Dog Found (and saved): Mt. Bierstadt!

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RockyMtnHigh
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Re: Dog Found: Mt. Bierstadt!

Post by RockyMtnHigh »

Navigaiter wrote:
live4pc wrote:
MountainHiker wrote:Let’s reserve judgment on the owner until we know what happened. It’s conceivable she was with a family who drove up Mt Evans, chased a marmot and got lost. If they weren’t climbers they wouldn’t know about 14ers.com but perhaps tried other ways to publicize. They could have contacted who they thought were the proper authorities. Think of the prolifera of overlapping and multiple jurisdictions we have in even a single county. A lost dog isn’t going to be the highest priority to some of them as was eluded to early in this thread. A found dog and a lost dog report might not get matched up if either of them languished on the wrong desk. There could be a kid crying himself to sleep tonight not knowing his best friend is now safe.
Agree, this thread is a good example of what happens when we jump to conclusions and unorganized search plans.
Unorganized search plans that resulted in one of the most amazing and heartwarming stories in many years. Thanks a ton to the unorganized folk who saved an innocent life! Most of us really appreciate it.
This, don't let the downer Debby's and negative Nancy's take anything away from what you guys accomplished. If the world had more people like the one's who took on this undertaking it would be a MUCH better place.
cybrhikr
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Re: Dog Found: Mt. Bierstadt!

Post by cybrhikr »

Amen to that RockyMtnHigh.You are so right.
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Robzilla
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Re: Dog Found: Mt. Bierstadt!

Post by Robzilla »

I kind of wondered when I first read this thread and read that the owners and dog were possibly spotted earlier if maybe they got into a bad spot and had to make the decision to leave her to save themselves. It is odd that no lost dog ads were found. Perhaps they ditched her and assumed she had died. Whatever the case, if the original owner does prove to be unworthy I would imagine some of the rescuers can convince them she's got a better home elsewhere. On the off chance that it is someone missing and looking for their dog I've been doing my best to reserve judgement (not that my anonymous approval from 800 miles away matters one damn bit) and simply bask in the warmth of knowing that somebody did a kickass job of saving a lost dog.

Thanks, it made all of our days, and it most certainly made hers.
Timmmber
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Re: Dog Found: Mt. Bierstadt!

Post by Timmmber »

HIGH FIVE!!! THE NEXT ROUND IS ON ME!!
amazing job, I will sleep better tonight knowing the pup is safe, and there are amazing people that actually give a crap!!
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somethingrandom
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Re: Dog Found: Mt. Bierstadt!

Post by somethingrandom »

Amen, and thank you to all you brave souls who were rescuing her at the time I was reading this post for the first time. You are all heroes in my book.
Robzilla wrote:I kind of wondered when I first read this thread and read that the owners and dog were possibly spotted earlier if maybe they got into a bad spot and had to make the decision to leave her to save themselves. It is odd that no lost dog ads were found. Perhaps they ditched her and assumed she had died. Whatever the case, if the original owner does prove to be unworthy I would imagine some of the rescuers can convince them she's got a better home elsewhere. On the off chance that it is someone missing and looking for their dog I've been doing my best to reserve judgement (not that my anonymous approval from 800 miles away matters one damn bit) and simply bask in the warmth of knowing that somebody did a kickass job of saving a lost dog.

Thanks, it made all of our days, and it most certainly made hers.
I will personally sign up to be the first to punch her stupid owner in the face. Should he/she have suffered a worse fate than their UNWILLING companion, I certainly cant fault them. Leaving your obligation on a rock to die and not reporting it like a piece of s**t left under a log...? Nah.... Not worth more than a chunk of spit.
-Just as soon as you idiot proof something, some a**hole is just going to come along and make a better idiot.

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ketel1
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Re: Dog Found: Mt. Bierstadt!

Post by ketel1 »

9News just ran the story!
"So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable." ~Christopher Reeve
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slopestyle
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Re: Dog Found: Mt. Bierstadt!

Post by slopestyle »

I just logged on about an hour ago, spent most of that time reading this thread. I'm glad to head that it looks like she'll be ok. Good work to those of you that went up to carry her out. I guess I need to get on the site more often, I didn't do much of anything this weekend :oops:

~Sam
Life's journey is not to arrive safely at the grave in a well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting, "HOLY s**t!!...WHAT A HELL OF A RIDE!!!!"
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toekramp
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Re: Dog Found: Mt. Bierstadt!

Post by toekramp »

ketel1 wrote:9News just ran the story!

http://www.9news.com/video/default.aspx ... E|featured
The true traveler is he who goes on foot, and even then, he sits down a lot of the time.
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shea_nb
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Re: Dog Found: Mt. Bierstadt!

Post by shea_nb »

This was truly and amazing story and amazing people who went and got this dog. You all deserve a pat on the back and a round of beers. Sounds like you already had the beers ;). My wife and I had just climbed Bierstadt the weekend prior with our German Shepherd. So this really touched home. Scott sorry I couldn't make it up with you all I could not get out of work early enough to make it happen. I probably would of just been in the way anyhow not being a very experienced climber myself. Here are some pics of our dog on the hike and at the top. Again the wife and I were seriously upset about this dog being abandoned. We hope that nothing serious happened to the owner but at the same time thinking about the ladder is just too infuriating.

Shea
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Just the two of us.
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AlexMack
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Re: Dog Found: Mt. Bierstadt!

Post by AlexMack »

MountainHiker wrote:Let’s reserve judgment on the owner until we know what happened. It’s conceivable she was with a family who drove up Mt Evans, chased a marmot and got lost. If they weren’t climbers they wouldn’t know about 14ers.com but perhaps tried other ways to publicize. They could have contacted who they thought were the proper authorities. Think of the prolifera of overlapping and multiple jurisdictions we have in even a single county. A lost dog isn’t going to be the highest priority to some of them as was eluded to early in this thread. A found dog and a lost dog report might not get matched up if either of them languished on the wrong desk. There could be a kid crying himself to sleep tonight not knowing his best friend is now safe.
Well put, MountainHiker.

I have to admit, this kind of worst-case-scenario you mentioned above is the first thing that comes to my mind whenever the "leash" argument comes up. I'm not afraid of unknown dogs, and I'm not really worried about the kind of dogs and their owners that you'll generally encounter out on the trail. But I've always kind of seen it as a responsibility issue. You never know how an animal will behave when something weird happens. I'll get off my soapbox now...

ANYWAY...this thread is awesome. Giant kudos to all involved, and I can't wait to hear how that beautiful doggie turns out!!
"Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment." - Evan Hardin
aortolani14
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Re: Dog Found: Mt. Bierstadt!

Post by aortolani14 »

Hi all,

I am the owner of the German Shepard girl found on Mt. Bierstadt.

I need to know the name of the vet clinic that Missy is at so I can go see her and re-reimburse them for helping her, and if I am fortunate enough, to bring her home.


I am at a complete loss of words. My gratitude for the people involved in this is without measure.

Missy was hurt during an attempt at crossing the Sawtooth. It was Missy, a friend and I. Her paws got bloodied up right in the belly of the sawtooth. I was assisting her with the climb using ropes and a harness for a while but she kept getting hurt worse. A few kind hikers stopped and offered some assistance but incoming weather pushed people off of the saddle. My friend and I realized that we could not get Missy up the saddle to Evans or Bierstadt safely so we decided to bail off of the saddle into the valley between the two mountains to escape the incoming clouds. We were lowering her for a while with ropes from boulder to boulder but she was hurting herself worse against the rocks sprawling out and catching them with her legs. Eventually she just stopped standing or moving at all and I knew she was pretty badly hurt. I picked her up on my shoulders and was hopping from boulder to boulder but I couldn't keep her on me. I dropped her once and I almost fell once too and I realized that I couldn't carry her off of the mountain. At this point I made the decision that I honestly never thought I would even be faced with. I left her there so that my friend and I could get down safely with intentions of calling S&R when we were off of the mountian. We both spent about two hours trying to move her up and down the mountain and were pretty exhausted. Neither one of us wanted to hike up the saddle with the cloud cover growing so we continued down into the valley and hiked back to Guanella Pass Rd. It was a lot farther than we thought it would be, and we got lost several times. A group of hunters showed us the way out and gave us a ride back to our car. Thank you to them as well.

I called the 911, the sheriffs office and search and rescue and I was told that it was to risky for them to send rescue crew up there for a dog, which was upsetting but understandable. I'll admit that while trying to get off of the the mountain I was not as concerned because I was focused on making it safely off of the mountain, but once I was safely at my car I was overwhelmed with the loss, and the decision to leave her there. The next couple of days was absolutely horrible wondering about her, if she was alive, or if she died. Thinking about her suffering was awful beyond words. Many confidants comforted me by saying that she was probably gone from injury. All I can say is that I am relieved that she is okay, I am ashamed that it was not me that started this thread, I am ashamed that it wasn't me who got her off of the mountain, I underestimated the good will and resolve of the hiking community of Colorado, and I am eternally grateful to all of you and to 9news. I humbly beg the forgiveness of the community and most of all my Missy Girl. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
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Re: Dog Found: Mt. Bierstadt!

Post by aortolani14 »

I am reading through all of these threads, and I am just in awe of how heroic and amazing everyone is that did this. I also see all of the anger and hatred towards me and the decision that I made. I feel that I deserve it all. I made it in a panic to be sure, and what I felt was a survival situation. I didn't think to post on 14er's.com to ask for everyone to come fix my colossal mistake in judgement. It is truly amazing that all of you did it on your own. I don't have proper words. It was several days before I would have even been able to even think of walking back up Bierstadt much less into the sawtooth and to try and carry Missy out, and after that I just thought it would be to late. I honestly never thought that I could just ask strangers to go check the sawtooth and carry my 112lb German Shepard out. I don't know what to say. Thank you again to the community, and to those who are angry I am so so sorry. Missy has done 6 14'ers and she loves being out there in the mountains. She depends on me to make smart choices, and taking her into the sawtooth was beyond foolish.
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