Dog That Went Missing for More Than a Month Found Alive on Remote Colorado Mountain

A Colorado man suspected he would never see his dog again. After all, the 8-year-old sheltie had gone missing five weeks earlier, going outside the yard for his regular roam.

The dog, named Riley, never came back this time.

And at the time, there was plenty of snow on the ground. So Mike Krugman, Riley’s owner, told KDVR in Denver he suspected the worst.

“He was my wife’s dog, so he always sleeps on her pillow. She passed away in January,” Krugman said.

Krugman added his property is surrounded by a 5-foot tall fence. But Riley sometimes would go outside of that to explore.

“We got a lot of snow that day, sure enough, I walked to the far south side of our property and we didn’t have a fence it was 100% covered in snow,” Krugman told KDVR. “I’m assuming he walked over the fence and kept walking.”

Dog Missing for More Than a Month Found Alive on Colorado Mountain

He reached out to the local pet rescue, then figured that was that. He started to lose hope.

But eventually, he received a call from the humane society. Again, this was more than five weeks from the time Riley had gone missing.

A hiker named Zachary Hackett had spotted the dog.

“I heard the smallest little yip and at first I was startled cause you don’t know what is behind you,” Hackett said. “Then I said wait a minute, that’s a dog. There shouldn’t be dogs up here.”

Hackett traveled some difficult terrain to get Riley, then walked four miles with Riley in tow. Riley was too weak to walk, so Hackett had to carry the dog.

Riley weighed 24 pounds when he went missing, and down to 12.6 when he was found, Krugman said.

“I don’t understand how he lived,” he said. “Someone had to be looking out for him. Maybe it was my wife.”

Read More: Heartwarming Video of Service Dog’s Farewell Flight on Southwest Takes the Internet by Storm