Hikers Rescue A Dog That Was Trapped On A Mountain For 6 Weeks

September 24, 2017

After several attempts over the span of two days, a dog that was missing for six weeks has finally been reunited with her family.

Photo credit: Sean Nichols

The 13-year-old dog ran off from her home with another younger dog about six weeks ago, according to her owners. They live on the east side of Mount Bross in Colorado. The younger dog returned home, but Chloe didn't come back. Her owners spent weeks searching for her.

That brings us to this week.

A few days ago, Trinity Smith saw a post on the 14ers Facebook group that someone had heard a dog crying atop Mount Bross. On Thursday, she hiked up the mountain in search of the crying dog.

She heard the dog but knew she couldn't get to it alone.

Then next morning, Trinity and her boyfriend Sean Nichols headed up again. They called for the dog for four hours with no response. But they refused to give up. The couple climbed chute after chute and finally heard a faint bark.

"We got her!!!!" Smith posted on Facebook. "After hours and hours of yelling and climbing Sean Nichols & I finally brought this sweet, scared, hungry girl down to safety. The poor baby was stuck up there for over a month. After coming back down with her, Chloe’s owners were patiently waiting to see if this was their dog that they had been missing for 6 weeks who had ran off with another neighborhood pup. They assumed after a month of searching that their 13-year-old baby was gone forever."

"After rumors of a dog crying & 2 days of scrambling along the side of a 14er, we finally brought this sweet baby down to safety," she continued. "This poor thing has been stranded high up on a cliff for over a month. She was once a 90 lb. dog who now weighs 26. Glad to have her off that mountain and back with her owners!"

Larry Osborne, her owner, told 9NEWS that she's doing better and is at home now, but still recovering.