The image is classic: a mountaineer accompanied by his dog, a perfect couple to go for a walk alone without feeling alone. Sometimes you don’t know who is taking whom into the mountains. In the case of Rich Moore, a 71-year-old retired American, and his pet Finney, a three-year-old female Jack Russell terrier, the owner made the animal his accomplice to pursue his passion. And to channel the excessive energy of an animal that only wanted to chase squirrels through the forest, throwing bites into the air in search of insects. This may have resulted in Moore being killed. On August 19, the two traveled by car from their town of Pagosa Springs, Colorado, in the shadow of the majestic San Juan Mountain Range, to a parking lot 18 miles away. Moore and his wife Dana Holby (78 years) moved after his retirement to fully pursue his passion for hiking and to surround himself with a few dogs. They usually went out together or with other members of the local mountain club, but in late August Moore decided to climb Blackhead Peak alone, a 12,000-foot mountain he knew well: his wife was visiting her sister, so he went out with Finney. He ignored his wife’s warning and was upset that he would go for a walk alone. Seventy-two days later he was still missing. The dog had also not returned from the routine outing. For weeks, nearly 180 professionals and volunteers combed the mountain slopes, especially the western slope leading to the parking lot.
The search didn’t make any big headlines beyond the local press: apparently it was another climber who was defeated by the mountain. Until a hunter on horseback came across a body of Moore and a tiny, starving dog baring its teeth menacingly and protecting the remains. The hunter notified the sheriff via a satellite device widely used among mountaineers and warned him that he could not approach the animal. When the sheriff and his team reached the specified location, a can of food sprinkled with a sedative made it possible for Finney to be picked up. Since then, his return has gone viral and one of the most respected magazines in the United States, Outside, has investigated to reveal new details of a story as bitter as it is tender. “In the fall, it was clear to me that my husband and Finney would never return home,” Dana Holby explains in Outside, but when she found out they had found both, sadness and surprise mixed together like two contradictory ingredients. Holby knew immediately that he had to look for his pet, and when he saw it, he hardly recognized it: its predominantly white color and the black and brown spots on its face were striking. She and her son cried when they saw it. The animal had lost half its weight and weighed barely more than two kilos; His stretched skin exposed his ribs and an ugly gash changed the tip of his snout. But in some unlikely way he had managed to return home.
Medical authorities determined days later that Moore had died of hypothermia and exposure. The next mystery was figuring out how the dog survived. And finally, it remained to be seen how the hell they both ended up on the wrong side of the mountain, far from any civilization. Veterinarians warn those who will listen that the Jack Russell Terrier breed is extremely demanding: They are not parlor animals, but rather dogs “bred to hunt rodents and even foxes” and possess a tough, indomitable temperament , which requires constant physical exercise. They are also individualistic, so the bonds they form with their owners are very special.
Moore took on the role of breeder and designed games for Finney, and they quickly became partners on the mountain trails. Normally Finney was permissive and could relentlessly pursue any animal that caught his radar. But he always returned faithfully. It is not surprising that the dog stayed next to the corpse of her dream for 72 days. It apparently survived by hunting insects, searching for larvae in the soil, hunting rodents or injured or old squirrels. He had to drink from nearby streams. Always at the limit. It seems a miracle that he did not fall prey to the predatory fauna that roams freely in the area: mainly black bears and cougars.
August 19th was a day of bright sunshine and pristine visibility around Pagosa Springs. It is therefore unlikely that Moore got lost and ended up on the east side of the mountain, a place where there was no point in going, as local authorities explained. Investigators are now considering the possibility that Finney ran away, chasing an animal and dragging its owner behind him. This time, Finney may have been slow to return, forcing Moore to stray further and further from the path, through unfamiliar, steep, unmarked terrain. Then came disorientation, night, cold, dehydration, hunger… and a return home that was unthinkable for Finney.
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