The Daily Populous Thursday November 16th, 2023 night edition
Authored by cbsnews.com and submitted by WhileFalseRepeat

A tiny Jack Russell terrier that survived in the Colorado mountains for more than 10 weeks after her owner died of hypothermia lost half her body weight, a rescuer said.

Richard Moore of Pagosa Springs, Colorado, and his 12-pound dog Finney had set out to climb Blackhead Peak east of the town on Aug. 19, but never returned home, the Archuleta County Sheriff's Office said.

A days-long search of the treacherous and steep western side of the mountain between where Moore's car was parked and the peak was unsuccessful, said Delinda VanneBrightyn with Taos Search and Rescue, whose search dog joined the effort. From the starting point, the hike to Blackhead Peak gains 2,150 feet in elevation.

When a hunter came upon the 71-year-old's body in the San Juan Mountains on Oct. 30, Finney was still there with him, despite being down to just 6 pounds, VanneBrightyn said Tuesday.

A recovery crew was flown in the next day. Finney was taken to a veterinarian for a checkup and treatment and is now with Moore's family, the sheriff's office said.

Finney's "magnificent story of survival" is a testament to her dedication and loyalty to Moore, said VanneBrightyn, who has trained dogs for two decades. "Jack Russells are pretty fierce, I have to say, they're tough little dogs."

The hunter found Moore's body about 1.5 miles east of the peak, further away from his car, VanneBrightyn said.

Moore, who was an experienced hiker, died of hypothermia, Archuleta County Coroner Brad Hunt said. Hypothermia can cause people to become disoriented and confused.

But tiny Finney somehow survived, likely by hunting small animals such as mice while also managing to avoid predators like mountain lions, coyotes and bears, VanneBrightyn said.

"If that dog could talk it would be an amazing story," she said. "We probably could not even believe the story the dog would tell."

"We are very glad ... that Finney was returned to the family because they have lost their loved one, but they still have this wonderful, loyal dog," VanneBrightyn said.

Blackhead Peak, which has an elevation of 12,500 feet, is located in the San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado.

The San Juan Mountains are seen in September 2023 in Rio Grande National Forest, Colorado. BRANDON BELL / Getty Images

Finney's story of survival marks at least the third time a dog has been found alive next to a hiker's body since last year. In May 2022, a Labrador was found lying next to the body of a 74-year-old Arizona man who had died during a hike.

The month before that, a missing 29-year-old hiker was found dead in Los Angeles' Griffith Park with his dog by his side. Family members said it appeared the dog hadn't left his side for two weeks.

SmokedBeef on November 15th, 2023 at 18:05 UTC »

As the article alludes, this is a “common” occurrence in Colorado, I myself worked a S&R with civilian air patrol looking for a lost hiker suffering an extreme PTSD episode stemming from their service in Vietnam and if it wasn’t for his two dogs, we would have never found his remains. It took us working a grid search for almost 6 days, calling his dogs names (Merry and Pippin) before one of them finally appeared and lead us to the owner and other dog who was protecting what was left of the owner. The two dogs had been chased off by a bear and mountain lion at some point in the 8days since they left the trailhead but those two dogs always returned to their person to wait for rescuers.

Dogs truly are man’s best friend!

StringOfLights on November 15th, 2023 at 17:25 UTC »

I don’t doubt Finney tried her best to help her human. What a good girl.

I had some health issues recently and I fainted. Luckily I made it to a couch before I passed out, but I also somehow convinced myself I was taking a very rapid onset nap. It’s weird what you can rationalize in situation like that. One of the things that made me realize something was wrong was my dog nudging and licking me to wake me up. I felt it while I was drifting in and out. He knew something was wrong before I did, and he stayed with me until I came to. My smart, loyal little buddy.

Matt3989 on November 15th, 2023 at 17:03 UTC »

Well, that brought back traumatic Futurama memories.