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Dog rescued on Mt. Bierstadt - More Details
14ers.com ^ | 8-14-12 | Anthony Ortolani

Posted on 08/18/2012 5:45:57 PM PDT by AlmaKing

Re: Dog Found: Mt. Bierstadt! by aortolani14 » Tue Aug 14, 2012 4:34 am

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.Top --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

aortolani14 ProfilePrivate messageE-mail aortolani1414er Peak List Not Entered Posts: 20 Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2012 4:05 amReport this postReply with quoteRe: Dog Found: Mt. Bierstadt! by aortolani14 » Tue Aug 14, 2012 5:13 am

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.


TOPICS: Chit/Chat
KEYWORDS: animalrescue; colorado; dog; doggieping
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To: floralamiss

141 posted on 08/19/2012 12:29:52 AM PDT by Salamander (Snakes. It had to be snakes.)
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To: floralamiss

Thought projection?

;D


142 posted on 08/19/2012 12:31:30 AM PDT by Salamander (Snakes. It had to be snakes.)
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To: Salamander

Now you’re really cracking me up with Attica...that poor guy! I was just reminded today about the turtles that I had as pets when I was a kid.

They were ridiculous escape artists...we tried putting the aquarium up on a 5’ tall shelf and they would just figure a way out and plunge to the ground. And, we had a cat...LOL!

Somehow, they managed to avoid getting caught by the cat...but it was always quite clear where they were hiding...behind the sofa that had a half a cat sticking out from under it!


143 posted on 08/19/2012 12:34:25 AM PDT by garandgal
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To: Eaker

Ah, then I hope he’s been reunited with “Flyer”. Jim was a good online friend to me and my elderly mother. He had that webcam on Mason all day and he’d write to us through Mason’s “voice”. I still have the emails, which were very funny and sweet.

Like so many here, we were awfully saddened by Jim’s passing, and we worried about Mason. We were so glad when we learned he would continue to have a good and happy life. I’m sorry for your and humblegunner’s loss. Thank you both for taking care of the old boy.


144 posted on 08/19/2012 12:38:23 AM PDT by floralamiss
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To: garandgal

LOLOL

Oh geeze I felt awful laughing at that.

Poor turtles!


145 posted on 08/19/2012 12:39:35 AM PDT by Salamander (Snakes. It had to be snakes.)
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To: Salamander
Found puppy poster.

TheMom was adamant that six dogs were enough but the little fella grew on us. Ironically out of all of our other dogs the one that took him under his wing was the big bad scary pit mix.

Here is them sleeping under my desk.


146 posted on 08/19/2012 12:40:43 AM PDT by Eaker (Stripping Americans of their freedom and dignity and rubbing their noses in it is a very bad idea.)
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To: Salamander

Well, get out of the sun! Go hide under a rock like Alice once did.


147 posted on 08/19/2012 12:41:55 AM PDT by floralamiss
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To: floralamiss; TheOldLady

I tried to post Odin’s august opinions but the mods pulled his account.

[specists!]


148 posted on 08/19/2012 12:43:05 AM PDT by Salamander (Snakes. It had to be snakes.)
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To: Eaker

Aawwwww....


149 posted on 08/19/2012 12:44:01 AM PDT by floralamiss
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To: floralamiss

Jim is certainly missed. Hard to believe that he has been gone for five years this week.


150 posted on 08/19/2012 12:44:33 AM PDT by Eaker (Stripping Americans of their freedom and dignity and rubbing their noses in it is a very bad idea.)
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To: Salamander

I hear you. I went to a dog park for a show for our breed. While we were there a small dog was being chased by a line of big dogs while the owner thought they were playing it was so cute. It took us about 2 seconds to inform this woman that was not what the larger dogs were doing. They saw this little dog as prey. She couldn’t believe it. We suggested if she loved her dog to pick it up and leave or give it to us.


151 posted on 08/19/2012 12:45:09 AM PDT by freekitty (Give me back my conservative vote; then find me a real conservative to vote for)
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To: Salamander

KIKIKIK!... I mean, LOLOLOL!


152 posted on 08/19/2012 12:45:31 AM PDT by floralamiss
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To: Eaker
There are PPMs in TX and hunters dump/lose them.

I think you may have found one.


153 posted on 08/19/2012 12:50:23 AM PDT by Salamander (Snakes. It had to be snakes.)
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To: Salamander

154 posted on 08/19/2012 12:51:00 AM PDT by JoeProBono (A closed mouth gathers no feet - Mater tua caligas exercitus gerit ;-{)
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To: floralamiss

I try to avoid it.

[mostly because of The Freckle Effect]


155 posted on 08/19/2012 12:51:47 AM PDT by Salamander (Snakes. It had to be snakes.)
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To: Eaker

Yes, he was a good man, and gave from his heart. He loved animals and seemed to genuinely care about people. He wrote to see if we’d completed prep for a hurricane and we wrote to him about hurricane Rita. I wish I’d known him earlier in his life and been able to give old Mason a hug, too. Yes, it’s hard to believe it’s been five years. Man!


156 posted on 08/19/2012 1:01:02 AM PDT by floralamiss
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To: Salamander

Our vet thinks he is a Corgi mix.

He is one energetic and tough little nut.


157 posted on 08/19/2012 1:15:26 AM PDT by Eaker (Stripping Americans of their freedom and dignity and rubbing their noses in it is a very bad idea.)
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To: nuconvert

Also, even if we don’t win, they have handlers who know what they are doing taking the necessary steps to make it safe for the dog.


158 posted on 08/19/2012 1:24:02 AM PDT by freekitty (Give me back my conservative vote; then find me a real conservative to vote for)
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To: Eaker

PPMs are called Corgi [and Basenji] mixes all the time.

What does his tail look like?

Does he run a *lot*?


159 posted on 08/19/2012 1:49:19 AM PDT by Salamander (Snakes. It had to be snakes.)
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To: JoeProBono

LOL


160 posted on 08/19/2012 1:50:15 AM PDT by Salamander (Snakes. It had to be snakes.)
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