Dog survives for months injured and alone in Colorado mountains. Then hikers spot it
A lost dog survived injured and all alone for two months in the northern Colorado mountains until a pair of hikers spotted it — and knew they had to help.
The hikers found the scared dog on the trail in Meyers Ranch Park, about 20 miles southwest of Denver, with no owner in sight and tried to befriend it, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said in a Nov. 21 post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
But it was so frightened it bit one of the hikers as they tried carrying the dog down the mountain, officials said.
“Despite that, they knew the pup needed help,” officials said in the post.
They called the sheriff’s office for help, and one of them stayed with the dog while the other hiked down for medical help and to show rescuers where to go.
“As luck would have it, a ranger remembered a lost dog poster posted in the park over a month ago,” officials said.
The dog on the poster looks just like the one the hikers found, a photo shows.
So animal control officers called the owner to have them reunite with their dog at the trailhead, officials said. Then they hiked in with rangers and brought the dog down the mountain.
“The dog, Nova, was reunited with its owner after having been missing for two months!” officials said.
Nova has a broken leg, but the pup is resting comfortably at home while awaiting a possible surgery, officials said.
Some celebrated the happy news in the comments.
“How wonderful of you all to help Nova! And that the pup has been reunited with its undoubtedly grateful family!!” they said. “My goodness…2 months this one, 72 days with that poor little Irish JR Terrier. Dogs are so amazing!!”
Another dog was recently found after surviving more than two months on a mountain in southwestern Colorado. The loyal Jack Russell terrier was watching over its owner’s body when it was found, McClatchy News previously reported.
This story was originally published November 28, 2023 at 5:26 PM with the headline "Dog survives for months injured and alone in Colorado mountains. Then hikers spot it."
