Photo: VCG

Sixteen rescuers were called out to save a St Bernard dog stranded on an English mountain, in an embarrassing episode for the member of a breed more famed for rescuing stricken humans from the icy dangers of the high Alps.

The pooch named Daisy collapsed while descending from the summit of Scafell Pike in northwest England with her owners, Wasdale Mountain Rescue team according to a statement on their website Sunday.

After showing signs of pain in her legs, she sat down and refused to get up, it said, and with nightfall fast approaching, local police called in the rescuers for help. A rescue video showed the team fording a river and hauling the stretcher over a fence.

After the team reached the bottom of the hill, a relieved Daisy got back on her feet and even managed a slight, sheepish wag of her tail. "She apparently feels slightly embarrassed about letting down the image of her cousins bouncing across the Alpine snows," the rescuers said.