Photo/Illutration Tetsuro Ueda, center, and his pet dog, Fukusuke, attend the ceremony of commendation for their rescue effort held at the Kita Fire Station in Otsu on Jan. 20. (Izuru Hishiyama)

OTSU--A hiker who went missing in the Hira mountain range in late December probably owes his life to Tetsuro Ueda and his faithful hound Fukusuke after they managed to track him down and get him to safety.

For their efforts in the Katsuragawa-Hosokawacho district here, Ueda, 63, and Fukusuke, aged 2 and a half, were presented with a commendation Jan. 20 by the heads of the Otsu Fire Department and Otsu-Kita Police Station.

Had Fukusuke not guided police officers and firefighters, the missing man may well have died from exposure, authorities said.

Osaka prefectural police were alerted to the emergency Dec. 23 after the man's wife in Osaka Prefecture said her 69-year-old spouse had not returned from a mountain hike and requested a search effort be mounted.

In the early hours of the following morning, the local Otsu-Kita Police Station and Kita Fire Station dispatched a squad of 25 personnel to search for him.

Ueda, who used to run an art gallery and lives at the base of the mountain, offered to help out as he knew the area well from his daily walks with Fukusuke.

He searched “likely sites” where someone could easily fall and shouted out the man's name while ascending a valley. Hearing the victim respond by whistling, Ueda headed in the direction of the sound and spotted the man in a sitting position.

Although the man had hurt his face, Ueda was simply over the moon to find him alive.

It was then that Ueda realized he had forgotten his cellphone, making it impossible for him to summon the rescue team.

As things turned out, members of the search party ran into Fukusuke halfway up the mountain, according to Dai Tanaka, 46, a fire lieutenant from the Kita Fire Station who was involved in the operation.

Fukusuke, trotting ahead, led Tanaka and the others to where the missing hiker was resting, repeatedly looking back at the rescuers to make sure they kept up.

Describing his dog's nature, Ueda said Fukusuke is “friendly and clingy.” He expressed his delight that the rescue had a successful outcome when temperatures were low with snow on the ground.

At the ceremony of commendation held at the Kita Fire Station, Yoshinobu Nishimura, head of the Otsu-Kita Police Station, voiced his “sincere appreciation” for Ueda and Fukusuke.

“The good news (of the victim’s discovery) reached the police station at around 3 p.m., drawing applause like in a scene from a film,” Nishimura said.

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