A dog lost on a Welsh mountain at the weekend was found safe and well yesterday, Tuesday 17th November, after three nights out in "appalling weather".

Betsy, a small pointer cross, slipped her harness and ran for the hills on the summit plateau of Cader Idris, between Pen y Gader and Mynydd Moel, on Saturday 14th November. Despite a prolonged search right away, her owners drew a blank and had to leave the hill without her.

They returned with friends, family and well-wishers to continue the hunt the following day, but it wasn't until late on Monday that one of the searchers thought they heard a dog whimpering on graggy ground above Llyn Cau. Having focused in on this particular part of the hill, the owners called Mountain Rescue for help.

"With night rapidly falling, and rain falling even faster, a party of 3 Team volunteers headed up the Minffordd path to see if they could confirm the reported noise, but as suspected the weather was too bad to see/hear anything" say Aberdyfi Search and Rescue Team.

"As rescuers arrived in Cwm Cau they spotted the owners torches high on the crag in the dark, trying to investigate this new information... They were desperate to find the dog, and it was apparent that they had been drifting into some hazardous ground in their quest to locate her. It was their stated intention to resume the search at first light the following day, and Team coordinators felt that a mountain rescue presence on the hill might provide alternative options to them putting themselves at risk should the dog be spotted."

As Team volunteers scoured the Cwm Cau area in very poor weather on Tuesday morning, word came that one of the owners had spotted Betsy on steep rocky ground, but couldn't get close to her. A rope system was quickly rigged to safely reach the dog.

She was found cold and hungry, but otherwise "in surprisingly good condition given her 3 nights out in some appalling weather" say the Team.

"While this was happening others rigged hand-lines down the steep rocky slope to provide a quick and safe exit route. Betsy was quickly reunited with her owners, and everyone made their way safely back down to the carpark."

• Aberdyfi Search and Rescue Team is a registered charity, and is entirely funded by donations - see here