In a reversal of roles, a rescue team in the UK carried a Saint Bernard down the country's tallest mountain on a stretcher after the dog collapsed while climbing down from the summit. 

Daisy, a 121-pound (55 kilogram) Saint Bernard, collapsed on Friday evening while descending Scafell Pike in northern England with her owners.

Police contacted the Wasdale mountain rescue team, whose members "didn't need to think twice" about coming to Daisy's rescue, a spokesman for the team said in a statement.

"Having team members with their own pampered pooches at home, and also our very own much-adored search dog, Jess, we recognize the distress that both an animal can feel and also that of their owners," the spokesman said.

Five hour mission

A team of 16 volunteers responded. On the scene, the dog displayed pain in her back legs and refused to move, rescue workers told news agency AP.

After consulting with a veterinarian, the team administered pain relief drugs before adapting their stretcher, which is designed for humans, so they could carry the four-year-old dog comfortably down the mountain.

"From there on, apart from the odd little adjustment, the evacuation was found to be not that much different to a normal adult evacuation which, of course, is the bread and butter of our team," the spokesman said.

Read more: 10 dog breeds that originated in Germany

The rescue mission lasted nearly five hours. Scafell Pike — located in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria — is 978 meters (3,209 feet) above sea level.

Daisy is now recovering from her injury, the spokesman said.

Saint Bernards are known for helping rescue people stranded in the mountains in Italy and Switzerland.

"She apparently feels a bit guilty and slightly embarrassed about letting down the image of her cousins bouncing across the Alpine snows with barrels of brandy around their necks," the spokesman said.