He just left it to die.
Hopefully the cruelty charges will make sure the dog stays with the rightful owner, the one who cared enough for it to rescue it.
I would have gone back, but I would NOT have expected success.
“Washburn and his wife were incredulous at how this dog, tucked into a tiny nook between rocks, could have ended up where it was.”
It would have required blind luck to come across the dog like that. The owner could have hiked for a month and never had a hint of where the dog ended up.
When the rescuers went back, they knew where to look because the dog could no longer move. That wasn’t true of the original owner.