell MRT spokesperson said: "They fired up the barbeque and soon had sausages and bacon sizzling.

"The desired effect was soon achieved - a confused and anxious Border collie appeared on the horizon, on a rocky hillside.

"Having been lured closer by the smell of food, a nervous Nell was eventually secured and after a picnic lunch, she and her rescuers walked the five miles back to the roadside."

The spokesperson added that Nell appeared to be unharmed despite the ordeal.