The body of a 71-year-old hiker who had been missing since August was found on Colorado’s Blackhead Peak in late October, his still-living dog at his side.
Faithful Jack Russell Finney remained near his master’s body for two and a half months, since August 19 – the date of the septuagenarian’s disappearance, mountain rescue organization Taos Search and Rescue reported.
It was a local hunter who found the body of the man and his four-legged companion.
“We searched all the way to the summit and west, down the mountain to his car,” recalls Delinda Vanne-Brightyn, a member of the search organization that tried to find the man who disappeared with the help of a dog. It was so steep we needed a helicopter. It was found 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) east of the summit of the mountain where we conducted our research.
The little terrier was taken to the animal hospital for treatment and later reunited with his family, the Denver Gazette reported.
The cause of death is not yet known, but police do not believe it was a crime.
It’s not the first time a dog has remained loyal to its owner after an accident in the mountains. A 74-year-old hiker was found dead in May 2022, his Labrador lying next to him in Arizona. A month before this tragedy, the body of another 29-year-old hiker was found along with his dog, emaciated but alive, in a little-used park near Los Angeles.
Other stories have happier endings. In January 2022, a dog saved his owner’s life after falling 150 meters in Croatia by lying down to keep him warm while he waited for help.