Thread: Lost dog rescued on Mt Bierstadt

Interesting story:

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headline...wants-it-back/

Leave your dog up there for a week? Want it back? As reported Anthony Ortolani is a sad sack piece of shit with no shame.

real shitty to leave that dog and not head back up no matter the reason. He should NOT get the dog back that is for sure.

edit: i know alot of us love dogs and heading out with them... but for fucks sake... please take a min and really think about what your putting your dog into. low angle medow skipping is one thing but climbing or sketchy snow pack... leave rover at home

Bierstadt is not an extreme hike by any imagination, unless you go through the sawtooth section. In which case, you have to be a complete idiot to take a dog. I've been on the summit with my dogs a few times, but never from that direction.

saw that this morning too...amazing that the owner went back to his life and never thought about gathering up his crew with the blurry faces to stage a rescue. or at least recovery.
he would have been smarter to lay low and be simply glad someone else cared enough.

http://www.14ers.com/phpBB3/viewtopi...6893&start=540

What a dick wad sociopath. I could not fathom leaving my pooch on a mountain.

....couldn't have left him if I found him there!

Motherfucker should be facing some legal repercussions

I don't know why he just concluded the dog must be dead or why he didn't do more than make one 911 call and instead just searched the internet.

Apparently the dumbass doesn't know why he didn't either and has done a pretty good mea culpa for being a moron who got his dog in a life threatening situation.

I'll give the guy credit for trying to get the dog down the day of and for posting a mea culpa on 14ers which is sometimes as merciless as TGR (at least when it comes to dogs).

That said, the dog should have never been on that route and the guy should have handled the aftermath far differently. That route results in many HUMAN rescues every year.

Originally Posted by tuco

Motherfucker should be facing some legal repercussions

Fuck yes he should, and he is: http://www.denverpost.com/breakingne...n-faces-animal

Good, fukin douchnozzle.
Beautiful dog, she deserves better.
He shouldn't be allowed to own a dog again!

I hiked Bierstadt a week ago Tuesday for the second time in two years. It's not a bad hike from the trailhead. About 2.5 mi and 2500 vert over some rocky terrain, but not technical. The sawtooth between Bierstadt and Evans is another story. Scares the shit out of me! I wouldn't cross it myself, let alone bring my dog across, but I understand this is where he left the dog.

On the hike down, I came across two guys looking for their dog 'John Wayne", an Aussie (they were on their way back up). About a half hour later the two guys (in their twenties) came jogging by with John Wayne in tow. Happy ending, but you need to be careful with your pooch on 14'ers. If you haven't been doing any hiking with them for a while, their pads are likely to get torn up on rocky terrain, as was the case with Missy. I know leashes suck on a hike like this, but many a pooch has committed accidental suicide chasing something into thin air over a cliff. My dog might enjoy the hike, but I could never forgive myself if I had to leave his broken body on a mountainside somewhere. That's just selfish!

As I said, I was at the peak of Bierstadt while Missy was waiting it out, but didn't know she was in the sawtooth. I'm glad some people had the balls to come to her rescue since it doesn't seem her owner has any. He definitely shouldn't get her back!

There have been several calls to dispatch offering to adopt Missy which is awesome, but it will probably be a while before or if she becomes available. In the meantime I've been suggesting that anyone that moved by this story contact their local shelter. They are overflowing with your potential new best friend(s).

I read that entire 46 page thread on 14ers.com.
Piece of shit, left his dog like disgarding trash

When I read stuff like this I have to hug my dog.

Sent from my cell phone. no, a cell phone.

Clearly the guy made terrible mistakes and it sounds like he's sorry. I completely understand why people don't want to return the dog.

But can somebody explain to me: how can you be enthusiastic for him to be legally prosecuted? Have you ever had any issues with the law? I do not wish any type of prosecution on this man. It makes me sad how quick people are to call for judgement and retribution.

It made me sad yesterday when I read about the high school teacher in Texas sentenced to five years in prison for sleeping with her 18-year-old students. Should she lose her job? Sure. BUT FIVE YEARS OF HER LIFE? And people are happy about this?

We need more forgiveness in this world, if you ask me.

He should not be prosecuted. His punishment should be not getting his dog back and being a pariah the rest of his life. Why not turn back sooner on the climb up?

Did we have a thread about a Maggot here who lost his dog up on the mountain?

Went back and looked multiple times for the dog. Never found her.

I think ya'll are a bit harsh.
1 What is the real story? I am not gonna base my opinion from ABC news.
We all know the press usualy gets it wrong omits info ect.

2 Seems that really the best way to find something you have lost in a remote area is to Notify authorities, Put it out on the internet.

And in this case that is how he found his dog?

Sorry just not feeling the hate that others seem to find.

^^^^ you'd have to read a bit of the 14er thread but basically he left the dog because he feared for the safety of his teen companions. He had to work out of town and couldn't return to the trailhead or to look he's new to CO doesn't have any outdoor type friends.Kind of assumed the dog would die
He pretty much sat around googling lost dog on mt bierstadt in case someone found her and did the right thing.
kudos to those who did
I have the compassion to forgive him as would his dog because well He's an idiot, but no way in hell does he deserve his dog back or another perhaps a cat or rock

Originally Posted by Lani

Clearly the guy made terrible mistakes and it sounds like he's sorry. I completely understand why people don't want to return the dog.

But can somebody explain to me: how can you be enthusiastic for him to be legally prosecuted? Have you ever had any issues with the law? I do not wish any type of prosecution on this man. It makes me sad how quick people are to call for judgement and retribution.

It made me sad yesterday when I read about the high school teacher in Texas sentenced to five years in prison for sleeping with her 18-year-old students. Should she lose her job? Sure. BUT FIVE YEARS OF HER LIFE? And people are happy about this?

We need more forgiveness in this world, if you ask me.

I'm not enthusiastic for a media driven witchunt, I am enthusiastic for due process to be served and legal repercussions (which will be very minor) to take effect. A fine and he'll have to tell his oh so heartbreaking story about having to leave his beloved and cherished companion on a mountainside at job interviews to explain why he has an animal cruelty conviction on his record.

Forgiveness is awesome and wonderful but its not always warranted, and it doesnt always help people. Forgiveness is also a personal thing.You can forgive someone for their misdeeds without approving of them or thinking consequences aren't warranted. If anything I think animal abuse is forgiven far too much in this country, and the world. People do horrible things to animals and its usually a slap on the wrist.


This isn't just shitty luck bad judgement or a bad situation, loving dog owners wouldnt find themselves in that situation because once their dogs paws were torn up to the point of them having trouble walking theyd turn back because summiting some dumbass mountain isnt as important as the welfare of a friend, furry or otherwise. Any dog owner who gave a shit about his dog would of seen warning sings long before it got to this, I garuntee you he saw the dog limping or dragging ass and just said oh it'll be all right because in reality he just didn't give a shit about the dog.

Dog looks like a sweetheart just chillin in that pack. Must of been scared shitless out there all alone then some strangers show up and try and stuff it into a backpack and it just chills.

^^^ this.

guy is asshat.

^^^after ending that entire thread on 14'rs (I was bored), I think Ortolani was more of a clueless idiot than asshat. Guy is recent transplant from NY and lacks respect for 14k' mountains. So he takes an overweight dog and newb kid on a hike/climb in an area he isn't familiar with, and lacks the understanding to stop and assess turnaround points along the way. Also doesn't think to take along dog booties - I see this all the time on PNW volcanos, where the rock is really sharp.

But clueless stupidity isn't illegal, and CO law sez the dog is his personal property. So he will get the dog back, right or wrong. My guess - cruelty charges will be bargained down to a misdemeanor in exchange for compensation to the vet and rescuers, and community service. If Ortolani or his lawyer have any sense, he will pre-emptively volunteer to set up some sort of dog SAR group.

I also concur with the swift kick to the nuts, but it probably conflicts with cruel/unusual punishment law.

One final thing here - Madd props to the people who posted on 14rs about finding the dog (their first post there), as well as the peeps who rescued Missy.

You don't know your dogs paws are all torn up till they start not being able to walk.
That said, I try not to put my dog in those situations where we're really far from the car and he can't walk. I don't know if I could carry his 70lbs for too long, and I keep that in mind when we go recreating.
He's pretty tough, though.
He had some paw trouble recently from heat and lake/river rocks. Both front paws were all torn up and it took a day or two for him to be able to walk much at all. BUT WE WERE AT HOME. We had food and shelter and I put some socks on his feet and carried him outside to pee.
In short: this is a case of poor judgement, and maybe not lack of caring. If he had a bunch of people with him, why couldn't they share the weight of the dog?

Sent from my cell phone. no, a cell phone.

Poor judgment? Hardly.... he just didn't care and he put the dog's life in danger. Because of that, he deserves to be reprimanded and he doesn't deserve to get the dog back. I'm not in favor of jail time or anything, but he should be given hundreds of hours of community service at the local animal shelter.

As for his reason of not being able to go look for the dog? Fucking lame. If he had a work trip (if I had one, I wouldn't fucking go) that he couldn't skip, then tell his friends/family the situation and have them go look. That's a fucking horrible excuse- he should be blacklisted from ever owning a pet again.

Originally Posted by smmokan

Poor judgment? Hardly.... he just didn't care and he put the dog's life in danger. Because of that, he deserves to be reprimanded and he doesn't deserve to get the dog back. I'm not in favor of jail time or anything, but he should be given hundreds of hours of community service at the local animal shelter.

he should be blacklisted from ever owning a pet again.

We can't blacklist people from having kids. I love dogs, and have had to carry a german short hair 8 miles on my back when he cut a pad.

That said, this charge has about 0% chance of sticking. If you want to be pissed about something, go tour a couple projects where you see kids walking around in neglect. It put the whole dog think into perspective.

I don't need perspective. This case has nothing to do with neglected kids- it has to do with a neglected dog and its idiot owner.