A local article has less of an antagonistic slant than the DailyFail article:
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/31359821/detail.html
There was a younger hiker there the person was responsible for as well, and the person recognizes their own mistakes—they’re not being insistent about getting the dog back.
Dailymail wants to pretend it was simply the owner abandoning the dog, and that each side wanting the dog are in some sort of cage match battle.
People make mistakes. Who should have the dog? Not my call. Darn glad this beautiful little girl has been rescued. If she goes back to the original owner, I think she’s going to be more appreciated. Certainly the original owner learned the hard way a government agency isn’t going to take the owner’s responsibility on themselves.
Fortunately, the folks I see around here that take their dogs on rocky trails mostly put the little shoes on their dogs and keep an eye on their condition.
If he really understands the gravity of his error—and is appreciative for what these other people did for her—then there’s no question but that he should let her go.
To not lift a finger to rescue her for eight days and then battle to have get her back is inexcusable IMO.