A dog that spent 10 weeks in the Colorado wilderness has been reunited with its family after its owner died while the couple was hiking.
Rich Moore of Pagosa Springs and Finney, his Jack Russell terrier, were reported missing Aug. 19 after hiking near the summit of Blackhead Peak, the Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release obtained by PEOPLE.
On October 30, a local hunter located the remains of a 71-year-old man in the Lower Blanco drainage basin. Finney was “found alive” next to Moore’s body, according to Taos Search and Rescue.
Delinda VanneBrightyn, who works with TSAR, said Finney lost 6 pounds. as he awaited rescue in the wilderness, CBS News reported. “Jack Russells are pretty fierce, I have to say,” she said, adding, “they’re tough little dogs.”
Finney was found alive after surviving 10 weeks by her owner’s side.
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Moore died of hypothermia, Archuleta County Coroner Brad Hunt said, according to CBS News.
The hiker’s body was found more than two miles east of the summit he was trying to climb, VanneBrightyn told TSAR.
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Rich Moore died while hiking in the mountains of southern Colorado.
Crews spent nearly 2,000 hours searching for Moore and Finney before the hunter was found, more than two months after they were reported missing, according to ACSO.
VanneBrightyn believes that Finney probably survived by hunting small animals and avoiding large predators, writes CBS News.
“We are so glad … that Finney was returned to the family,” VanneBrightyn said, “because they lost their loved one, but they still have this wonderful, loyal dog.”
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Finney was examined by a veterinarian after she was rescued from the mountain, and has since been reunited with Moore’s family.
“If that dog could talk, it would be an amazing story,” VanneBrightyn told CBS News. “We probably couldn’t believe the story the dog was going to tell.”
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Source: HIS Education